The Essex Record Office holds the records of the ecclesiastical courts of the parts of the diocese of London which covered Essex. The records include wills and other probate documents from before 1858. From 1858 there has been a centralised system of probate and the details of wills are held in London. Details of how to search for wills are given in the guide. Although only a small proportion of the population left wills, they are a vital piece of evidence in constructing you family tree.

The Essex Record Office holds the records of the ecclesiastical courts of the parts of the diocese of London, which covered Essex. The wills of most Essex people would have been proved in these courts. The records include wills and other probate documents for the period before 1858. (For wills dated after 1858 see below).

Only a small proportion of the population left wills - in Essex it has been calculated that on average perhaps only 2 people per household left a will during a period of 300 years - but where a will exists it is a vital piece of evidence in constructing your family tree.

However, if the testator was either very wealthy, or held property in other parts of the country outside the diocese of London, the will would be proved in the archbishop's court, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury; the records of this court are held in the National Archives in London. Some Essex wills were proved in the Consistory Court (the Bishop of London's court); these are at the London Metropolitan Archives. And a smaller number of Essex wills are to be found in the Guildhall Library, London.

How do I find out if the will I want is in the Essex Record Office?

Most of the wills can be found by searching Seax. There are printed alphabetical indexes to all wills in the Essex Record Office in 3 volumes of Wills at Chelmsford ed. F.G. Emmison (British Record Society, Index Library). These volumes can be seen at all our offices and access points. The volumes cover the following years:

Vol. I 1400 – 1619

Vol. II 1620 – 1720

Vol. III 1721 – 1857

For information about how to find and use wills at Chelmsford, download our information leaflet "Wills in Essex".

If you are unable to visit the Essex Record Office; you can write or email us to order photocopies of all entries for specific surnames from any or all of the three volumes. The entries show surname, Christian name, parish, trade or occupation and reference number. Then, by quoting the reference number, you can order photocopies. Some wills are on microfilm, in which case microfilm prints will be supplied. For details of how to do this, please see the guide to the Document Copying Service.Detailed abstracts of all Elizabethan wills for Essex are gradually being published in the Essex Wills series, edited by F.G. Emmison. See our Online Bookshop (eShop in right hand menu at top of this page).

Reading the wills

Reading any document earlier than c.1650 will be difficult because of the style of handwriting used. Added to this, while most wills are written in English, Latin was the language of the ecclesiastical courts until the eighteenth century, so expect to find some entries in Latin in most probate records.For more information about how to find and use the wills at Chelmsford, download the information leaflet ‘Wills in Essex’.

Is there anywhere else I can look?

Some private copies of wills of Essex people are to be found among deposited collections of family papers. You will find these easily through a simple personal name search in Seax.

Wills after 1858

Since 11 January 1858 a centralised system for probate has operated in England and Wales, with a principal probate registry in London. These wills are held at the Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1, where the indexes can be consulted without charge. Microfiche copies of the annual indexes from 1858 to 1943 are available in the Essex Record Office Searchroom.