Bedfordshire Probate Records

England Bedfordshire

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

Getting Started
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The Post-1857 Probate Records section below contains links to additional information about the records of this court.

To look for a probate record before 1858:


 * 1) Discover when and where your ancestor died. If you don’t know, use the approximate date and place where they lived.
 * 2) Go to Court Jurisdictions section below.
 * 3) Click a letter or span of letters for your place name. This opens a jurisdictions table.
 * 4) Follow the instructions on the jurisdictions table page.

Bedfordshire Probate Courts
Most of Bedfordshire was under the pre-1858 probate jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford. The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts, which were the Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) before 1837, and the Court of the Bishop of Ely (Episcopal Consistory) starting in 1837. The courts should be searched in that order. The Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury (and the appeals courts if necessary) should be searched last.

However, the following courts also had some pre-1858 jurisdiction within the county. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.


 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln
 * Court of the Peculiar of Aylesbury
 * Court of the Peculiar of Biggleswade
 * Court of the Peculiar of Leighton Buzzard

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, people who lived or owned property outside of Britain, 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

The Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury also served as an appeals court.

Majority of the County
Before 1858, every town and parish in Bedfordshire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. The court that had primary jurisdiction over most of Bedfordshire, with just a few exceptions, was the Court of the Archdeacon of Bedford.

Exceptions
For a list of the Bedfordshire parishes that were exceptions to this, and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them, click here.

Probate Indexes Online
Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384 - 1858)

Probate Indexes
Index of Bedfordshire probate records, 1484-1858 This includes indexes for the Court of the Archdeacon of Bedford, the Peculiar Court of Biggleswade and the Peculiar Court of Leighton Buzzard Archdeaconry of Bedfordshire. Court FHL films 88007-88009 English wills, 1498-1526 which are transcribed and many from the Archdeacon of Bedford Bedfordshire wills, 1480-1519  The peculiar court of Leighton Buzzard : persons named in wills proved 1701-1846  Index of Bedfordshire probate records, 1484-1858 The peculiar court of Leighton Buzzard  Wills and administrations, 1624-1858 See FHL fims 95109 and 95100  Prebendal Court (Leighton-Buzzard) Probate records, 1537-1842 Index 1736-1846  Index of Bedfordshire probate records, 1484-1858 The peculiar court of Biggleswade Index to records of Lincoln Peculiar Courts with Peculiar of Biggleswade  Probate records for the Commissary Court of Lincoln for the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon, 1559-1857, 1559-1857 The Act books contain some Admon Grants from the Peculiar Court of Biggleswade  Some transcripts of Bedfordshire Wills at Lambeth and Lincoln 1387-1570 v. 14  Bedfordshire wills 1601-1652 at probate registry Lincoln, England, all name index  Everton and Swineshead parishes have some references in the following court record Probate records for the Commissary Court of Lincoln for the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon, 1559-1857, 1559-1857

Estate Duty Records
Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was payable on estates over a certain value. Estate duty abstracts may add considerable information not found elsewhere. Between 1796-1858 estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to Estate Duty Records.

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 1858-1925 are available in microfilm at the Family History Library.