Essex

The Essex records includes three volumes from the British Record Society:

  • Wills at Chelmsford (Essex and East Hertfordshire) Vol. I 1400-1619 (BRS vol. 78)
  • Wills at Chelmsford Vol. II 1620-1720 (BRS vol. 79)
  • Wills at Chelmsford Vol. III 1721-1858 (BRS vol. 84)

Below we have include descriptions of each volume and details for where you can access the original records.

Wills at Chelmsford (Essex and East Hertfordshire) Vol. I 1400-1619 & Vol II 1620-1720

British Record Society Volume 78 & 79

Published 1958 & 1961

Read the original introduction to BRS Volume 78 & 79.

Locating the original documents

Where are the originals held?

The original wills are held at the Essex Record Office Centre. Copies of the original wills can be downloaded online (for a fee) via the Seax computerized catalogue of the Essex Record Office.

What information from the document do I need to locate the original?

  • Testator's name
  • Status / Occupation
  • Residence
  • Year of will or admon
  • Folio
  • References (includes court)

Note - wills proved between 1649 and 1660 will be found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) since during the civil war the church courts were abolished and a single centralised probate system was established. Between this time all wills were proved and all grants of administration made, at one central Court of Probate in London. This was really just the PCC under a different name and thus wills etc proved during this period will be found indexed within the PCC. See PCC volumes BRS 54, BRS 61, and Matthews 1-9 for this period.

About the index

These two volumes bring together in the form of a single index all the extant wills prior to 1720 for:

  • Court of the Archdeacon of Essex, from 1400 covered 140 parishes in SW, S and SE Essex
  • Court of the Archdeacon of Colchester, from 1500 covered 107 parishes in NE and NW Essex
  • Court of the Archdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction), from 1554 covered 39 parishes in W and N Essex and 25 parishes in E Herts Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction), from 1483 extended in theory to 101 parishes in all parts of Essex and to six parishes in E Herts, but is practice the court was used for probate of wills in almost every Essex parish, not excepting the Peculiars.
  • Courts of the Peculiars of Writtle with Roxwell (New College, Oxford), from 1607, and of Good Easter, from 1613, which coincided with those parishes.

The place indexes include a number of entries outside of or the county of Essex, including some places overseas. Please note that his index does not include administrations.

What does the index include?

  • All names and places appearing in the will plus incidental information such as occupation where found in the original documents are included in the index.
  • Testator's name
  • Residence
  • Occupation
  • Year of will or admon
  • Document jurisdiction reference
  • Folio

    • Reference letters and figures in the composite Index

    The following letters identify the wills according to the court in which they were proved:

    • B: Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Herts).
    • C: Court of the Archdeacon of Colchester.
    • E: Court of the Archdeacon of Essex
    • GE: Peculiar Jurisdiction of Good Easter
    • M: Court of the Aichdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Herts ).
    • W: Peculiar Jurisdiction of Writtle with Roxwell.
    • The reference 'R' denotes a registered will, and 'W' the original will or a copy dating is in the 'New Style' (i.e. no double dating is given for 1st January to 24th March). In certain cases where reference is made in this volume to the registered copy of a will, the date of probate is given in spite of this date not appearing in the register. In such cases it has been taken either from the original will or from the relevant act book, both of which can be examined on application.
    • An asterisk (*) placed against the date signifies that no date of probate is noted in either place, and the date is therefore that of the making of the will.
    • When the reference notes 'Admon', 'Inventory', etc, no will exists unless specifically mentioned. 'Will and testament' (or 'codicil') is sometimes noted in the reference to inform the searcher that in the case of registered copies the second part is completely separate and appears on the following page. The fate of the wills prior to those indexed will probably never be known, but an original Calendar in MS of the Commissary wills (D/ABX 2) for 1441-1619 exists and contains entries of wills and registers no longer in existence.
    • Only names and years of probate are given but no particulars of parishes. These wills are not in the volume. All the parishes named are in Essex unless otherwise stated. Where no place of abode or of burial is given, mention may be made of property in one or more parishes, or of bequests to the poor in certain places. The inclusion of parish names revealed in this way is indicated by round brackets.
    • All entries in square brackets refer to information taken from the Probate Act Books

    Wills at Chelmsford (Essex and East Hertfordshire) Vol. III 1721-1858

    British Record Society Volume 84

    Published 1998

    Read the BRS Volume 84 Original Introduction.

    Locating the original documents

    The original wills are held at the Essex Record Office Centre. Copies of the original wills can be downloaded online (for a fee) via the Seax computerized catalogue of the Essex Record Office.

    What information from the document do I need to locate the original?

    • Testator's name
    • Status / Occupation
    • Residence
    • Year of will or admon
    • Folio
    • References (includes court)

    Note - wills proved between 1649 and 1660 will be found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) since during the civil war the church courts were abolished and a single centralised probate system was established. Between this time all wills were proved and all grants of administration made, at one central Court of Probate in London. This was really just the PCC under a different name and thus wills etc proved during this period will be found indexed within the PCC. See PCC volumes BRS 54, BRS 61, and Matthews 1-9 for this period.

    About the index

    This is a composite index of testators whose wills were proved 1721–1858 in one of the following probate courts:

    • Court of the Archdeacon of Essex covered 140 parishes in SW, S and SE Essex
    • Court of the Archdeacon of Colchester covered 107 parishes in NE Mid NW Essex.
    • Court of the Archdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction) covered 39 parishes in W and N Essex and 25 parishes in E Herts
    • Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction) extended in theory to 101 parishes in all parts of Essex and to six parishes in E Herts, but in practice the court was; used for probate of wills in almost every Essex parish, not excepting the Peculiars.
    • Courts of the Peculiars of Writtle with Roxwell (New College, Oxford) and of Good Easter, which coincided with those parishes.
    • Court of the Peculiar of the Deanery of Bocking (Archbishop of Canterbury) covered Bocking, Borley, Little Coggeshall, Latchingdon, Southchurch and Stisted in Essex, and Hadleigh, Monks Eleigh and Moulton in Suffolk.
    • Court of the Peculiar of the Liberty of the Sokens covered Kirby-le-Soken, Thorpe-le-Soken, and Walton-le-Soken.

    The place indexes include a number of entries outside of the county of Essex, including some places overseas. Please note that this index does not include administrations.

    What does the index include?

  • All names and places appearing in the will plus incidental information such as occupation where found in the original documents are included in the index.
  • Testator's name
  • Residence
  • Occupation
  • Year of will or admon
  • Document jurisdiction reference
  • Folio

    • Names are arranged alphabetically with spelling standardized to the most usual spelling. This means some name variants may not appear clustered together. Where there is an alias or alternative surname the entry is given under both names.

    Parish names have also been standardized.

    Dates of wills are given in New Style Calendar.

    The folio number identifies the group of pages, anywhere from 2 to 16, within which the will's first page appears.

    Reference letters and figures in the composite Index

    The following letters identify the wills according to the court in which they were proved:

    • A: Peculiar of the Deanery of Bocking.
    • B: Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Herts)
    • C: Archdeacon of Colchester
    • E: Archdeacon of Essex
    • GE:Peculiar of Good Easter.
    • M: Archdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Herts)
    • S: Peculiar of the Sokens.
    • W: Peculiar of Writtle with Roxwell.
    • The letter ' R' following the letter(s) given above denotes a registered will, and * W' the original will or a loose copy. In this third volume, the registered copies have been used in the case of all courts except the peculiars of Bocking and the Sokens, for both of which the original wills are more complete than the registers.
    • The right-hand number in the right-hand column is that of the register or box; the left-hand number, that of the register folio or original will number.
    • Dating is in the 'New Style' (i.e no double dating is given for dates between 1st January and 24th March). An asterisk (*) placed against the date signifies that no date of probate is noted in either place, and the date is therefore that of the making of the will. All the parishes named are in Essex unless otherwise stated.