| Located At | Staffordshire Record Office |
| Level | SubSection |
| Doc Ref No | B/C/11, P/C/11 & LD412 (part) |
| Title | Wills, inventories and related papers |
| Arrangement | 1521-1639: wills are arranged in order of initial letter of surname, and then by year. They are not individually catalogued and numbered.
1639-1858: wills are arranged in chronological order and then alphabetically by surname within each year. They are not individually catalogued and numbered. |
| Date | 1521-1858 |
| Description | Wills proved in the Consistory Court of Lichfield, with their associated inventories and related papers, have the reference B/C/11, while wills proved in the courts of the various peculiar jurisdictions have the reference P/C/11. Documents which were separate from the main series were deposited as part of LD412. Only those in LD412 are described at item level on this on-line catalogue.
Inventories are found for most of the wills proved before 1750. The proportion declines sharply, until by 1800 it appears that inventories were prepared only when there was a dispute. |
| Category | wills and probate papers |
| Access Conditions | Minimum of two working daysÂ’ advance notice is required for production
Individual wills from the two main series (B/C/11 and P/C/11) can be identified through the Calendars of Wills, which are available on microfilm at Staffordshire Record Office. Each Calendar covers a period of years within which entries are arranged first by initial letter and then by year.
An index for the period 1570-1790, compiled by volunteers, is available on the Staffordshire Name Indexes website. Indexing work is ongoing. |