Gloucester (GLS)

Jurisdictions

1. The majority of parishes belonged to (A) the Consistory of Gloucester. The Diocese of Gloucester was created out of that of Worcester in 1541, except for some 30 parishes west of the River Severn added to the Diocese of Gloucester that came under the Diocese of Hereford before 1541. To determine the parishes west of the Severn, see the map for Gloucester in the Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers (FHL Ref 942 E7pa 2003 and BYU Religion/Family History Reference CS 434 .H85x). Thus, for pre-1541 probate research in Gloucester it will be necessary to consult Worcester or Hereford.
2. The smaller Diocese of Bristol was created out of that of Worcester in 1542. The parishes that came under (B) the Consistory of Bristol (Bristol Division) are listed below along with the few places in Gloucester that were under the jurisdictions of peculiar courts (C-E).

Decision Table

For those who lived in (A) the Consistory of Gloucester, search:

1. Consistory of Gloucester
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 (B) the Consistory of Bristol, search:

1. Consistory of Bristol (Bristol Division) & Great Orphan Books
2. Do 1-4 above for (A) the Consistory of Gloucester

For those who lived in (C-E) the peculiars of Bibury, Bishop's Cleeve, and Withington, search:

1. The respective peculiar court
2. Do 1-4 above for (A) the Consistory of Gloucester

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)

Indexes/Calendars for the Consistory of Gloucester

1. 1541-1858, Wills, Online Index
   The Gloucestershire Record Office provides an index to some nonconformist church records, poor law records, and wills (but not other types of probate records).
2. 1541-1800, (FHL 942 B4b) and (BYU CS 434 .B7) volumes 12 and 34
   Volumes 12 and 34 are part of the Index Library series (BRS) of printed indexes. Volume 12 indexes the wills only from 1541-1650. Volume 34 does the wills for 1660-1800 and supposedly indexes the administrations for 1684-1800. (The only administrations clearly marked as such in this volume are for 1683-1685.) Both volumes 1 and 2 have been scanned into the Ancestry.com system and can be located here and here. This is a subscription site but you have free access to it when searching at the FHL or using the computers in the family history section of the BYU library.
3. 1801-1858, Wills/Administrations, (BYU Rel./Fam. Hist. Ref CS 435 .L3 G56)
   This is Cliff Webb's index presented on microfiche by the Gloucester Record Office.

Microfilmed Probate Records for the Consistory of Gloucester

All of the probate records for this court have been filmed except the inventories and the original wills from 1660-1686, 1688-1691, and 1698-1858. For these wills and any probate records of the peculiar courts that were not filmed, contact the web site listed in #1 above. The initial film for the microfilmed probate records of this court is 91499.

NOTE: Where an initial film number is given, use either version of the FHL catalog to see all of the films in that collection. The previous version at FamilySearch may be a little easier to use for that purpose.

Indexes/Calendars for the Consistory of Bristol (Bristol Division)

1. 1572-1792, (FHL 942 B4b and BYU CS 434 .B7) volume 17
   This is volume 17 of the Index Library series (BRS). It only covers 1770-1792 for the administrations on pages 100-116. It also contains a master index to all 3 volumes of the Great Orphan Books, 1379-1674, plus Wadley's abstracts from volume I. (See the Miscellaneous Section for T.P. Wadley's book.) An example from this part of volume 17 is Ailleward, John 1427 I.218 153 which means that this man's will in 1427 is in volume I on page 218 with an abstract in Wadley's book on page 153. There are also several manuscript calendars starting in 1571 on FHL film 1565102, items 5-19. Volume 17 is also in the Ancestry.com system with volumes 12 & 34 as outlined in #2 above.
2. 1793-1858, Wills (FHL 942.41/B2 P22i 2000) and Online
   The Bristol Wills Index is online from 1715-1858 here.
3. Index to Bristol Wills, 1572-1792
   The index is available on Ancestry.com.
4. 1770-1857, Administrations, (FHL film 2094880, item 15, also on film 91475)

Microfilmed Probate Records for the Consistory of Bristol (Bristol Division)

All of the probate records for this court have been filmed except the registered administrations, 1767-1857. The first filming is listed under FHL film 91352. However, it only covers the original wills from 1571-1767 and does not include the inventories. The second filming adds the original wills from 1560-1858 and starts with film 1565590. The initial film for the inventories, 1573-1792, is 1471393. The inventories for 1542-1650 and some wills for 1546-1603 are in print and listed in the Miscellaneous Section. The wills from the Great Orphan Books are described in the Miscellaneous Section.

Printed Indexes for the Peculiars of Bibury, Bishop's Cleeve and Withington

1. Wills Proved in Gloucestershire Peculiar Courts, (FHL 942 A1, #133)
   This index was compiled by Michael G. Dickinson and published in 1960. It includes Bibury, 1590-1833, Bishop's Cleeve, 1611-1796, and Withington, 1622-1776. Another copy is under FHL 942.41 P22dm.
2. BRS volume 12 outlined above also includes an index to 18 Bibury wills, 1619-1649, and 5 registered copy wills, 1589-1592, in the volumes referred to as "Blunt" and "Wode." Volume 12 also provides an index to the registered copy wills of Bishop's Cleeve, 1635-1796.

Microfilmed Probate Records for the Three Peculiars

The original wills, administrations, and inventories for Bibury, 1672-1833, are on FHL & BYU film 91367 and the 5 wills registered in "Blunt" and "Wode" for 1589-1592 are on FHL & BYU film 95103, items 2-3. The 5 wills were filmed twice on 95103 and the most readable version is found on folios 54-57 of item 3. The registered copy wills 1665-1833 and original wills 1611-1649 were not filmed for Bibury, but there are some of its records mixed with those of Bishop's Cleeve on FHL film 91366. The original wills, administrations, and inventories for Bishop's Cleeve are mainly on FHL film 91366. The registered act books and administrations, 1622-1776, were filmed for Withington on FHL & BYU film 91368 followed by their index. Then without any break come the original wills for 1624-1752 on the same film. Again, there are some more of its records mixed with those of Bishop's Cleeve on FHL film 91366.

Miscellaneous Section

1. The transcripts of 192 wills for residents of the city of Bristol, 1546-1603, were edited by Sheila Lang and Margaret McGregor and published in 1993 by the Bristol Record Society. (FHL 942.41/B2 B4b, volume 44)
2. A listing of wills found in part of a register, 1559-1572, in the archives of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol will be found in Somerset and Dorset Notes & Queries on pages 153-156 of volume 13. (FHL 942.3 B2n) These wills were printed in the Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society on pages 120-147 of volume 64. (FHL 942.41 C4bg) These wills are also indexed in the "Fact-Sheet on Bristol Probate Records" (FHL 942.41 P27f). The fact-sheet provides further details of places that came under this jurisdiction as well as appendices with lists of wills for persons from Bristol proven in such courts as the Consistories of Worcester, 1513-1541, and Gloucester, 1541-1858.
3. The inventories for Bristol, 1542-1650, were edited by Edwin and Stella George and published by the Bristol Record Society. (FHL 942.41/B2 B4b, number 54)
4. The wills registered in the Great Orphan Books of Bristol consist of 449 wills in volume I for 1379-1612, 289 wills for 1612-1633 in volume III, and 112 wills for 1633-1674 in volume II. They are on FHL films 1702284, item 1, and 1702286, items 16-17. Another filmed version of the same is on FHL film 1657877. Abstracts of the wills in volume I were published by the Rev. Thomas Procter Wadley in 1886. (FHL 942.41/B2 S2w) There are further records involving Bristol orphans from 1333-1666 on FHL films 1702284, items 2-3, and 1702285.