Search Wiltshire, Salisbury Wills Index, 1464-1858

The original wills are held at Wiltshire and Swindon Archives located in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The reference provided here is the same full reference as required by the Archives.

What information from the document do I need to locate the original?

• Testator's name
• Residence
• Year
• References

Each record includes a transcript of the index. The amount of detail in each transcript can vary but most will include:

• Name
• Status or occupation
• Year
• Residence
• Place
• Former residence
• Document type – will, wrapper, inventory, nuncupative will,
• Document reference

This British Record Society (BRS) index was produced as part of the Wiltshire Wills Project, being a collaboration between Wiltshire and Swindon Archives and the BRS.

The main courts were:

• Bishop's Consistory Court
• Archdeaconry of Wiltshire in the north
• Archdeaconry of Sarum in the south of the county
• Sub-Dean's Court covering Salisbury and Stratford sub Castle, and the Dean's Court.
• There were several small jurisdictions covering either a single parish or group of parishes, attached to various lay or clerical dignitaries.

As a result, there are records for 29 different jurisdictions at Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, covering the whole of Wiltshire, parts of Dorset, Hampshire and Berkshire and the Devon parish of Uffculme.

These records are also available as part of Findmypast’s England & Wales Published Wills. In that search you are able to use the Name search to search the entire document.