Berkshire Probate Jurisdictions

England  Berkshire Berkshire Probate Records

 

Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books.

Most of the places in Berkshire were under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire.  Here is a list of parishes that were exceptions, and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdictions over them.

1. Find the place where your ancestor lived in the first column.
2. Click on the court name in the second column to learn where to find the records and indexes.
3. Click on each name of the court in the third column if the record isn't found in the first court.
4. Search last the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

 

If no will is found, your ancestor may not have left one.

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Almondsbury [Gloucestershire]	Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Arborfield	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aston Upthorpe	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Barrington, Great	Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Blewbury	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Chilton Foliat	Court of the Archdeaconry of Wiltshire	Court of the Archdeaconry of Wiltshire 2 - Court of the Bishop of Salisbury (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Coxwell, Little	Court of the Peculiar of Faringdon	2 - Pre-1837: Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury 2/3 - Post-1836: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Culham	Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Faringdon or Great Faringdon	Court of the Peculiar of Faringdon	2 - Pre-1837: Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Hurst	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ilsley, West	Pre-1846 - Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Canons of Windsor in Wantage ; Post-1845 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire	Pre-1846 -  2 - Pre-1837: Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury ; 2/3 - Post-1836: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1845: 2 - Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Langford	Court of the Peculiar of Langford Court of the Peculiar of Banbury	Court of the Peculiar of Langford: 2 - Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln 3 - Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) Court of the Peculiar of Banbury:
Ruscombe	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Sandhurst	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Sonning	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Upton	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Wantage	Pre-1846 - Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Canons of Windsor in Wantage ; Post-1845 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire	Pre-1846:  2 - Pre-1837: Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury 2/3 - Post-1836: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1845: 2 - Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitchurch	Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Windsor Castle	Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire ; Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Windsor	2 - Pre-1836: Court of the Bishop of Salisbury (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - Post-1835: Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury