A GUIDE TO WILLS IN THE LONDON AREA
LOCAL CHURCH OF ENGLAND COURTS
ESSEX
Essex parishes listed by their
PROBATE JURISDICTIONS at Family Search
All Essex church court wills (for the areas of Essex now in Greater London) are held at the
ESSEX RECORD OFFICE except the Consistory Court of London and the Court of the Peculiar of Havering-atte-Bower. Only the church courts with jurisdictions in areas of Essex now part of Greater London since 1965 (the present day boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest) are listed.
Archdeaconry Court of Essex 1400-1858
Commissary Court of London 1400-1858 (Essex and Hertfordshire Division)
Consistory Court of London 1362-1858* some Essex wills were proved in this court.
The London Metropolitan Archives has an online index
THE CONSISTORY COURT OF LONDON WILLS AND ADMINISTRATIONS Court of the Peculiar of Havering-atte-Bower 1753-1839 wills held at
NEW COLLEGE OXFORD archives
A general will index for Essex is available online from Essex Record Office –
SEAX Essex Archives Online This single index consolidates just about all Essex county wills from the various probate court jurisdictions into one database.
Essex Record Office information leaflet
WILLS IN ESSEX A map of Essex
PROBATE JURISDICTIONS at Family Search showing each courts’ jurisdiction over Essex parishes
KENT
Kent parishes listed by their
PROBATE JURISDICTIONS at Family Search
All West Kent church court wills are held at the
CENTRE FOR KENTISH STUDIES except for the Consistory Court of the Bishop of London. Only the church courts with jurisdictions in areas of Kent now part of London from 1889 and Greater London from 1965 (the present day boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham) are listed
Consistory Court of the Bishop of London 1262-1858* the parishes of Charlton, Deptford, Eltham, Greenwich, Lee, Lewisham, Plumstead and Woolwich were transferred from the jurisdiction of the diocese of Rochester in 1846. The London Metropolitan Archives has an online index
THE CONSISTORY COURT OF LONDON WILLS AND ADMINISTRATIONS Archdeaconry Court of Rochester 1635-1837
Consistory Court of Rochester 1440-1858
Deanery Court of Shoreham 1614-1821
Details of the
WEST KENT PROBATE INDEX 1750-1858 and at
FINDMYPAST WEST KENT WILLS AND FAMILIES UP TO 1650 A map of Kent
PROBATE JURISDICTIONS at Family Search showing each courts’ jurisdiction over Kent parishes