Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)

England Gloucestershire Probate Records,Warwickshire Probate Records, Worcestershire Probate Records

Jurisdiction
This court had jurisdiction over most of the county of Worcestershire. It also had jurisdiction over the city of Warwick and the deaneries of Kineton and Warwick in southwest Warwickshire (here's an alphabetical List of Warwickshire Parishes that came under the Bishop of Worcester's pre-1837 court jurisdiction). This court (Bishop of Worcester) also held concurrent jurisdiction over parts of Gloucestershire diocese, prior to 1541 (though few Gloucestershire wills are found in its records).

Records
The original records are deposited at the Worcestershire Records Office. They include:


 * Original wills, administrations and inventories, 1493-1652, 1660-1858
 * Register copy wills, 1451-1739 (with gaps), 1833-1836
 * Probate and administration act books, 1661-1858

Records have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and through the many family history centers world-wide. They include:


 * Original wills of the consistory court of Worcester, 1493-1857
 * Registered wills, 1451-1671
 * Act books of the consistory court of Worcester, 1661-1857

Indexes
The original and microfilmed records above include indexes.

The Family History Library has the following calendars and indexes.


 * A calendar of wills and administrations preserved in the consistory court of the bishop of Worcester, 1451-(1652) edited by Edward Alexander Fry.
 * Episcopal Consistory Court of the Bishop of Worcester Calendar of wills administrations, 1661-1858
 * Calendar of wills and administrations, 1700-1858
 * The Birmingham &amp; Midland Society for Genealogy &amp; Heraldryhas a CD-Rom for Worcestershire wills index, 1858-1928