Huntingdonshire:
Before 1858 wills were proved at local ecclesiastical courts. For the vast majority of people living in Huntingdonshire this would have meant the Archdeaconry Court of Huntingdon (or the 'Commissary Court of the Bishop of Lincoln and of the Archdeacon in the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon', to give it its proper title). Those individuals with some property outside the Archdeaconry's jurisdiction would have had their wills proved at either the Consistory Court of Lincoln (from 1837 the Consistory Court of Ely) or, above that, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, although few Huntingdonshire wills made it up that far. Brampton parishioners had their wills proved at Brampton Peculiar Court, Buckden parishioners at Buckden Peculiar Court, Leighton Bromswold parishioners at Leighton Bromswold Prebendal Court, and people living in Barham, Little Catworth, Easton, Spaldwick and Stow Longa at Stow Longa Prebendal Court. Washingley parish was within the jurisdiction of the Consistory Court of Peterborough.
Original records of the Archdeaconry Court of Huntingdon, the Peculiar Courts and the Prebendal Courts mentioned above are all held at Huntingdonshire Archives. Surviving records include some of the original wills themselves, the will registers (which contain copies of the wills), inventories and administrations. Some records are only available for consultation on microfilm. There have been various different lists and indexes compiled over the years, which are all available in the searchroom.
Cambridgeshire
Before 1858 wills were proved at local ecclesiastical courts. For people living in Cambridgeshire this would usually have meant one of three courts:
The Consistory Court of Ely (the Isle of Ely and most of the central part of old Cambridgeshire)
The Archdeaconry Court of Ely (much of west Cambridgeshire)
The Archdeaconry Court of Sudbury (Newmarket area)
Exceptions to this would be people with complex land holdings who may have used the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, or members and privileged servants of the University of Cambridge (the Vice-Chancellor’s Court), or those in a church ‘Peculiar’ such as Thorney, Isleham or Ely College.
Cambridgeshire Archives can provide access to indexes for all of the above. The P.C.C. wills are more easily accessed through the National Archives' website.
Original records of the Archdeaconry Court of Ely, the Peculiars of Thorney and Ely College, and the Consistory Court of Ely mentioned above are all held at Cambridgeshire Archives. Surviving records include many of the original wills themselves, the will registers (which contain copies of the wills), inventories and administrations.
Most records are available for consultation on microfilm, and in order to avoid further wear and tear on these very precious documents, researchers are asked to use microfilm whenever possible.
Microfilm and an index of wills proved (granted probate) at the Vice-Chancellor’s Court are available in the searchroom.
Indexes to Archdeaconry of Sudbury wills are available in the searchroom, but the actual wills are held by Suffolk Record Office at Bury St Edmunds. Records of the Peculiar of Isleham are complex: searchroom staff can advise researchers.
‘Genealogical Sources in Cambridgeshire’ (1994, but currently out of print) offers a full explanation of the complexities of the minor courts, and can be consulted in the searchroom.
After 1858 responsibility for probate was passed to the civil authorities. Indexes to wills (or more correctly Calendars of Grants) at the Principal Probate Registry (national probate) are available in the searchroom, 1858-1966, and give an outline of key facts such as date and place of death and name of executor.
Wills are popular sources for family and community history, so there is a great deal of literature on how to use and interpret them. Eve McLaughlin's Wills before 1858 (1995) is perhaps the most concise introduction for newcomers to wills. Anne Tarver's Church Court Records (1995) places probate business within the context of the overall operation of the ecclesiastical courts. The introduction to J.S.W.Gibson's Probate Jurisdictions (1997) includes a glossary of terms commonly found in wills.
Finding your way around probate records can often be difficult, but the archives staff are always available to help.