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 |
| BEAKER | Will of Nicholas Beaker of West Knighton, Dorset | 09 December 1608 | PROB 11/112 |
| BEST | Sentence of William Best of Little Mayne, Dorset | 15 November 1587 | PROB 11/71 |
| GACH | Will of Robert Gach, Husbandman of West Knighton, Dorset | 04 June 1627 | PROB 11/152 |
| MEARE | Will of John Meare, Yeoman of West Knighton, Dorset | 18 May 1655 | PROB 11/245 |
| PAINE | Will of Robert Paine, Gentleman of West Knighton, Dorset | 22 November 1622 | PROB 11/140 |
| PITFIELD | Will of Joseph Pitfield, Yeoman of West Knighton, Dorset | 07 April 1849 | PROB 11/2091 |
| PITFIELD | Will of Betty aka Elizabeth Pitfield, Wife of West Knighton, Dorset | 09 April 1849 | PROB 11/2091 |
| RICHARDS | Will of James Richards, Gent. of West Knighton, Dorset | 07 February 1719 | PROB 11/567 |
| SHERREN | Will of James Sherren, Yeoman of West Knighton, Dorset | 01 March 1805 | PROB 11/1422 |
| SPRATT | Will of John Spratt, Yeoman of Little Mayne, Dorset | 20 May 1751 | PROB 11/788 |
| STILE | Will of William Stile, Yeoman of West Knighton, Dorset | 14 February 1801 | PROB 11/1354 |
| SWAYNE | Sentence of John Swayne of West Knighton, Dorset | 23 February 1697 | PROB 11/442 |
| SWAYNE | Will of John Swayne, Gentleman of West Knighton, Dorset | 06 March 1697 | PROB 11/437 |
| TRENCHFEILD | Will of Gyles Trenchfeild of West Knighton, Dorset | 13 October 1660 | PROB 11/300 |
| VOSS | Will of Edith Voss of West Knighton, Dorset | 14 March 1856 | PROB 11/2230 |
| WARD(E) | Will of William Ward or Warde of West Knighton, Dorset | 08 May 1638 | PROB 11/177 |
| WELLSTEED | Will of Roger Wellsteed, Gent. of West Knighton, Dorset | 14 January 1808 | PROB 11/1473 |
| WOODS | Will of Peter Woods of West Knighton, Dorset | 21 April 1773 | PROB 11/987 |
A LIST OF WILLS PROVED IN SELECTED OTHER COURTS 1568-1792
Consistory Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1681 – 1792
COFFIN William 1716
GOULD James A 1688, A. 1695
KELLAWAY Elizabeth A. 1707
MEECH Thomas A. 1718
POUNT Leonard 1740
SLADE Henry 1735
THRESHER Peter 1788
WOOD Elizabeth A. 1783
Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1568 – 1792
BARTER John 68 1771
BOUND John 62 1707
BUSSLE William 63 1707
CLARKE Edward 61 1707
CORBIN John 63 1728
FARR Thomas 81 1756
FROOME George 71 1759
KNIGHT William 48 1689
OKE Andrew 14 1680
POUNT Robert 71 1777
SLADE John 63 1786
SPRATT Anthony 33 1688
SYMES Henry 42 1686
Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1660 – 1792
DASHWOOD Humphrey 33 1667
GATCH Christopher 51 1669
GOUDGE Elizabeth 21 1735
JOY Thomas 32 1667
KEETE Roger 11 1662
KNIGHT William 64 1689
LILLINGTON Timothy 36 1682
MEADER John 63 1668
MOGG John 110 1681
PAYNE James 67 1677
POUNT Leonard 60 1683
POUNT James 52 1693
SAMWAYES William 41 1737
SEARLE John 68 1677
SMITH George 34 1775
WILLIAMS Jane 63 1694