Durham Probate Records: pre-1858 will registers 1-29

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Introduction

	Contents
	Arrangement
	Bibliography

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Catalogue

• Will register 1
• Will register 2
• Will register 3
• Will register 4
• Will register 4A
• Will register 5
• Will register 6
• Will register 7
• Will register 8
• Will register 9
• Will register 10
• Will register 11
• Will register 12
• Will register 13
• Will register 14
• Will register 14A
• Will register 14B
• Will register 14C
• Will register 15
• Will register 16
• Will register 17
• Will register 18
• Will register 19
• [Will register 20-22]
• Will register 23
• Will register 24
• Will register 25
• Will register 26
• Will register 27
• Will register 28
• Will register 29

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Contents

Registered copies of wills, together with some inventories within the earlier registers. See main DPR1 catalogue for further details on these records.

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Accession details

See main DPR1 catalogue.

Conditions of access

Open for consultation.

Copyright and copying

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Sub-Librarian, Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material

Arrangement

The wills were normally registered in date order according to the date of probate, though there are some inconsistencies within this arrangement.

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Finding aids

This list incorporates all the public information from the North East Inheritance database relating to these records. However, the online database at http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei/data/ will generally be found more helpful for research using the probate records, as it can be searched by person, place, occupation and document type as well as dates of probate and of documents. All the data within this catalogue is made available through the online database.
Note in particular that the pre-1650 registers have not yet been listed in detail. The online database includes references to wills and inventories published in Surtees Society volumes (including entries from these registers), but these references are not included within the following list.
The main DPR1 catalogue includes general information relating to each volume (including availability of microfilms and indexes). Lists are also available for the later will registers, vols 30-49 (1790-1840) and vols 50-63 (1840-1858).

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Bibliography

For a bibliography of editions, indexes and other works relating to the probate records generally, see the Useful texts section of the North East Inheritance project pages. This includes links to online full text, where available.

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Catalogue

Will register 1
DPR1/2/1   1526/7-1578
97f   
Registered wills date chiefly from the 1550s, but including the following earlier items:
Index at f.95. Foliated as 96ff., but really 97 ff. as 46 occurs twice.
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Will register, 1526-1578 - DPR1/2/1

Will register 2
DPR1/2/2   1561-1567
Indexed at end of following volume, DPR1/2/3. The index refers to the old foliation in red ink at the top right corner of each sheet, not to the more recent pencil foliation. When this volume was foliated the number 70 was not used.
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register 1561-1567 - DPR1/2/2

Will register 3
DPR1/2/3   1567-1571
Indexed at end (with preceding volume). The index refers to the old foliation in red ink at the top right corner of each sheet, not to the more recent pencil foliation. When this volume was foliated the numbers 35-36, 222 and 254 were not used. Folio 206 is a stub.
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register 1567-1571 - DPR1/2/3

Will register 4
Reference: DPR1/2/4
Dates of creation: 1571-1583 Microfilm PGFilm 106
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register, 1571-1583 - DPR1/2/4

Will register 4A
DPR1/2/4A   1573-1584
This item consists of 26 unbound folios in a slip-case, all(?) relating to Northumberland.
Microfilm PGFilm 106
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register 4A, 1573-1584 - DPRI/2/4A

Will register 5
Reference: DPR1/2/5
Dates of creation: 1577-1580 Microfilm PGFilm 106
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register, 1577-1580 - DPR1/2/5

Will register 6
DPR1/2/6   1580-1614
There is an index to this volume at f.274-286. When this volume was foliated the numbers 77 and 273 were not used.
Microfilm PGFilm 107
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register, 1580-1614 - DPR1/2/6

Will register 7
DPR1/2/7   1586-1613
Indexed at f.ii-iv. f.273 is a stub. When this volume was foliated the numbers 311-318 and 352 were not used.
Previously mis-numbered with the series of act books under the reference DPR1/4/5.
Microfilm PGFilm 107
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Probate register, 1586-1613 - DPR1/2/7

Will register 8
DPR1/2/8   1665-1670
Indexed at f.233-235. When this volume was foliated f.148 was missed out from the sequence.
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Will register 8, 1665-70 - DPR1/2/8

Will register 9
DPR1/2/9   1670-1675
Indexed at f.i-iii. Wrongly labelled 1668-1684 on spine.
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Will register 9, 1670-1675 - DPR1/2/9

Will register 10
DPR1/2/10   1707-1708
Indexed at f.i-xx (booklet in pocket inside front cover) and at f.xxi-xxii. The index is foliated and the volume paginated.
Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Will register 10, 1707-1708 - DPR1/2/10

Will register 11
Reference: DPR1/2/11
Dates of creation: 1724-1725Digitised material for Durham Probate Records: Will register 11, 1724-1725 - DPR1/2/11

Will register 12
DPR1/2/12   1725-1729
When this volume was paginated the numbers 341-390 were repeated by mistake following on from the original p.390 (second sequence now 341 bis - 390 bis), and numbers 188, 191-199, 277, 291-299, 344-353 (first sequence), 366 (first sequence), 477 not used. Indexed at pp.622-628.

Will register 13
DPR1/2/13   1729-1735
Indexed at pp. 875-894. There is another index at pp. 895-896, some of which is a copy of parts of the above index (M - O), the rest of which (A - F) concerns 'Commandments' and does not appear to relate to this volume. When this volume was paginated the numbers 81, 101, 560-599 and 769 were not used.
No sewing; textblock detached from boards; spring blocked in many parts. Item may only be produced and handled in the Conservation unit.

Will register 14
DPR1/2/14   1735-1737
Modern typescript index at f.i-v. This refers to the pencil foliation. There are also remnants of an earlier incomplete ink pagination, apparently continued from the pagination of a previous volume. f.59 wrongly placed in front of f.58 during rebinding in 1975. Wrongly labelled 1735-1736 on spine. At one point, but probably not always, the sheets in this volume were bound with those in DPR1/2/14A. The original volume was divided in two and rebound as two volumes in 1975.

Will register 14A
DPR1/2/14A   1737-1742
There are two sets of paginations and the older set is divided into two sequences. Modern typescript index at f.i-xxiii, referring to the old paginations. For the year 1737 the pages were formerly numbered and dated with the year in ink (1737 pages 1-148), to which page numbers have now been added in pencil (pages 1-148). For the subsequent years 1738-1742 the pages were formerly numbered and dated with the year in ink (1738 etc. pages 1-495), to which page numbers have now been added in pencil (pages 149-642). In the old pagination, page 515 is repeated once. In the new pagination page 180 occurs three times.

Will register 14B
DPR1/2/14B   1734; 1750-1752
Indexed at p.iii-iv, covering 1734 entries only. When this volume was paginated the number 124 was not used.
Three bifolia apparently from a register covering 1744 are kept within the series of original wills and inventories, where they are listed as DPR/I/1/1744/S17/1-6. For registered copies of some wills made or proved in 1752 and one will made in 1757 see the final section of DDR/EJ/FAC/1/1, the register of faculties for 1767-1792 (pp. 1 rev. - 18 rev.).

Will register 14C
DPR1/2/14C   1759
Indexed at pp. 162-167. When this volume was paginated the numbers 155-159 were not used.

Will register 15
DPR1/2/15   1760
Indexed at p.172-178.

Will register 16
DPR1/2/16   1761
Indexed at p.167-170.

Will register 17
DPR1/2/17   1767
In the most recent ink foliation (which was intended to correct the repetition of some numbers in the previous foliation) there is a gap (numbers 181-188 not used), but there was no gap in the previous ink foliation (present f.180 was previous f.175 [repeated] and present f.189 was previous f.176 [repeated]). This item consists of unbound folios in a slip-case.

Will register 18
DPR1/2/18   1769
Indexed at f.130v-131v.

Will register 19
DPR1/2/19   1770
Modern typescript index at f.i - vi.

[Will register 20-22]
Reference: [DPR1/2/20-22] There are no surviving probate registers numbered 20 to 22.

Will register 23
DPR1/2/23   1774-1775
Indexed at p. 637-640.

Will register 24
DPR1/2/24   1776-1778
Surnames A-K only. Items are arranged first by year, then within each year alphabetically by initial letter of the surname only (A-K), and then, within each initial letter, presumably chronologically. Indexed (separately for each year, arranged in the same way) at p. 661-669. The pagination has been altered considerably in parts (in ink) but the index refers to the final ink pagination. When this volume was paginated the numbers 330-339 were not used.

Will register 25
DPR1/2/25   1778; 1781
Surnames L to Y for 1778 and surnames A to part W for 1781. Items are arranged first by year, then within each year alphabetically by initial letter of the surname only, and then, within each initial letter, presumably chronologically. Indexed (separately for each year, arranged in the same way) at pp. 645-653 (with copy/draft index as loose booklet at pp. 655-666).

Will register 26
DPR1/2/26   1781; 1784
Surnames part W only for 1781 and surnames A to P for 1784. Items are arranged first by year, then within each year alphabetically by initial letter of the surname only, and then, within each initial letter, presumably chronologically. Indexed (for whole volume, arranged in the same way) at pp. 547-556.

Will register 27
DPR1/2/27   1784; 1787
Surnames R-Y for 1784 and surnames A-K for 1787. Items are arranged first by year, then within each year alphabetically by initial letter of the surname only, and then, within each initial letter, presumably chronologically (with three 'W' wills for 1784 at p.554-555). Indexed at pp. 556-561, including reference number of bond associated with each will.

Will register 28
DPR1/2/28   1787; 1791; 1826
This register contains copies of wills proved in sede vacante years (during the periods between the death of a bishop and the consecration of his successor). Indexed at p.xv-xvi. The entries are arranged alphabetically only by initial letter of the surname and thereafter presumably chronogically.

Will register 29
DPR1/2/29   1787; 1790
Surnames L-W for 1787 and surnames A-J for 1790. Items are arranged first by year, then within each year alphabetically by initial letter of the surname only, and then, within each initial letter, presumably chronologically. at p. 560-564 (with copy or draft as loose booklet, p.568-575). Pagination has been altered considerably in the latter part of the volume (in ink) but the index refers to the final ink pagination. When this volume was paginated the number 406 was not used.