Peculiar Court of Colwich

Location of These Probate Records
Lichfield Record Office (formerly Lichfield Joint Record Office)

The Friary

Lichfield Staffs WS13 6QG

Telephone: U.K. 01543 510720 Overseas (+44) 1543 510720

Historical Background
The Peculiar Court of Colwich held jurisdiction over the parish, as well as the parishes of Fradswell, Great Haywood, and Shugborough. When a search of this courts’ probate records fails to provide the desired probate record, be sure to search the Consistory Court of Lichfield as well as the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The indexes and original records have been digitized and are available at a FamilySearch centre or a FamilySearch affiliate library near you.

Probate Indexes
Surviving wills and admons to the Peculiar Court of Colwich have to some extent been indexed with the following ones:

Online Indexes
Here is an online printed (scanned images) from 1516-1652. This is not a complete listing of all wills for this time period, but, it might be helpful to those searching during this time.

Original Handwritten Indexes
There is an index (manuscript) from 1516 to 1857 covering most if not all wills in Staffordshire including both the Consistory Court of Lichfield and also the smaller or peculiar courts.

Microfilmed Indexes at the FamilySearch Library&lt;br&gt;
The indexes and original records have been digitized and are available at a FamilySearch centre or a FamilySearch affiliate library near you.
 * partial indexes the surnames (by first letter of surname only)

Amazingly, the Lichfield Archives has alphabetically arranged many of the diocesan wills by each letter of each surname as well (see the next section below).

Strategies, Tips, Other?
See the above Indexes or those available through the FamilySearch Library or its many FamilySearch centers worldwide for an index to this court.

To view a list of parishes and their respective probate court jurisdiction, see the "Staffordshire Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions" on the main page for Staffordshire Probate Records.