Search for post-1858 WILLS FOR FREE AT A FAMILYSEARCH CENTRE

The copy wills are arranged by year and month. For each month, the male wills are arranged alphabetically but only by the first letter of the surname then by date. The female wills are also arranged by first letter of the surname then by date and are normally after the male wills. If a time period and a name listing are split between two films, then both films will need to be searched. There are 1025 films covering the period.

The wills are arranged from January to December of each year by the first letter of the surname then within each year are arranged according to court and month. Courts appear alphabetically within each month but surnames are not listed alphabetically within each court.

When looking at a film, locate the month, then the court.

These will are on 1768 films in two sequences, one for 1858-1899 and one from 1900 – 1925.

There is an essential and useful finding aid to locate the film number found at

https://www.haine.org.uk/wills/willsearch.php

This enables you to search by...

• Name of the deceased/testator.
• Court where the will was proved.
• Date of probate.
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All the information you need to find the digital film in which the will is located can be located in the national probate clalendar of wills using ancestry.co.uk

Please note that any wills proved after 1925, whether in the Principal (London) Registry or in the District Courts are NOT available at FamilySearch Centres so application will need to be made through the government website. 

Some of the later wills cannot be downloaded so do a "Save image" or snip the image for your records.