An Index of Staplehurst Wills
In the Prerogative Court
1384 - 1858
Where people owned goods in more than one jurisdiction, the will was proved in the more senior Prerogative Court of Canterbury. In practice, many people preferred the Prerogative Court, particularly in the 19th century. During the Commonwealth (1653 – 1660), all wills were proved by a central Court of Probate and these now form part of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury collection held by The National Archives.
The Prerogative Court of Canterbury records are now held in the National Archives in Kew.
The registered copies of wills are held in the catalogue "PROB 11" and the button above will take you to an index of those wills for which the people are classed as 'of Staplehurst'.
Where to Get Copies of these Wills:
The National Archives website has an online index of PROB 11 registered
wills and for a small fee you can download a copy from: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/.
The National Archives hold many other classes of documents from inventories , administrations etc. For anyone interested in extending their search beyond those recorded here, Dr. David Wright has produced an excellent book ‘Kent Probate Records, A Catalogue and Practical Guide’. The book outlines the various collections and identifies where they are held and if there are indexes.