Excerpt from Index of Wills Proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1383-1558, Vol. 2: And Now Preserved in the Principal Probate Registry, Somerset House, London A few words must be added in qualification of some of the statements made in the Introduction to Vol. I. In the first place the compiler of this Index is no longer officially occupied in antiquarian work, and he is therefore unable to carry out the intention to which allusion is made in Vol. I, p. Xxvii, note Should, however, the Society hereafter take in hand an Index to Grants of Administration, the ms. Referred to in the note will of course be dealt with. Again, it is necessary to supplement the paragraph (p. Xxix) which relates to Inventories. A small ms. Volume which had probably been hidden for the last twenty years has come to light, and forms an index to inventories brought in to the Prerogative Court of Canterbury between January Ist, 1522 and December, 1557. Inasmuch as the administration-act books referring to that period are lost, it follows that this ms. Supplies the names - not otherwise recorded - of some hundreds of intestates. In compiling, at any future time, an index to early Administration grants, these names would have to be in cluded similarly to those mentioned in the preceding paragraph. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Index to Wills Proved and Administrations Granted in the Court of the Archdeacon of Berks, 1508 to 1652 From 1653 to 1660, during which period all testamentary matters were dealt with by the Probate Judges appointed under the Commonwealth administration, search must be made solely in the records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Afterwards, in 1660, the old system of concurrent jurisdictions was reverted to, and this lasted until 1858, when the Probate Court was constituted and the old Ecclesiastical and Manorial Courts ceased to exercise jurisdiction in matters testamentary. Since then, and at the present time, the wills and administrations of Berkshire people have been recorded either in the district Registry at Oxford or in the principal Registry at Somerset House. It must be borne in mind, however, that the principal Registry, unlike the old Prerogative Courts, contains duplicate records of the wills and administrations in the various district Registries, and that now a lexicographical calendar is yearly printed and comprises in one alphabetical list the names of all testators and intestates throughout England and Wales. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Although aimed primarily at the beginner, this book opens up to researchers of all levels the wealth of material from the PCC held in the Public Record Office. Coverage begins in the 19th century and works backwards, enabling readers to develop expertise before tackling more complex topics. Topics dealt with include: how and where to find wills; using the indexes available; finding an administration; using the Probate Act books to supplement information; and how to decipher PCC script. Fully illustrated with examples of original wills, probate inventories and death duty records, the book also demonstrates a family tree based on wills.