Court of the Bishop of Ely (Episcopal Consistory)

Step by Step
1. First search each index (see "Indexes" below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.

2. Proceed to "Records" section (below) to determine what probate records exist for this court. Also see "FamilySearch Library Records."

3. Contact or visit the Cambridge Archives and Local Studies or hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.

4. Visit The FamilySearch Library or, one of its 4,500 satellite FamilySearch centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records;then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any centers near you.

Steps to Find a Will

1. If you do not have access to the FamilySearch Library or a family history center, contact the Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies. For a fee, they can search the indexes to the wills for this court. If they find a reference, they will inform you how to obtain a copy of the will.

2. If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a family history center, search (or locate on microfilm and search) the indexes to this court. If you find a reference to a will you are interested in, go to the library's online catalog entry for the court's probate records (see below under FamilySearch Library Records), and match the index reference to the film for the correct year and record.

3. Go to the film cabinets, retrieve the film, put it on a film reader, and turn to the reference that you obtained from the index.

4. If you are using a family history center, use the library's catalog as before, and locate the film to see if it is available at your local family history center.

5. The FamilySearch Library and FamilySearch centers have copying facilities so you may make a copy of the will you find.

Printed and Published Indexes
Indexes are found with the original and microfilmed records as above. In addition, the FamilySearch Library has the following transcripts and indexes:



Archive Location
The original records of this court are deposited at the Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studiesin the city of Cambridge. Contact the archives for assistance.

The records include:


 * Original wills, 1503-1857
 * Registered wills, 1449-1858
 * Original administrations, inventories, tuitions, etc., 1662-1858

Archive Records
Add information about the manuscript, printed and digital records in this location.

FamilySearch Library Records
Records are on microfilm and are available at the Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies service in Cambridge, at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, and through FamilySearch centers. The FamilySearch Library has the following:


 * (mostly unregistered administrations, bonds, and inventories)
 * (mostly unregistered administrations, bonds, and inventories)

Jurisdiction
This ecclesiastical court had pre-1858 jurisdiction over the following:

Bedfordshire
From 1837, secondary jurisdiction over the parishes in the Archdeaconry of Bedfordshire, which was transferred to the Diocese of Ely in that year.

Cambridgeshire
This court had jurisdiction over the diocese of Ely (most of the upper half of the county).

Huntingdon
From 1837, secondary jurisdiction over the parishes in the Archdeaconries of Huntingdon, which was transferred to the Diocese of Ely in that year.

Norfolk
The parish of Emneth.

Suffolk
From 1837, this had secondary jurisdiction over the parishes in the Archdeaconry of Sudbury.