Hampshire (HAM)

Jurisdictions

1. The majority of parishes came under (A) the Archdeaconry of Winchester. However, since the Consistory of Winchester played such a large role over probating records in this county, it is wise to always search both courts at the same time.
2. The exceptions are the following places, most of which came under (B) the peculiar court jurisdiction of the incumbent parish ministers. (In the following list, IoW is used as an abbreviation for the Isle of Wight.)

Decision Table

For those who lived in (A) the archdeaconry and consistory of Winchester, search:

1. Archdeaconry and Consistory Courts of Winchester
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 peculiar courts of the incumbents, search:

1. The card index of the peculiar courts of Hampshire
2. Do all of the steps under (A) above

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)

Microfilmed Indexes/Calendars for the Archdeaconry & Consistory of Winchester

1. Start by searching in the Hampshire Archives catalog.
2. 1660-1857, card index of Wills for Both Courts (FHL 1279060-1279061)
   The card index was prepared by the Hampshire Record Office. The consistory index is items 1-2 of film 1279060. The archdeaconry index for A-Cab is item 3 of the same film. The rest of the archdeaconry's index is on film 1279061. These indexes were filmed in 1982. For pre-1660 research it will be necessary to search the calendars for both courts on FHL film 1472615 or use the abstracts outlined in the Miscellaneous Section.
3. 1540-1672, card index of Administrations (FHL 1279062, item 2, and 1279063)
   The consistory court probated all administrations for the archdeaconry and peculiar courts. Item 2 is an index to A-Bi, and the alphabet from Billett-Z is found on film 1279063. For the administrations from 1672-1858, see the calendars on FHL films 1472615-1472616.

Microfilmed Records for Both Courts

All of the probate records for both the archdeaconry and consistory courts have been microfilmed, in some cases three times. The most complete filming was in 1990. The original wills for that filming start for the consistory court on FHL film 1565079, item 5, and for the archdeaconry on FHL film 1597132, item 10. The administrations filmed in 1990 start on FHL film 1565654, item 4. There is also a group of wills for both courts identified as unclassified wills, 1398-1560. For details on the unclassified wills, type 187326 into the Film/Fiche Search Box of the main menu of the online FHL catalog.

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.

There are also three other small collections of original documents that may be useful in searching for probates of Hampshire people in the earlier periods.

1. There are a series of over 200 wills, 1603-1674, that were referred to the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, as well as a small group of documents "not dispatched." The typed index to both sets of documents appears as item 1 on FHL and BYU film 186676. Many of the documents pertain to the peculiars in Hampshire. The actual records are on FHL and BYU film 186678 and FHL 186679. A second filming is on FHL1565360, items five through six. There are documents for persons from the neighboring counties as well as two from farther away:
   Letters of administration for George Soane, gunner of Tilbury Fort, Essex, were granted in 1647 to his sister Joan, wife of John Gillett of Froyle.
   The will of Griffin Evans of Thame, Oxford was probated in 1655.
2. A collection from the Diocesan Registry added more wills both original and copy for 1502-1825; administrations, 1664-1797; administration accounts, 1623-1625 and 1661-1693; and inventories for 1540-1799. All of these documents were indexed by Arthur J. Willis in his Wills, Administrations and Inventories with the Winchester Diocesan Records, 1968 (FHL 942.27 P22w). The actual wills and administrations are on FHL film 1471970. The inventories have been filmed twice on FHL 1472067 and also on FHL films 1042024 and 1042025. The administration accounts are on FHL and BYU films 187568-187569.
3. The act books for the Consistory Court have been filmed from 1587-1693 on FHL films 1471970, 1042022 items 6-10, and 1042023 items 1-3 and 5-6.

Microfilmed Index/Records of the Hampshire Peculiar Courts

1. 1561-1845, Card Index for All Courts (FHL film 1279062, item 1)
2. All of the wills for the peculiar courts were microfilmed in 1990. They start on FHL film 1565447. Type either this number or the one for the card index into the Film/Fiche Search Box of the main menu of the online FHL catalog for further details.

Miscellaneous Section

1. Abstracts of many of the Consistory Court wills, 1492-1652, and the Archdeaconry Court, 1501-1653, were made by volunteers from the FHL microfilms. The abstracts are on 6 rolls of film at the FHL, 1145951-1145956. Ask a staff person at the British Reference desk to check the database available in their computer for an every name index to the first collection. There are also abstracts for the Consistory Court wills, 1840-1858, with an index on microfiche 6035490-6035492.
2. Winchester Guardianships after 1700 from Diocesan Records (FHL 942.27 S2wi)
   These are brief extracts from over 1,000 documents from the Consistory Court mainly from 1700-1790. They were compiled and indexed by Arthur J. Willis and published in 1967.
3. Indexes to wills and administrations for persons from the Isle of Wight are also found separately as follows: FHL film 1470908, item 12, covers 1347-1570; and for 1378-1600 see David E. Pedgley's An Index of Personal Names in Isle of Wight Probate Records (FHL 942.27 P22p)