Hereford (HEF)

Jurisdictions

1. The majority of the parishes in this county came under (A) the Consistory of Hereford.
2. The exceptions were some 30 parishes that came under (B) the Dean of Hereford, 3 parishes in the jurisdiction of (C) peculiar courts, and 9 parishes in the southwestern part of the county that came under the Welsh court (D) the Archdeaconry of Brecon. The exceptions are outlined below.

Decision Table

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

1. Consistory Court of Hereford
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 Dean of Hereford, search:

1. Court of the Dean of Hereford
2. Do all of the steps under (A) above

For those who lived in (C) the 3 peculiar courts (Chancellor & Prebendal), search:

1. The respective peculiar court
2. Do all of the steps under (B) above

For those who lived in (D) the Archdeaconry of Brecon, search:

1. Archdeaconry Court of Brecon
2. Consistory Court of St David's
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 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 Hereford

1. 1442-1657, Wills (FHL 942.44 S2k)
   A manuscript listing compiled by Stephen J. Kelsey for most of the original wills on FHL microfilms 91632-91677. This is not a true index but is arranged in rough alphabetical order as per the position of the wills on each film. There is also an original manuscript calendar on FHL and BYU film 91629.
2. 1662-1858, Act Books (FHL 1647469, item 10, through1647472 and 1647649-1647653, items 1-2)
   Each volume of the act books starts with an index. The act books were actually filmed twice. Note: the Registered Copy Wills, 1663-1858, have all been filmed and each volume is indexed separately.
3. 1407-1581, Calendar of Probate & Administration Acts 1407-1550 with an appendix of abstracts of registered copy wills 1552-1581 (FHL 942.44 P2f)
   This is M. A. Faraday's revised verson of an earlier work available on BYU fiche CS 434.B7, no. 2 produced for the BRS. It replaces and supplements the fiche version as well as J. Harvey Bloom's work listed below in the Miscellaneoud Section. NOTE: the actual probate act books are available from 1587-1858

Microfilmed Probate Records for the Consistory of Hereford

All of the probate records for this court have been filmed except for the original wills, 1663-1858, and the administrations, 1737-1858. This unfortunate gap is compensated in part by the act books mentioned in 2 above and the fairly good coverage of the Registered Copy Wills. Otherwise, the researcher can contact the Hereford Record Office by clicking on the subject of Archives under the county section of GENUKI. The initial film for most of the probate records is 91630. The act books, 1587-1638, are on film 991412.

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 Court of the Dean of Hereford

1. 1670-1858, Act Books (FHL 1647653, items 3-6)
   See the note above for number 2 under the Consistory Court. Note: the Registered Copy Wills have been microfilmed and each of the 13 volumes is indexed. Unfortunately, the administrations, 1660-1670, filmed with volume 1 of the Registered Copy Wills are not indexed.

Microfilmed Probate Records for the Court of the Dean of Hereford

The situation is similar to that described above for the Consistory of Hereford. No original wills have been filmed for the Court of the Dean, nor have the administrations from 1671-1858. The filmed records for the Court of the Dean are found on FHL and BYU films 91718-91724.

Indexes and Microfilmed Records for the 3 Peculiar Courts of Hereford (Chancellor & Prebendal)

All of the probate records for these three courts have been microfilmed. The indexes refer to those in the act books, which in each case are combined with the registered copy wills. The registered copy wills and act books for each court are on FHL and BYU film 91727. The original records for Little Hereford are on FHL and BYU film 91728. The original records for the other two courts are on FHL film 91585.

Indexes and Microfilmed Records for the Archdeaconry of Brecon

Try first the online historical site for the Herefordshire parishes that came under the jurisdiction of the Archdeaconry of Brecon at Longtown Histrical Society Archive.

It would appear that all of the probate records for the Archdeaconry of Brecon have been filmed. For an efficient guide to Welsh probate records, see the register in the FHL reference area entitled "Pre-1858 Probates: Wales" prepared by the FHL staff. Abstracts of the wills for each Welsh court with yearly indexes to all of the names in each will were produced by the FHL. The abstracts and indexes for the original and registered copy wills of the Archdeaconry of Brecon are available on microfiche at the FHL. For details, type 6024470 into the Film/Fiche Search Box of the main menu of the online FHL catalog or check the register under Brecon for the section labeled "Probate Abstracts." The register will also provide the pertinent microfilm numbers should you wish to recheck the documents that were abstracted and indexed. The abstracts and indexes for the Consistory of St David's start with FHL fiche 6020816 and are available at BYU. There is also a master index for the entire diocese starting on FHL and BYU fiche 6020908.

Miscellaneous Section

1. See J. Harvey Bloom's wills found in the Cause Books of the Bishop of Hereford in Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, 5th series, volume 4, pages 3-11 (FHL 942 B2m). These wills cover 1444/5-1578. See the revised version of M.A. Faraday's calendar listed aboce. Faraday worked with the Acts of Offices of the Consistory of Hereford which have also been filmed. Type 991413 into the Film/Fiche Search Box of the main menu of the online FHL catalog to see the films of the Acts of Office, 1407-1831.
2. The Sherwood Collection for Herefordshire families on FHL film 104404, item 3, includes notes and abstracts from wills along with other records.