Buckingham (BKM)

Jurisdictions

1. Aside from the exceptions listed in 2 below, the majority of parishes came under (A) the Archdeaconry of Buckingham before 1845 and (B) the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, 1845-1858. See the first two items in the decision table.
2. If research involves one of the places listed below, match the designated letter in parentheses (C-J) with the subsequent heading in the decision table. Each court should be searched in the order of priority indicated on the decision table. However, in the case of the prebendal or peculiar courts, it is always wise to search also both the Archdeaconry of Buckingham and the Consistory/Archdeaconry of Oxford.

Decision Table

For those who lived in (A) the Archdeaconry of Buckingham before 1845, Search:

1. Archdeaconry of Buckingham
2. Consistory of Lincoln (see Lincoln)
3. Prerogative Court of Canterbury (see London: PCC)
4. Court of Arches, 1660- (see London: Arches)
5. Court of Delegates, 1636- (see London: Delegates)

For those who lived in (B) the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, 1845-1858, Search:

1. Archdeaconry of Buckingham
2. Consistory of Oxford (see Oxford)
3. Do 3-5 above for (A)

For those who lived in (C) the Archdeaconry of St. Albans before 1845, Search:

1. Archdeaconry of St. Albans (see Hertford)
2. Consistory of London (see London)
3. Do 3-5 above for (A)

For those who lived in (D) the Archdeaconry of St. Albans, 1845-1858, Search as in (B) above.

For those who lived in (E) the Prebendal of Aylesbury, Search:

1. Prebendal of Aylesbury
2. Dean and Chapter of Lincoln (see Lincoln)
3. Do 2-5 above for (A)

For those who lived in (F) the Peculiar of Bierton, Search:

1. Peculiar of Bierton (see Banbury and Thame in Oxford)
2. Do 2-6 above for (E)

For those who lived in (G) the Prebendal of Buckingham, Search:

1. Prebendal of Buckingham
2. Do 2-6 above for (E)

For those who lived in (H) the jurisdiction of the Provost of Eton, contact the College Archivist at Eton College.

For those who lived in (I) the Peculiar of Monks Risborough, Search:

1. Peculiar of Monks Risborough
2. Prerogative Court of Canterbury (see London: PCC)
3. Court of Arches, 1660- (see London: Arches)
4. Court of Delegates, 1636- (see London: Delegates)

For those who lived in (J) the parish of Towersey, Search:

1. Peculiar of Thame (see Oxford)
2. Do 2-5 above for (B)

For those who lived anywhere in the county between 1653-1660, Search:

1. Prerogative Court of Canterbury (see London: PCC)

For those who lived anywhere in the county between 1812-1857, regardless of what is found in the probate records of any of the above courts, consider searching also the estate duty registers (see London: Estate Duty)

Printed Indexes/Microfilmed Calendars for the Archdeaconry of Buckingham

1. 1483-1858. Start with the online index for wills at BuckSCC.
2. 1483-1660, (FHL 942 B4b) and (BYU CS434.B7) volume 114
   This is volume 114 of the Index Library series (BRS). It consists of one master index to all of the probate documents for the archdeaconry and the peculiar courts of Buckingham. The records for the peculiar courts date back to 1420. This volume ends with further indexes to occupations and places. Other counties with 10 or more entries are Bedford, Oxford and Northampton. Volume 114 has the added advantage of including references to Buckingham found in the Archdeaconry of St. Albans, and the BRS volumes for Oxford (93, 94, 109) and Bedford(104, 105).
3. The microfilmed calendars for the Archdeaconry of Buckingham include:
   • 1602-1837, Wills, volume 2 (FHL & BYU 88,491)
     From 1686-1708, the calendar is arranged in two columns with original wills on the left and a folio number on the right for registered copy wills. There are some references to the peculiar courts. From 1709-1837, the calendar seems to be to registered copy wills only. The coverage for 1796-1799 is found between 1777 and 1778.
   • 1598, 1632-1708, Administrations, volume 3 (FHL & BYU 88,491)
     There is only one entry for 1598. Each entry is filed by the initial letter of the surname and then chronologically. The index adds a folio number for registered administrations.
   • 1709-1857, Administrations, volume 4 (FHL & BYU 88,491)
     It is arranged like volume 3 except that there are no folio numbers for the period of 1712-1810. Another list of administrations for 1639-1708 appears after the entries for 1857.
   • 1800-1858, Registered Copy Wills, volume 5 (FHL & BYU 88,491)
     Another index to mainly registered copy wills and administrations will be found on FHL & BYU film 95,135. The wills are on pages 1-86 and the administrations on 89-143. For unregistered wills for 1709-1858, the researcher may need to contact the county record office via e-mail for assistance. The current address can be obtained from the GENUKI web site for Buckingham under the subject of Archives.

Microfilmed Records for the Archdeaconry of Buckingham

The original/filed wills for the Archdeaconry of Buckingham begin in 1506, but the registered copy wills start in 1483. All of the wills (with the exception of the original wills for 1781) and administrations for this court have been microfilmed, in some cases twice. There is also a separate collection of registered administrations on film. About half of the wills for 1483-1523 have been published. See the Miscellaneous Section. The inventories are intermingled with their respective documents. There is also a miscellaneous collection of inventories starting in 1670, plus some original wills for 1541-1814, and administrations for 1712-1821 on FHL film 1,042,689, Box 124. The initial film for the probates of this county is 88491

Printed Indexes & Microfilmed Calendars/Records for the 
Peculiar Courts in Buckingham

There were five peculiar courts located in Buckingham: Aylesbury, Bierton, Buckingham, Monks Risborough, and Eton College. The parish of Towersey came under the peculiar jurisdiction of Thame in Oxford; however, its probate records will be found with Aylesbury as well as Banbury in Oxford. No probate records have been filmed for Eton College. Indexes, registered copy wills, and act books for some of the peculiar courts in Buckingham, Berkshire, and Oxford tend to be lumped together.

1. 1420-1660, (FHL 942 B4b) and (BYU CS434 .B7) volume 114
   Volume 114 uses the following references for the records of the peculiar courts: Aylesbury is Pec. 25-27, Bierton is Pec. 32-56, Buckingham is Pec. 62, and Monks Risborough is Pec. 79-80. Use the printed index for Oxford (BRS 109) for post-1660 research involving Towersey. For the Buckingham peculiars, 1661-1858, consult the filmed calendars.
2. The filmed calendars for the peculiars include:
   • 1550-1858, Wills & Administrations (FHL & BYU 95,109)
     A master index compiled by E.R. Cheyne to most of the peculiar courts in Buckingham, Berkshire, and Oxford, plus the peculiar of Leighton Buzzard in Bedford and the peculiars of Bibury and Bishop's Cleeve in Gloucester. The index lists each court by the following numbers:
   1. Banbury & Thame in Oxford and Bierton.
   2. Dorchester, Oxford (Registered copy wills only)
   3. Aylesbury
   4. Buckingham
   5. Monks Risborough
   6. Faringdon, Berkshire. (Registered copy wills only)
   7. Wantage, Berkshire. (No records listed)
   8. Langford Ecclesia, Oxford (Registered copy wills only)
   9. Leighton Buzzard, Bedford (Registered copy wills only)
   10. Sibford manorial court, Oxford (No records listed)
   11. Bibury & Bishop's Cleeve, Gloucester (Registered copy wills only)
   • 1801-1858, Wills & Administrations (FHL & BYU 95,175)
     This is another index for the peculiar courts of Buckingham, Berkshire, and Oxford. However, this index may provide a folio number to assist in locating the original documents for Aylesbury found on FHL films 95,177-95,178. Item 1 covers the wills and includes an entry for Charles King of Bayswater, Middlesex proven in 1854. Item 2 covers the administrations for the same time period and includes entries for William and John Marten of London in 1821, and Henry Tompkins of Tring in Hertford in 1853.
   • Bierton: partial indexes for this peculiar will also be found in item 2 of FHL & BYU film 173,658 as follows: wills/inventories 1664-1706, administrations 1664-1705, marriage bonds 1664-1707, and accounts 1665-1684.
   • All of the probate records for the peculiars of Aylesbury, Bierton, Buckingham and Monks Risborough appear to have been microfilmed. However, searches for Bierton must include Aylesbury and Banbury; for Buckingham do also Aylesbury; and for Monks Risborough do also Aylesbury and Banbury. For further details, see the probate keys or hand lists at the FHL on the register table near the British reference counter. The volumes of registered documents for Aylesbury are so mixed that they will be outlined here.
   • 1701-1720, Volumes A-B of Registered Wills/Admins. (FHL & BYU 95,100)
     Volume A covers 1701-1708 for Aylesbury, Bierton, and Buckingham; and Leighton Buzzard in Bedford. Volume B covers 1709-1720 for Aylesbury and Buckingham; and Leighton Buzzard in Bedford.
   • 1736-1850, Volumes C-F of Registered Wills/Admins. (FHL 95,101-102)
     Volumes C-F are for Aylesbury only.
   • 1736-1850, Volumes G-H of Registered Wills/Admins. (FHL 95,102- FHL & BYU 95,103)
     These volumes are for Buckingham only.
   • 1589-1850,Volumes I-Q of Registered Wills/Admins. (FHL & BYU 95,103-106)
     These volumes include Bierton, Monks Risborough, and Thame. See Banbury in Oxford for further details. Volume I is also referred to by the name of Wode.
   • 1851-1858, Volume R of Registered Wills/Admins. (FHL & BYU 95,106)
     Volume R includes Aylesbury, Bierton, and Buckingham; and Banbury and Thame in Oxford. Entries to areas outside of the jurisdictions of these courts were noted as follows: folio 1 is the will of Elizabeth Hughes, widow of Paulerspury in Northampton, 1851; folio 3 is the will of Charles Thomas Wethered, schoolmaster of the parish of Great Marlow, 1851; folio 19 is the will of William Sharrock late of the parish of Haddenham, but now of Thame, 1852; and folio 59 is the will of George Stilton of Tring in Hertford, 1857.
   • 1736-1856, Volume S of Registered Wills/Admins. (FHL & BYU 95,106)
     This volume covers Monks Risborough only with the exceptions of folios 38-39 that pertain to Bierton.

Administration Act Book & Non-Testamentary Business

• 1674-1856 (FHL & BYU 95,196)
  This volume includes Aylesbury, Bierton, Buckingham, and Monks Risborough; Banbury and Thame in Oxford; and Leighton Buzzard in Bedford. Noted in passing on page 183 is an administration dated 30 July 1823 for William Miles formerly of Aylesbury but late of Mitcham, Surrey, which was granted to his daughters Elizabeth How and Martha Hobbs. (At least the portion for Banbury and Thame should be included in the printed index to Oxford peculiars that will be found in volume 109 of the BRS series.)
• 1606-1736 (FHL & BYU 173,658)
  Box 29 starts out in item 1 of this film with an index to the business of church courts involving all of the courts 1-11 listed under the filmed master index above. The cases to which the index refers should be found in item 2. If not, the index itself gives quite a bit of information about such things as those presented for non-attendance at church, excommunication, and for being recusants. There is also poor law information concerning several of the parishes represented by these courts. Item 2 includes an index to the unproved wills, 1740-1794, for the peculiar of Buckingham. This section ends with parish register transcripts 1605-1606, 1610, and 1672-1673, and marriage bonds and allegations 1626, 1727, 1733, 1735 for Monks Risborough. The following section includes more parish register transcripts 172_ for Bierton; 1727, 1734 for Buckland; and 1727-1728 for Stoke Mandeville; and 1728-1729 for Newington in Oxford, plus marriage bonds for Dorchester, 1626-1676, and Faringdon, 1727-1739.

Miscellaneous Section

1. Abstracts of some 250 wills found in other records for the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, 1483-1523, were published in volume 19 of the county record society (FHL 942.575 B4ba). Volume 24 of the same series adds 159 inventories from the PCC for 1661-1714.
2. The Architectural and Archeological Society for the County of Buckingham also published probate materials for 1491-1495 and 1521. They are usually given in greater detail in volume 19 above. However, brief translations of the probates in Latin are provided here that are not found in volume 19. The materials for 1491-1495 appear in vol. 11, and for 1521 in vol. 10 of FHL 942.575 B2r. Also check the master indexes of this series for a few other entries.
3. Abstracts of wills for persons from Buckingham proven in Lincoln, 1601-1652, were edited and published by S. Allyn Peck (FHL 942.575 S2pe, which is also on film 908,915 at BYU). They match those identified as such on pages 229-230 of volume 41 of the Index Library (BRS). They include four references to persons from peculiar jurisdictions in Buckingham as follows:
• Ball, Rob. of Eaton College, 1611
• Banckworth, Leon. of Stoke Mandeville, 1624/5
• Dyer, Jo. of Buckland, 1624/5
• Norcott, Tho. of Broughton in Bierton, 1624/5
4. Bishop's Transcripts appear in the Registered Copy Wills of the Archdeaconry of Buckingham as follows: volume 26 on FHL 88,499 begins and ends with bishop's transcripts for Great Marlow in 1636, volume 34 on FHL & BYU 88,502 begins with two pages of bishop's transcripts for 1637 that might also pertain to Great Marlow, volume 40 on FHL & BYU 88,504 starts with the bishop's transcripts for September-February of perhaps 1635 for Bletchley, volume 42 on the same film starts with two pages of bishop's transcripts for 1636 of Hanslope, and volume 43 on the same film starts with one page of bishop's transcripts for July-January of a year before 1645 for an unknown parish, perhaps Bledlow.