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Wills search

The wills index comprises about 77,000 entries taken from a manual listing of probate records of the Diocese of Hereford, 1428 - 1700;  the Diocese of Hereford Probate Act Books 1700-1858, and Hereford Deanery Probate Act Books 1660-1858. The early probate listing includes wills (W), letters of administration (A), inventories (I) and other associated documents. Information given includes name of testator, parish, occupation and original document reference. The Act Books contain a summary record of each grant, including: the names of the testator and executor(s), the parish they were from, the value of each estate and the date of the probate grant. In some cases, all of the original documents have been lost and the Act Book holds the only surviving record of a will.

Historically, the Diocese of Hereford included most of the modern county of Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and some bordering parishes in Powys, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Visit the Diocese of Hereford website for coverage of the Diocese of Hereford and Deanery of Hereford.

You can order copies of wills and letters of administrations for £12 each, or four for the price of three, from the Herefordshire Archive Service's research service. Copies will be sent via email. Alternatively, we can post paper copies for which we will charge postage. To order, complete a research request form - remember to include details on the testator and date of probate on the form. For further information visit the research and copying service page.

Using the wills search

If you are uncertain about a name, you can use wildcards:

  • '*' will match any characters
  • '_' will match any single character

For example, 'J_n' would match Jon but not John, and 'J*n' would match both.

Search for a will

Type Date of Probate Surname Forename Parish Executor(s) Name(s) Value Jurisdiction Occupation Original Reference
A 22/04/1703 Merrick John Llandinabo Thomas Merrick 10.00.00 Diocesan
W 22/04/1701 Merrick Richard Hereford St Martin, Lower Bullingham Frances Merrick, Eleanor Merrick, Elizabeth Merrick not given Deanery
W I 10/12/1700 Merrick Thomas Aston Ingham Wheelwright 135/02/05
W 10/12/1700 Merrick Thomas Aston Ingham Joseph Wintle 15.00.00 Diocesan
W A I 13/11/1700 Merrick William Mainstone Yeoman 135/01/26
W I 03/08/1699 Merrick Thomas Monkland Weaver 130/04/01
W 15/?/1696 Merrick John Weston-under-Penyard, Dunne House Yeoman 124/01/08
A I 20/06/1694 Merrick Thomas Hope Mansell Yeoman 118/03/32
A I 13/06/1693 Merrick Sara Much Wenlock Widow 115/03/16
A I 21/01/1691 Merrick John Monmouth 111/04/17
W I 05/03/1690 Merrick Thomas Weston-under-Penyard, Weston Street Yeoman 109/03/03
W I 04/02/1690 Merrick Jane Tenbury Widow 109/02/01
W I 20/01/1690 Merrick Andrew Clun, Edgclift Yeoman 109/01/11
W I 01/08/1688 Merrick John Kingsland Weaver 102/02/01
A I 10/04/1688 Merrick Humphrey Neen Savage, Nethercott Yeoman 101/02/09
A I 13/12/1686 Merrick Richard Mainstone 96/03/03
W I 01/06/1686 Merrick Thomas Weston-under-Penyard Yeoman 94/02/01
A W I 22/03/1685 Merrick William Lidham Labourer 93/02/28
W I 28/?/1685 Merrick Elizabeth Leominster Widow 88/03/46
AC 02/09/1684 Merrick John Clunbury 86/02/25
W 20/03/1684 Merrick Thomas Lower Bullingham Sarah Jones 13.06.04 Deanery
W I 06/11/1683 Merrick William Wheathill Yeoman 82/01/22
W I 03/07/1683 Merrick Edward Churchstoke 80/02/06
A I 24/?/1683 Merrick John Clunbury, Clunton Husbandman 79/01/48
W I 27/02/1682 Merrick John Clun, Bircher, Edscliffe Yeoman 78/01/79