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Topic: A GUIDE TO WILLS IN THE LONDON AREA (Read 142 times)
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Valda
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 9726
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A GUIDE TO WILLS IN THE LONDON AREA
PART 1
Most of our ancestors did not leave wills, but where they did they can be very useful and informative documents to family historians. Other than lunatics, convicted traitors and felons, wills could be made by anyone to deal with both their personal property and their real estate after their deaths. From 1837 onwards a person had to be of full age (21 until 1970, when it was reduced to 18) to make a will. Before 1837 wills could be made by boys from the age of 14 onwards and girls from the age of 12, but it would be extremely rare for a minor to make a will. Wives could not make a will without the permission of their husband’s, until the Married Women's Property Act in 1882. Women in general were far less likely to make wills than men.
THE PROCESS
The Person making and leaving a will is known as the testator (testatrix if female).
A will was normally signed (or a mark made) by the testator and witnessed by two people, who after 1752 were not allowed to be beneficiaries. A codicil/s was written at a later date and was an additional document, found at the end of the will, which modified the terms of the original document. It needed to be signed and witnessed. A Nuncupative will or ‘deathbed will’ (Sentence of……) was an orally declared will in front of two witnesses and was legal up to 1837.
The testator needed to name executor/executrix in the will to administer and distribute their estate after death. These executor(s) had to apply to a court to have the validity of the will verified. This process was known as proving the will. The court then issued a document called a ‘grant of probate’. Not all wills that were written were necessarily proved by executors, and not all wills that were proved were done so immediately after death. It is possible that events that happened subsequently would cause the will to be proved at a much later date. Admon with will attached is usually such a will. Letters of Administration (Admon) were granted by the court to next of kin when no will was made or could be found, or because the executors were unable to prove the will. When a person did not leave a will they were deemed to have died intestate, not a problem for most of our ancestors who did not own property or have savings in a bank, in this case what little was left was divided between the surviving partner and children. Letters of Administration include the name, address/abode and sometimes occupation of the administrator appointed; usually their relationship to the deceased, if they have one; the name of the deceased, their abode and sometimes their occupation; the date of the admon and post 1858 the date of death.
Until 1782 it was necessary for the executor or administrator of the estate to make a list or ‘Inventory’ of the personalty (moveable property) of the deceased. Not all inventories have survived.
1858 ONWARDS
Wills and administrations proved from 12th January 1858 to the present day are held only by the COURT OF PROBATE (previously known as the Principal Probate Registry). This civil court replaced the Church of England courts which had previously proved all wills.
There are national indexes of wills proved and administrations granted for each year from 1858, known as the Index of Grants. The indexes, particularly the earlier indexes can provide a great deal of useful information such as names of testators in alphabetical order, dates of death, addresses, occupations and names of executors. From 1858 to 1870, there are separate lists of wills and letters of administration for each year. From 1871 wills and letters of administration are listed in one alphabetical sequence.
They can be found at
Probate Search Room
First Avenue House in London
42-49 High Holborn
London WC1V 6NP
Where you can view and order copies of the wills and administrations.
The indexes can be found on microfiche at other large libraries and archives around the country and in libraries. This is a list of known places that hold the microfiched index (with dates of coverage) from the GENUKI website: http://tinyurl.com/lttcpn
You can order copies of wills and administrations by post from
The Postal Service and Copies Department
York Probate Sub-Registry
First Floor
Castle Chambers
Clifford Street
York YO1 7EA
Telephone: 01904 666777 / 666780
Further information about requesting a search of the indexes and obtaining a copy of a will or administration can be found on HER MAJESTY’S COURT SERVICE website: http://tinyurl.com/m8gbzw
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES has produced a useful research guide ‘Wills and Death Duty Records, after 1858’: http://tinyurl.com/kp9d9v
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Valda
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 9726
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A GUIDE TO WILLS IN THE LONDON AREA
PART 2
PRE1858
Before 1858 the system of granting probate was through Church of England courts (ecclesiastical courts) of which there were at least 300 throughout the whole of England and Wales. All records offices have indexed the court wills and admons they hold and many have begun to place these indexes online.
The value of the property and goods left by the deceased, and where they lived, usually determined which church court proved the will. The church courts were arranged around the way the Church of England organised its administration.
The smallest church unit was a parish with a vicar, rector or curate. A deanery consisted of a number of parishes usually less than 12 headed by a dean. An Archdeaconry consisted of a number of deaneries in the charge of an archdeacon. If the property bequeathed in the will was all found within the jurisdiction of one archdeaconry the will is likely to have been proved within the Archdeacon’s court.
A diocese consists of several archdeaconries with the authority of a bishop. A will with property spread over several archdeaconries within one diocese would usually prove in this court, in London and Middlesex there were two – the Commissary, and for more extensive estates the Consistory court.
A peculiar was an area that by ancient custom was exempt from both the archdeacon’s and the bishop’s authority. A peculiar could be just one parish, a group of adjacent parishes or even parishes that were not adjacent. Important churches and cathedrals within dioceses were peculiars claiming immunity from the bishop’s jurisdiction.
A province was a large area made up of several dioceses with the authority given to an archbishop. Until 1920 there were only two archbishops, the archbishop of York and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The senior of the two was the Archbishop of Canterbury. If the property bequeathed in the will was contained in more than one diocese within a province the will would need to be proved in the Archbishop’s court, the Prerogative court. If the property bequeathed was across both provinces including outside of England, the will would need to be proved in the senior of the two courts the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Executors could choose to use a higher church court if they so wished. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Prerogative court, despite its name, was situated in London and so people in the London area found it just as convenient to prove wills in this court as in the lower church courts. Non-conformists and Jews usually proved their wills in Prerogative courts having as little to do with the local Church of England administration as possible and those of a perceived higher standing preferred to use the higher courts. This meant by late 18th and early 19th centuries lower church courts in the London area had ceased to function, or proved very few wills.
There is no one will index to wills in the London area but there are will indexes which are mostly online or are accessible through the internet.
PREROGATIVE COURT OF CANTERBURY WILLS AND ADMINISTRATIONS 1383-1858
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES holds the Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills and administrations. There is an online index to wills ‘DOCUMENTSONLINE’ but not for the administrations: http://tinyurl.com/ludng4
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES has produced useful research guides to ‘Wills before 1858: Where to start’: http://tinyurl.com/mwzhvj
and ‘Probate Records’ which details the other records held by TNA such as those for disputed wills: http://tinyurl.com/l33ejy
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Valda
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 9726
|
A GUIDE TO WILLS IN THE LONDON AREA
PART 4
DEATH DUTY REGISTERS
From 1796 onwards estate duty (death duties) were payable on many estates over a certain value. Before 1805, the registers cover only about a quarter of all estates but by 1857 only estates under £20 were exempt. Taxes were not always collected on smaller estates so not all the details in the register entries were always filled in. The National Archives holds the Death Duty Registers 1796-1903 There is an online index between 1796-1811 in DocumentsOnline for all English wills, except those proved in the PCC. Death Duty Registers can be viewed at TNA on microfilm 1796-1861. Many of the registers for the 1890s were destroyed by fire.
The information that the registers contain can be very useful.
‘They show what happened to someone's personal estate (not freehold) after death; and what it was actually worth, excluding debts and expenses. They can give the name of the deceased, with address and last occupation; the date of the will; the place and date of probate; the names, addresses and occupations of the executors; and details of estates, legacies, trustees, legatees, annuities and the duty paid. They can also give the date of death, and information about the people who received bequests (beneficiaries), or who were the next-of-kin, such as exact relationship to the deceased. Tax was not payable on bequests to people within a closely defined family circle, and as a result the family relationship was often noted in the registers. In 1796, tax was not payable on bequests to offspring, spouse, parents and grandparents. In 1805, the exemption was restricted to spouse and parents. From 1815, only bequests to the spouse were exempt from paying tax. Because the registers could be annotated for many years after the first entry, they can include information such as dates of death of spouse; dates of death or marriage of beneficiaries; births of posthumous children and grandchildren; change of address; references to law suits, cross references to other entries, etc.’
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES have two research guides on Death Duty Registers
Death Duty Records from 1796: http://tinyurl.com/nppy2v
Death Duty Registers, How to Interpret: http://tinyurl.com/lj2vdl
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