Cambridgeshire

Two publications create the Cambridgeshire records within the England & Wales Published Wills & Probate Indexes, 1300-1858:

Archdeaconry of Ely Probate Records 1513-1857 (BRS vol. 88)

Consistory Court of Ely Probate Records, 1449-1858 (BRS vols. 103, 106, 107)

Below we have included a description of both publications, details about where to find the original documents and the introductions to the original volumes when they were first published.

Archdeaconry of Ely Probate Records 1513-1857

British Record Society volume 88

Published 1976

Read the original introduction from 1976.

Locating the original documents

Where are the originals held?

The original wills are no longer at the Cambridge University Archives, but are now held at Cambridgeshire Archives & Local Studies.

To purchase a copy of the will, contact Cambridgeshire Archives with all of the references from the index including the source i.e. BRS. They will then advise you of the cost etc.

What information from the document do I need to locate the original?

• Testator's name
• Residence
• Year of will or admon
• Volume and Folio number

Note - wills proved between 1649 and 1660 will be found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) since during the civil war the church courts were abolished and a single centralised probate system was established. Between this time all wills were proved and all grants of administration made, at one central Court of Probate in London. This was really just the PCC under a different name and thus wills etc proved during this period will be found indexed within the PCC. See PCC volumes BRS 54, BRS 61, and Matthews 1-9 for this period.

About the index

This is a complete index of testators compiled from the surviving original wills, registered copy wills, administrations, original bonds and inventories and other related documents for the Archdeaconry Court of Ely 1513-1857.

The Archdeaconry of Ely included Cambridge itself, fifty three parishes in the south west of the county and Haddenham and Wilburton in the Isle of Ely.

What does the index include?

• All names and places appearing in the will plus incidental information such as occupation where found in the original documents are included in the index.
• Name
• Residence
• Occupation
• Year
• Volume and Folio number

Key to documentary references

Consistory Court of Ely Probate Records, 1449-1858

British Record Society volumes 103, 106, 107

Published 1994-6

Read the original introduction.

Locating the original documents

Where are the originals held?

The original wills are now held at Cambridgeshire Archives & Local Studies. To purchase a copy of the will contact Cambridgeshire Archives with all of the references from the index including the source i.e. BRS. They will then advise you of the cost etc.

What information from the document do I need to locate the original?

• Testator's name
• Year of will or admon
• Register
• Folio

About the index

This is a complete index to the probate records of the Consistory Court of Ely, 1449-1858 and the peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Ely 1565-1800.

The Consistory Court of Ely claimed jurisdiction over most of the old county of Cambridgeshire with the following exceptions:

• the probate jurisdiction of the archdeacon of Ely
• the former monastic enclosures of Thorney and of Ely college (effectively the Cathedral Close)
• the members and privileged .servants of the University of Cambridge
• the deanery of Fordham, which lay in the archdeaconry of Sudbury, in the diocese of Norwich
• the peculiar of Isleham and Freckenham, which lay in the diocese of Rochester

The jurisdiction of the peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Ely was confined to the precincts (or close) of Ely Cathedral (see Hierarchy of Courts).

Abbreviations

1. In the list of individuals

2. In the list of documents

* Lists showing the precise location of these items are held by the County Record Office and the University Archives, University Library, Cambridge