Yorkshire Probate Courts

The following article lists the names of the Yorkshire probate courts before 1858. For general information about English probate records, click here.

Description
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. This article explains about probates and how to get started to search for a will.

Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The Probates After 1857 section below has a link to an article about probates after 1857.

Getting Started
Follow these steps to look for a probate record before 1858. To bypass these steps, scroll down and click the name of a court.


 * 1) Discover when and where your ancestor died. If you don’t know, use the approximate date and place where they lived.
 * 2) Go to the Court Jurisdictions section below.
 * 3) Click a letter or span of letters for your place. This opens an article showing a table of places and the courts that had jurisdiction over them.
 * 4) Follow the steps at the top of the table to search for a will.

Court Jurisdictions by Parish
Before 1858, every town and parish in Westmorland was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. When looking for a will of an ancestor in this county, search the courts in the order listed. It's best to search an index first. Indexes are mentioned on the individual court pages. To link to the court page, you need to see the jurisdiction tables. Click on one of the following letters to go to a jurisdiction table.

Yorkshire Probate Courts
Exchequer and Prerogative Courts of the Archbishop of York Chancery Court of the Archbishop of York Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Commissary of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Eastern Deaneries - Catterick Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Commissary of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Eastern Deaneries - Boroughbridge Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Commissary of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Western Deaneries - Lonsdale Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Commissary of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Eastern Deaneries - Richmond Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory) Court of the Archdeaconry of Cleveland Court of the Archdeaconry of East Riding Court of the Peculiar of Acomb Court of the Peculiar of Aldbrough Court of the Peculiar of the Bishop of Durham and the Dean and Chapter of Allerton and Allertonshire Court of the Peculiar of Alne and Tollerton Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Altofts in Normanton Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Ampleforth Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Askham Bryan Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Arkengarthdale with New Forest and Hope Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Barmby Moor Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Barnoldswick Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Batley Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Beeford Court of the Peculiar of the Provost of the Collegiate Church of St John, Beverley Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Bilton Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Bugthorpe Court of the Peculiar of Craike Court of the Peculiar of Dunnington Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Fridaythorpe Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Fenton Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Givendale Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Grindal Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Holme Archiepiscopi Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Durham within the Jurisdiction of Howden and Howdenshire Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Hunsingore Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Husthwaite Court of the Peculiar of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in Manors of Crossley, Bingley, Cottingley and Pudsey Court of the Peculiar of the Honour of Knaresborough Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Knaresborough Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Langtoft Court of the Peculiar of the Chancellor of York with the Prebendal Jurisdiction of Laughton en le Morthen Court of the Peculiar of St Leonard's Hospital, York Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Marsden Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Masham Court of the Deanery and Royal Peculiar of the Collegiate Church of Middleham Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Newton-on-Ouse with Beningborough Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of North Newbold Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Osbaldwick Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Riccall Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Salton Court of the Peculiar of Selby Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Silsden Court of the Peculiar of Snaith Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of South Cave Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Stillington Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Strensall Court of the Peculiar of Wadworth Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Warmfield with Heath Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Warthill Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Weighton Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Wetwang Court of the Peculiar of Bishop Wilton Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Wistow Court of the Peculiar of the Archdeaconry of York or the West Riding Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of York Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of York Court of the Peculiar of the Subdean of York Court of the Peculiar of the Succentor Canonicorum of York Court of the Peculiar of the Precentor of York with Prebendal Jurisdiction of Driffield

Appeals Courts
Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher appeals courts:


 * Court of Arches
 * High Court of Delegates
 * Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Estate Duty Records
Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was payable on estates over a certain value. Estate duty abstracts may add considerable information not found elsewhere. Estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to Estate Duty Records.