Can't find a Kent will ? Check in new online Deanery of Shoreham indexes

[melba_schmelba]

It just dawned on me, having relied on the findmypast Kent will indexes, and the Canterbury Cathedral Archive indexes (note the latter has many records not in the former, and the former some Canterbury records not in the latter).....
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/kent-wills-and-probate-indexes-1328-1890
https://wills.canterbury-cathedral.org/

....that there is another place where a significant number of Kent wills and administrations (not at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury) can be found - the Deanery of Shoreham, which I have known about for a long time, but have only just found out are NOT included in either of the above online will indexes. Indeed, Kent Archives state that they are not covered in any online will indexes, and can only be consulted in index books at Kent Archives or at Lambeth Palace Library
https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/New-to-probate-records-v3.pdf

I am not sure if this is new, but many, if not all of these indexes now seem to have been uploaded to the National Archives by Lambeth Palace Library. The following 34 Kent parishes are covered up to 1846 (when they were transferred to the Diocese of Rochester):

Bexley, Brasted, Chevening, Chiddingstone, Crayford, Darenth, Downe, East Farleigh, East Malling, East Peckham, Eynsford, Farningham, Gillingham with Lidsing, Grain, Halstead, Hayes, Hever, Hunton, Ifield, Ightham, Keston, Knockholt, Meopham, Northfleet, Orpington, Otford, Penshurst, Plaxtol, St Mary Cray, Sevenoaks, Shoreham, Stansted, Sundridge, Wrotham.

This is a description of the Peculiars
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/2ac41298-9bac-46b4-a28c-febafbac9046

Search for a will or other document by using advanced search, put VH in the first 'Search for or within references - Any of these references' and put a name, surname, placename, or all three in the 'Find Words' box(es) at the top .
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search

[melba_schmelba]

Note, if just searching for a name or surname, you will bring up results for all the other places in all the other peculiars which Lambeth holds records for, including ones in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Surrey, Essex, Suffolk and London (full list below, note not all the Sussex places are in West Sussex as the description states). You could include the County to narrow it down, but note the City of London parishes just seem to have the church name, not London in the description.

https://archives.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=V%2FH

[bearkat]

It's also worth looking at

http://www.vulpeculox.net/history/

which lists 19,000 North-West Kent wills (some with transcriptions) including the Deanery of Shoreham pre 1650.

[melba_schmelba]

It's also worth looking at

http://www.vulpeculox.net/history/

which lists 19,000 North-West Kent wills (some with transcriptions) including the Deanery of Shoreham pre 1650.

Thanks Bearkat, also a very useful site for the older wills . Just a couple extra tips on searching, some of the placenames are sometimes, but I think, rarely as far as I have seen, spelt in an older non standard way i.e.

East Farleigh - East Farley

Halstead - Halsted

Plaxtol - Plaxtoll

Knockholt - Nockholt

Stansted - Stanstead

So use of a * wildcard might help to catch all possible variants i.e. St*n*st*d*.

As well as wills it also brings up administration warrants & bonds, inventories, even excommunications!! If you wanted to exclude anything unrelated to  wills or administrations you could include the word testamentary in your search.