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The National Wills Index brings together a large number of will indexes, radically simplifying the process of locating a will prior to the establishment of a centralized system in 1858. Currently covering 90% of English counties, it minimizes the effort required to negotiate your way through the large variety of church courts.

The information given in the index allows you to determine when and where a will was proved, providing you with the information required to then apply for a copy of the will itself.

The rapidly growing collection includes the sets of records shown below, all available exclusively on Origins.net.

Find out more about National Wills Index collections
Archdeaconry Court of London Wills Index  1700-1800, over 5,000 names
The Archdeaconry Court of London was one of the London church courts that dealt with testamentary matters. The index of over 5,000 records, mainly from the first half of the 18th century, also contains numerous records of mariners.
British Record Society Probate Collection  1320-1858,  over 2.3 million names Images available
The indexes in this collection show the names and dates of several million wills and other probate documents. Spanning more than five centuries across Britain, the indexes show you where to go to find the original documents.
Images available Index images available online.
Cheltenham Probate Abstracts  1660-1740,  over 2000 names across 537 abstracts Images available
Abstracts of wills, administrations, guardianships, and full inventories from the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society covering Cheltenham during the period 1660-1740.
Images available Abstract images available online.
Gloucester Wills Index  1801-1858,  over 14,190 names
This collection, complied by the Gloucestershire Record Office, completes the calendar for Gloucester wills available on Origins.net, ending at 1858, the date on which probate was transferred to (civil) district registries.
Hertfordshire Wills Index  1415-1857,  over 27,600 names Copies of original documents can be ordered online
This index embraces all wills, inventories, administration bonds, accounts and other related documents which survive among the records of the Archdeaconries of Huntingdon (Hitchin Division) and St Albans. Copies can be ordered online.
Copies of original documents can be ordered online Copies of original documents can be ordered online.
Oxfordshire Wills Index  1516-1857,  over 56,700 names
This dataset indexes all the surviving probate records of the bishop and archdeacon of Oxford, covering the period 1516 to 1857, and of the Oxfordshire Peculiars, covering the period 1547-1856.
Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York Probate Index  1688-1858,  over 263,800 names Copies of original documents can be ordered online Images available
Grants of probate for the period 1688 to January 1858. Original documents provide a great deal of valuable information to the family historian and copies of these can be ordered online.
Copies of original documents can be ordered online Copies of original documents can be ordered online.
Images available Index images available online.
Surrey & South London Will Abstracts  1470-1858,  over 562,700 names
Fully indexed abstracts of every Surrey will known to still exist, over 29,800 abstracts. The index includes names of over a half a million people mentioned in these wills. Free text search of the abstracts.
York Medieval Probate Index  1267-1500,  over 10,000 wills Copies of original documents can be ordered online
Over 10,000 wills proved in the Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York between 1267 and 1500. Originals are held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives and copies can be ordered online.
Copies of original documents can be ordered online Copies of original documents can be ordered online.
York Peculiars Probate Index  1383-1883,  over 25,000 wills Copies of original documents can be ordered online
Over 25,000 wills proved in the 54 peculiar courts of the Province of York from 1383 to 1883. Originals are held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives and copies of these wills can be ordered online.
Copies of original documents can be ordered online Copies of original documents can be ordered online.