Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury
This court was also known as the Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Sarum.
Description[edit | edit source]
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. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. This article explains about probates and how to get started to search for a will.
Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry.
Step by Step[edit | edit source]
1. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.
2. Proceed to the "Records" (below) to determine what probate records exist for this court. Also see "Family History Library Records."
3. Contact or visit the Wiltshire Record Office or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send a list of record searchers upon request.
4. Visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records; then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any centers near you.
Indexes[edit | edit source]
Online Indexes[edit | edit source]
Here are two online indexes:
- The Wiltshire County Record Office's online Will Index 1540-1858 <br>
- Genuki provides a gateway to these 1000 abstract WillsIndexes are included with the original and mircofilmed records as listed above.
Indexes at The Family History Library[edit | edit source]
The following index is also available at the Wiltshire Record Office, and the Family History Library:
- Index Wills at Salisbury 1464-1858
- Index to the probate records for the parishes of Mere and Swallowcliffe in Wiltshire, England, 1692-1858 (from the records of the Peculiar Court of the Dean of Sarum)
- Index Wills at Salisbury 1464-1858
The Records[edit | edit source]
Archive Location[edit | edit source]
Wiltshire and Swindon Archives
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre
Cocklebury Road
Chippenham
Wiltshire SN15 3QN
ENGLAND
Email: archives@wiltshire.gov.uk
Tel: 44 (0)1249 705500
Fax: 44 (0)1249 705527
The original records are deposited at the Wiltshire Record Office in Trowbridge, England. They include:
Archive Records[edit | edit source]
Add information about the manuscript, printed and digital records in this location.
- Register copy wills, etc., 1538-1649, 1706-1730, 1770-1806
- Wills, administrations, and inventories, 1558-1857
Family History Library Records[edit | edit source]
Records have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and through family history centers. They include:
- Wills, original and registered of the peculiar court of the Dean and parish of Sarum, Wiltshire, 1560-1857
- Probate records, 1607-1694
- Wills, 1583-1806
- Miscellaneous wills of Wiltshire, 1540-1809
Jurisdiction[edit | edit source]
This court had jurisdiction in the following places in Wiltshire:
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It also had secondary jurisdiction over the parishes of Monkton Wyld and Sarum.
This court also had jurisdiction over the following places in Berkshire:
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This court also had jurisdiction over the following places in Dorset:
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In addition, during triennail inhibition, it had jurisdiction over the parishes otherwise in the jurisdiction of the Dean and Canons of Windsor, the Lord Warden of Savernake Forest and the Prebendal Peculiars in Wiltshire, and Faringdon in Berkshire. It's jurisdiction was uninhibited.
