Wills and Probate

Wills, or grants of administration for those who died without a will, can tell you a lot about someone and their relatives.

Until 1858, it was the Church that dealt with wills and probate, as soul and property were joined together.  The BRO has the records of two church courts that granted probate: the Archdeacon of Berkshire, and the Peculiar of Faringdon.  The Archdeacon oversaw wills of people with property in Berkshire, unless they owned land elsewhere or lived in one of the 'peculiars', places where court jurisdiction had been granted to another Church official.

Indexes to the entire Archdeacon's collection, 1480-1857, is available at the BRO, and a new, complete index should be published in 2012.  The index to probates granted by the Faringdon Peculiar Court is available below.