WILLS PROVED IN THE PREROGATIVE COURT OF CANTERBURY
(PCC)
Transcribed and donated to the Dorset OPC Project by Kim Parker
Until 1858 all wills had to be proved (formally approved) by church and other courts. The Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), the most important of these courts, dealt with the relatively wealthy individuals living mainly in the south of England and most of Wales (what was originally the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury). Wills of less wealthy individuals MAY have been proved in a number of other ecclesiastical courts, including the Archdeaconry Court of Exeter (pre-1843); the Archdeaconry Court of Dorset (post-1843); The Consistory Court of the Bishop of Exeter (pre-1843); or the Royal Peculiar of Sarum. From 1858 all wills were indexed centrally and this index is widely available at Record Offices, Probate Registries and the LDS Church.
The following wills proven in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury can be downloaded from the PRO site National Archives Discovery Catalogue for a small fee.
| NAME | DESCRIPTION | DATE | REFERENCE |
| ATKINSON | Will of Charles Atkinson of Woodsford, Dorset | 29 March 1855 | PROB 11/2207 |
| CARTER | Will of George Carter of Woodsford, Dorset | 22 September 1619 | PROB 11/134 |
| KERSLAKE | Will of Joseph Kerslake, Yeoman of Woodsford, Dorset | 30 September 1852 | PROB 11/2159 |
| SPRATT | Will of John Spratt, Yeoman of Woodsford, Dorset | 5 March 1750 | PROB 11/777 |
| SYMES | Will of Thomas Symes, Yeoman of Woodsford, Dorset | 11 April 1616 | PROB 11/127 |
| SYMONDES | Will of Thomas Symondes, Gentelman of Woodsford, Dorset | 17 May 1566 | PROB 11/48 |
A list of Wills of Woodsford residents proved in other ecclesiastical courts up
until 1792
| NAME | COURT | REFERENCE / DATE |
| ALDRIDGE, Cadwallader | Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol | 32 1772 |
| ANTRAM, John | Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol | 59 1721 |
| ANTRAM, Richard | Consistory Court of the Late Diocese of Bristol 1681-1792 | (A) 1770 |
| BURT, William | Consistory Court of the Late Diocese of Bristol 1681-1792 | (A) 1721 |
| STENT, John | Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol | 68 1709 |
| STURMEY, Elianor | Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol | 39 1734 |
| SYMES, George | Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol | 36 1675 |