Does anyone know if the same facilities still exist (and are being updated) in any of the Probate Registry offices? or is the only option now to search the website and fork out £10 to get that detail?
You were never able to see the actual Will at the Probate Office, you always had to order that and pay. What you see on the website now is the page from the index book, the same as you saw at the Holborn Register Office referred to in this thread. From that you can order a copy of the Will, and pay appropriately!
I know I can't see the will at the Probate Office, but as recent as 2014 I 'was' able to use the pcs in the reception area of Newcastle Probate Registry, (which were there for exactly that purpose for use by the public).
I have also used (in about 2012) the same facility in the Probate Office in Liverpool. That is the extent of my experience, no idea if other Probate Offices supplied the same facility.
I searched for the name and year of 2012 and the screen showed me the following detail:
Probate Number
Surname of Deceased
Forename of Deceased
Date of Death
Probate Office Name
Date of Issue of Grant
Address of Deceased
Groos Estate Value
Net Estate Value
Type (Probate or Admin)
Extracted by
Grantees: Full name and address of Executor who applied for Probate
Which is the sort of detail we get in the old printed volumes. I took (with permission) a photo of the screen. Cost to me was about 5 mins of my time, though I should add in travelling time to get there
:-)
Its 'that' facility I was asking about. The current online index for the same entry only shows Name, date of Probate, Probate Number, date of death, Document Type and Registry. Which prompted my original query.
The extra info is extremely helpful if I don't know exactly where and when someone with a fairly common name died, and the Registry used for Probate could have been hundreds of miles away from where the deceased person had been living and died. The name of the executor can also help to confirm its the right record.
To see the info detail that used to be available on site at the Probate Office would cost £10 and if I am going to spend out a tenner I would like to be as sure as I can be that I am going to get the right record.
Boo