Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Archdeaconry of Totnes

England Devon  Devonshire Probate Records

For general information about probate records in England, click here

Indexes
Calendar of wills and administrations relating to the counties of Devon and Cornwall proved in the Consistory court of the Bishop of Exeter, 1532-1800, edited by Edward Alexander Fry. The calendars include the Archdeaconry of Totnes. [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=235196&disp=Calendars+of+wills+and+administrations+r%20%20&columns=*,0,0 Calendars of wills and administrations relating to the counties of Devon and Cornwall : proved in the Court of the principal registry of the Bishop of Exeter, 1559-1799. And of Devon only, proved in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Exeter, 1540-1799]. The calendars include the Archdeaconry of Totnes.

Records
Virtually all records for this court were destroyed in 1942, but don't give up until you have searched the manuscript collections and the all other possible courts. These include:


 * Court of the Bishop of Exeter (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Episcopal Principal Registry of Exeter
 * Court of the Bishop's Registrar of Exeter
 * Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Copies of some post-1796 probates may have been deposited in the Estate Duty Registers.

Jurisdiction
This court covered many parishes in the south-west part of the county near Cornwall.