In England in the Middle Ages the Will and the Testament were completely different documents. The Will concerned real estate, such as land and buildings, and as real estate was technically regarded as the property of the Crown, its disposal was therefore normally bound by the customs of the manor or realm. In the majority of the cases primogeniture (eldest surviving male) determined the disposal of real estate.
The Testament, on the other hand, concerned personal estate, movables such as furniture, clothes, crops, chattels, and debts, etc. Personal estate was regarded as a gift of God, and thus bequeathable by the testator. However, personalty also included such immovables as leaseholds and copyholds, regarded as "chattels real" or "chattel estates", which were granted - and not inherited - for a term of years or lives.
In time, the Will and the Testament became combined in English law as the Last Will and Testament, incorporating real and personal estates together. In the case of intestacy the personal estate went to the widow and children, and in the absence of such, to the next of kin of the deceased.
Before 1858 most wills, where the deceased had goods worth over £5, were proved in an archdeacon's court. If the testator or testatrix had estate in more than one archdeaconry jurisdiction, then probate reverted to the diocesan bishop, either through his Consistory Court, which covered the whole diocese, or his Commissary Court, which had jurisdiction in such matters over a specified area of the diocese. If an estate extended over more than one diocese then probate would be given in one of the provincial courts - Canterbury or York. Where an estate was in two provinces or where the death had occurred at sea or abroad, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) had seniority, as it was the highest probate court in the land.
Parishes or groups of parishes called Peculiars, which were exempt from diocesan authority, also had jursidiction over the wills falling within their own areas. In northern Hampshire such Peculiars comprised Baughurst, Tadley, Hannington, North Waltham, Overton, Hurstbourne Priors, Burghclere, Highclere and East Woodhay.
In 1858 Central Government took over the responsibility of probate from the Church, and probate district offices were established in the major towns and cities throughout England and Wales. Since 1858 all copies of Wills, and Letters of Administration in cases of intestacy, in England and Wales have been lodged centrally, and are now with the Principal Registry of the Family Division, Probate Department.
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The author has numerous copies of historical wills and administrations and other probate records in his possession. Furthermore, he holds abstracts or summaries of multitudes of other wills, etc., amounting to several hundreds, if not thousands, of such records.
If any visitor may be interested in such records, they can be found listed by surname under the relevant initial at the top-right of this page. If you require an abstract of a particular will or other probate record, click on to "Contact Us", and send a message.
