Wills and death duties

The following series of wills and death duties are available to download from DocumentsOnline. Select the headings to be taken to an in depth guide to each series.

Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (PROB 11)
Wills from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury made between 1384 and 1858. Search
Famous wills (PROB 1)
These include the wills of Jane Austen, Sir Francis Drake, Samuel Pepys and Christopher Wren. William Shakespeare's will is free to download and contains a rare example of his signature. Search
Death Duty Registers (IR 26)
Death duty registers hold details of wills and bequests for estates liable to death duties. This collection covers the ‘country court’ registers between 1796 and 1811. Search
Wills of Royal Naval Seamen, (ADM 48)
A collection of around 20,000 wills made by seamen of the Royal Navy between 1786 and 1882. Search

Research Tools

You can compare today's prices compares with yesterday's prices using The National Archives’ currency converter.
The book Wills and Probate Records, Karen Grannum and Nigel Taylor (The National Archives 2009), is a guide to all nationally available sources for wills and probate records.

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