Where to look for a will

[Bessie]

Hi All,

I want to find the will of one of my ancestors who died in 1891 in Gloucestershire.

I have been able to locate earlier wills through Gloucester RO - they have an online service for this. However, because this is a later one the service doesn't cover it. I have tried the Archives site too - to no avail.

Any suggestions to where I can try next would be much appreciated.

Bessie

[ChrisKelly]

Try the National Archives:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/wills.asp

[ChrisKelly]

Sorry you already tried that!

[ChrisKelly]

How about these links on GENUKI:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/ProbateRecords/about.html

[hughar]

For wills after 1858 you have to deal with the Probate service. See
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm#calendarskept

[Peter Goodey]

Wills of this period are held by the Probate Service
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm

You can go in person to First Avenue House (or someone goes on your behalf) or you can deal with York through the post.

Hughar beat me to the punch! I might as well add that if you don't know whether there was a will or not, you may want to search out a copy of the calendars. If you know that there was a will, there's not much point.

[arthurk]

Beaten to it! See also this page (http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1183.htm) for more general information.

As well as the places mentioned in the other link, you can find the probate indexes on microfiche in many record offices or large libraries. I'm not sure where the nearest set to you would be, but the Northamptonshire Record Office would probably know, if they don't have it themselves. However, the cost for a search by the Court Service is no more than the cost of a copy of the will, but whatever you ask them, they sometimes take up to a couple of months to reply.

Arthur

[Bessie]

Wow - I go to get myself a cuppa and come back to all of these replies - thank you very much |hug|

I'll let you know how I get on.

Bessie