Hi Trees
To see wills at Lichfield you need to know when your ancestor died, and then check in the Calender for that year (and sometimes the following year, as wills weren't always proved straight away). The calendar books are on the open shelves. The staff there, as Crystal said, are very friendly and will show you how to use them. The entries give the testator's name, place of abode and date of probate. When you have found your person's entry you have to fill in a request slip and hand it in for the will to be fetched from the vaults for you. It is such a thrill to be able to hold your ancestor's will in your hand, and see where he signed his name, or made his mark! I think you can order three or four at a time, which means that you aren't hanging around waiting for too long.
You will also be able to fill in a form to receive a photocopy of any wills that you wish to have copies of.
If you don't have too much time, you could just go through the calenders, make a list of your ancestors whose wills you would like a copy of, and then have them photocopied and sent to you, without actually waiting and seeing them.
Some towns and villages have been indexed by local people, and they have given a copy of their list to the RO, and these are also kept on the open shelves. It may be worth asking the staff to show you these too. For example, someone has copied all the Cannock wills, so if you had a surname there, you would find them all listed together, without needing to know the year of probate.
For anyone who can't get there, the wills have been indexed by Birmingham and Midland SGH, and they will search for a name in a parish for a small fee.
http://www.bmsgh.org/search/sea.htmlAlthough you have booked a reader, you may need to ring them again & tell them you need a seat to look at wills, though it shouldn't be too busy!
hope you have a productive visit!
Judy
