Mosterton

WILLS OF MOSTERTON RESIDENTS

Transcribed and donated to the Dorset OPC Project by Kim Parker

Until 1858, all wills had to be proved (formally approved) by the church or other authorised court. The Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), the most important of these courts, dealt with the relatively wealthy individuals living mainly in the south of England and most of Wales (what was originally the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury) who owned property in more than one parish. Wills of less wealthy individuals may have been proved in a number of other ecclesiastical courts, including the Archdeaconry Court of Dorset or the courts of royal peculiars. From 1858 all wills were indexed centrally and this index is widely available at Record Offices, Probate Registries and the LDS.

The first table below lists the wills proved in the PCC. These wills can be downloaded from the Documents online service of the National Archives for a small fee: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

The second table lists wills proved in Bristol Diocesian courts, since the Archdeaconry of Dorset was part of the Diocese of Bristol until transferred to the Diocese of Salisbury in 1836.

TABLE 1: WILLS PROVED IN THE PCC

TABLE 2: WILLS PROVED & ADMONS GRANTED IN BRISTOL DIOCESIAN COURTS

a) Consistory Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1681 - 1792

b) Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1568 – 1792

(held at the Blandford Probate Registry, but available on microfilm at the Dorset History Centre)

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