Leicestershire

There are two Leicestershire publications included:

Leicester Wills & Administrations 1495-1649 (BRS vol. 27)
Wills & Administrations at Leicester 1660-1750 (BRS vol. 51)

Below we have included descriptions of the publications and details about where to access the original documents.

Leicester Wills & Administrations 1495-1649

British Record Society volume 27

Published 1902

Read the Original Introduction of the BRS Volume 27.

Locating the original documents

Where are the originals held?

The original wills are held at The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland. To obtain copies of an original will you need to contact The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland website by letter, fax or e-mail, giving full details (including source ie BRS and which court etc) and references. The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland will then send you a quote of the full costs. You then need to complete an order form (which is downloadable from their website) and return it to the record office (with payment).

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

Testator's name
Year of will or admon
Place
Register/number
Folio

Note – no records survive for wills proved between 1649 and 1660.

About the index

This is an index to the wills and administrations registered in the court of the Archdeacon of Leicester between 1495 and 1649. The jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeacon of Leicester covered the whole county of Leicester.

Also indexed within this volume are the following Peculiar Courts:

The Prebendal Court of St. Margaret, Leicester, 1543-1800
The Manorial Court of Rothley, 1575-1800
The Manorial Court of Groby, 1580-1800
The Manorial Court of Evington, 1581-1800

The index was compiled from the official contemporary indexes plus where these were wanting from the records themselves.

What does the index include?

All names and places referring to the testator appearing in the will plus incidental information are included in the index.

Names are arranged alphabetically. This means some name variants may not appear clustered together. Names in the index are according to the spelling used in the documents, usually based on the signaturee of the testator.

Dates of wills prior to 1752 are given in 'Old Style' or Julian Calendar.

Wills & Administrations at Leicester 1660-1750

British Record Society volume 51

Published 1920

Read the Original Introduction to the BRS Volume 51.

Locating the original documents

Where are the originals held?

The original wills are held at The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland. To obtain copies of an original will you need to contact The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland website by letter, fax or e-mail, giving full details (including source ie BRS and which court etc) and references. The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland will then send you a quote of the full costs. You then need to complete an order form (which is downloadable from their website) and return it to the record office (with payment).

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

Testator's name
Year of will or admon
Place
Register/number
Folio

Note – no records survive for wills proved between 1649 and 1660.

About the index

This is an index to the testamentary records of the court of the Archdeacon of Leicester between 1660 and 1750. Also indexed within this volume are the following Peculiar Courts:

The Prebendal Court of St. Margaret, Leicester, 1642-1720
The Manorial Court of Rothley, 1626-1633

Rutland Peculiar Courts:

The Prebendal Court Caldecott 1669–1820
The Prebendal Court Ketton and Tixover 1722-1820
The Prebendal Court Liddington 1723-1820

The jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeacon of Leicester covered the whole county of Leicester.