Will

[243rose]

Good Afternoon all.

I have the Will of Richard Rance Chelmsford, Essex . Proved in the Court of London. Date: 1810.

It is just a few lines under a column ' under £800 ', and does not look like a regular will.
In an index of Essex wills i note that their is a will for a Richard RANCE (Carrier) 1810 in the Chelmsford record office.... i do not have a copy of this but is probably the same man. 

My first question; were a particular type of will proved in the court of London.

next question; re the column 'under £800'.............. did the value go up/down in stages, ie, under £1000, under £600 etc etc etc.

Also, I thought Carriers were modest folk unlikely to have had the means to leave monet 'under £800.... mind you £1 is under £800 ??

Any replies welcome
cheers, Iain

[Hackstaple]

At that time it would have been the Conistory Court for Canterbury which actually sat in London.
Some explanation of will probates and types of will can be read here:
http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/Infobase/Begin-Wills.htm

[behindthefrogs]

In 1810 Chelmsford was in the Commissary of Herts and Essex.  This Commissary rather than being in the Archdeaconary of Essex or the Archdeaconary of Colchester which covered much of Essex, belonged to the Bishop of London.  This means that any Chelmford wills would have been proved at London. 

Wills would normally be proved at diocese level and only be proved at the province level at the Prerogatory Court of Canterbury (at Lambeth in London) if he had owned property outside Chelmsford.  The will is likely to have been deposited at Chelmsford record office as this mess of where parishes belonged was sorted out in the 1850s.  However it might have finished up at the LMA.

David