Durham Probate Records

Return to Durham.

For an explanation of probate records in England, click here.

Durham Probate Courts
The following probate courts had some jurisdiction over County Durham before 1858:


 * Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Exchequer and Prerogative Courts of the Archbishop of York
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of York
 * Chancery Court of the Archbishop of York

In addition, the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction over the whole of England. Wealthier individuals, people who owned property in more than one county or lower court's jurisdiction, and Naval personnel often had their estates proven through the Archbishop's court.

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

Court Jurisdictions
The whole of the county of Durham was under the primary jurisdiction of the Court of the Bishop of Durham also known as the Episcopal Consistory Court of Durham (see above). This court should be searched first when looking for the probate of a deceased person who lived or owned property in County Durham.

The other courts listed above had secondary jurisdiction over County Durham. If you do not find a probate listed in the indexes to the Court of the Bishop of Durham, then you should try the secondary courts.

The last courts to search would be the appeals courts (see the main England Probate Records page for an explanation of the appeals courts).

Post-1857 Probate Records
Beginning in 1858, the government took over the settlement of estates and all wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system. The system consists of 11 district registry offices and 18 sub-district registries, located throughout England and Wales, and the principal registry office located in London. The records are available through the office of Her Majesty's Courts Service. To learn more, go to the HMCS website.

A country-wide surname index to the records is available, so it is much easier to look for post-1857 wills. The indexes for 1858-1957 and the records for the Principal Registry and the District Registries for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.