Source:England & Wales. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations)

This is a directory of grants of administration and probate for England and Wales. The Probate Service (part of Her Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service) has the full calendars from 1858 to the present day, whilst Ancestry has copies of volumes for most years between 1861 and 1966, and between 1973 and 1995.

The records were created by the Probate Registry, which took control of proving wills and administrations in 1858. Before this, four different types of ecclesiastical (church) courts dealt with these cases. A Principal Probate Registry was established in London in January 1858, and several district probate registries were created around the country. From then on, the registries oversaw all grants of probate and letters of administration. This collection is the Calendar of these grants.

The Calendar is separated into a different volume for each year. The entries in each volume are then alphabetised by surname. Information varies across different entries, but each typically includes:

Probate date
Full name of the deceased
Death date
Death place
Registry where issued

Address: London Probate Department, First Avenue House 42-49 High Holborn London WC1V 6NP 020-7947-6939