Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk

England Norfolk  Norfolk Probate Records

Starting Your Search in Indexes
1. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.

2. Proceed to the "Probate Records of This Court" (below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court.

3. Contact or visit The Guildhall Library, or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.

4. Visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes (see the Family History Library's cataloged entries providing the microfilms so you can have them circulated to the center near you for searching the wills). The information obtained from the index[es] will help you more quickly search the wills and admons which can also be circulated on microfilm via any family history.

Indexes
The Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk probate records have to some extent been indexed with the following ones:

Online indexes
A general will index (partial) for this probate court covering much of the county is available online for the years 1800-1857. More years are bring added so re-visit their website regularly.

Also, Ancestry.co.uk has indexed some probate records abstracts as well.

Printed and Published Indexes
The Norfolk Record Office has indexed a considerable number of the wills from this court jurisdiction and these are available in the following publications:


 * Index of wills proved in the Norfolk Archdeaconry Court, compiled by Patrick Palgrave-Moore in FHL book call #942.61 B4m vols. 3,5 and 10; also on FHL microfilm or, also on microfiche. These are probate indexes for the Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk 1453-1603/4.
 * Index to Norfolk Wills 1838-1858 is also available.

Original Handwritten Indexes
Calendars to this Probate court exist covering acts of Wills and Administrations (Admons) exist from 1460-1857. Calendars are a kind of index (of the first letter of each surname) to the probate records and admons (administrations).

In addition to the calendars, a majority of the original (unregistered) wills and the registered wills are alphabetically arranged at Norfolk Record Office and are likewise organized on the microfilmed probates for this court at the Family History Library. Visit The Norfolk Record Office or the Family History Library Catalog under Norfolk, England to determine availability of records.

Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
Indexes of Wills and Admons (Administrations) are available on microfilm at the Family History Library covering the years 1460-1857 and may be circulated to each of its satellite Family History Centers (see Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk), or go to the Family History Library Catalog.

Records
The original records are deposited at:

Norfolk Record Office The Archive Centre Martineau Lane Norwich, NR1 2DQ UK Telephone: 01603 222599 Fax: 01603 761885 E-mail: [mailto:norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk]

These include:


 * Original wills, 1539, 1550-1579, 1585-1652, 1660-1857 (with some minor gaps)
 * Register copy wills, 1453, 1459-1614, 1625-1636, 1660-1699, 1705-1858 (with some minor gaps)
 * Administrations, 1672-1857
 * Admon Act Books, 1541-1618, 1820-1857
 * Inventories, 1728-1774

Many of the records have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library and through family history centers. These include:


 * Wills and administrations, 1459-1857
 * Probate records, 1670-1774 (admon act books, 1670-1675; inventories,1728-1774)

Jurisdiction
This court had jurisdiction over 398 parishes in the in the following Norfolk deaneries:

It also had jurisdiction over the parts of the parishes of Outwell, Upwell, and Welney in the county of Cambridge.