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 church and other courts. 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). Wills of less wealthy individuals may have been proved in a number of other ecclesiastical courts, including the Archdeaconry Court of Dorset or PCC or the Royal Peculiar of Sarum. 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 other ecclesiastical courts.

TABLE 1: WILLS PROVED IN THE PCC

TABLE 2: WILLS PROVED IN OTHER ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

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