Kent Probate Records

England Kent

Getting Started
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. Probate records include wills and administrations. This article is about probate records in Kent. For a general description of England probate records, click here.

1858 to the Present
Beginning in 1858, the Principal Probate Registry had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.

Before 1858
Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Kent, follow these steps:

Step 1. Search Indexes
Here are some online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Kent. Search these indexes first:

Here is a list of indexes on the Internet for the county of Kent. None of the indexes are comprehensive, but they will be added to over time.

Printed indexes to probate records may be available in many locations including English county archives and other record repositories, libraries, and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.


 * To access an English county archive, go to Access to Archives or to GENUKI and search for the archives for Kent or another county of interest.
 * For printed indexes that are available through the Family History Library, click on the name of a court above.

Did you find a reference to a probate record?


 * If yes, go to Step 4 below.
 * If no, go to Step 2 below.

Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died
Determine when your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.

Determine where your ancestor died. It is easier to find a probate record if you know whether the place where your ancestor lived or died is a parish. To learn whether it is a parish, look it up in a gazetteer. Here is a link to the 1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales online:


 * Vision of Britain

The gazetteer will either tell you:


 * A place is a parish, or
 * What parish it is a part of, or
 * What place it is near.

If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.

Once you have identified the parish, go to Step 3.

Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish
Once you have identified the parish where your ancestor lived or died, learn which courts had jurisdiction over it then search indexes for those courts. Every town and parish in Kent fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Click on a link below for the letter the parish begins with.

Before 1858, every town and parish in Kent was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. To find the will of your ancestor who lived or owned property in Kent, see a list of Kent parishes with the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over each. Click on the letter for a parish of interest.

Search the courts in the order given. Search indexes first. For indexes covering more than one court, see below. For court-specific indexes, click on the name of a court above. If you do not know where in Kent your ancestor lived or owned property, search the indexes to each court if necessary. Lastly, search the index to the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record
Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:


 * Visit or contact the record office that has the original records in its collection.


 * Visit the Family History Library or a family history center and obtain a copy of the record on microfilm. For more information, click on a court name below.

Kent Probate Courts
The following ecclesiastical courts had some probate jurisdiction over the county of Kent prior to 1858. Click on a court name to learn more about its records and indexes and how to find the probate of your ancestor in the court's records.


 * Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Canterbury
 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury
 * Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester
 * Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Chichester for the Archdeaconry of Lewes
 * Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) for Chichester for the Archdeaconry of Chichester
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deaneries of Arches, Croydon and Shoreham
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Rector of Cliffe
 * Court of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Wingham
 * Court of the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury
 * Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of London
 * Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Some Explanatory Notes on the Courts in Kent
The Court of the Archdeacon of Canterbury, the Court of the Episcopal consistory of Canterbury, and the Court of the Bishop and the Archdeacon of Rochester technically did not have jurisdiction over the Peculiar of Wingham, the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Episcopal Consistory and Archdeaconry of Rochester, but as the larger courts of original jurisdiction in the county, they will often contain probate records of persons who resided in the other jurisdictions.

The Commissary-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury was the judge of the Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Canterbury. He exercised probate jurisdiction within the diocese of Canterbury, and he also exercised the Archbishop’s prerogative throughout the diocese. Therefore, records of probate that would have normally gone through the Archbishop's court, will be found in the records of the Court of the Bishop of Canterbury, particularly before 1759.