Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory)

A general explanation of probate records in England, is given in the article England Probate Records.

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.

Printed and Published Indexes
Researching British Probates, 1354-1858: A Guide to the Microfilm Collection of The FamilySearch Library

The FamilySearch Library has film copies of the following.


 * Index of wills, etc., in the Probate registery, Durham, and from other sources,
 * Index to Durham wills in the probate registry
 * Index and complete transcriptions of wills and Inventories
 * Personal names in wills proved at Durham
 * Durham Wills
 * Index to Durham wills
 * Index or extracts from the act books of th Consistory Court of wills and administrations of Durham and Northumberland
 * Index or extracts from the act books of th Consistory Court of wills and administrations of Durham and Northumberland

Archive Location
Durham County Record Office County Hall Durham County Durham DH1 5UL England

E-mail: record.​office@​durham.​gov.​uk Telephone: 0191 ​383 ​3253

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

FamilySearch Library Records
The indexes and original records have been digitized and are available online at a FamilySearch centre or a FamilySearch affiliate library near you:

Jurisdiction
This court had jurisdiction over the entire county.