The Source

Two previous volumes published by this society (vols. xxxvii and xlv) have made available in print all wills proved in the court of the Archdeacon of Bedford from 1498 to 1526. The wills in the present volume, which relate largely though not entirely to Bedfordshire, have been selected from the registers of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, now preserved at the Public Record Office in London. It was in this court that the wills of those of wealth and position were usually proved. The earliest of these registers dates from 1383 and commences with the will of Sir Robt. Rous (no. 1 in the present vol.). The registers continue to the 19th century but this volume only includes wills made up to the end of the reign of Hen. VIII, who died 28 January 1547. One relevant probate inventory was traced and has been included. The registers from which this volume has been prepared contain, of course, not original wills but contemporary copies made as part of the probate procedure. Very few of the original wills survive for this period – none at all before 1484 and very few up to c. 1524. In the process of copying errors have undoubtedly crept in; the Court’s scribes, unfamiliar with Bedfordshire place-names, rendered Biggleswade as ‘Upkilliswade’ (no. 66) and Eyeworth as ‘Giworth’ and even ‘Giborgh’ (no. 130). A couple of wills contain nonsense lines where words or phrases have been erroneously omitted (nos. 26, 95) and, where the scribe has found himself entirely defeated, blanks are left. The will of Sir Rich. Fowler is interesting in this respect for a probate copy (i.e. a copy made for the exors.) of this will is deposited at Bedford Record Office (CH 875) and the word “dumb” appears where the register copy left a blank.

References to P.C.C. wills used to be given as the name of the register and the folio number, as: Rous f.l. This is how they appear in the printed index referred to below. However, the names of the registers have now been superseded by a numerical sequence, used here. All the registers fall into the class PROB 11. Page numbers are included here to facilitate locating a will in the registers, since each folio contains several wills.