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 lists below provide details of wills of Belchalwell residents, but may not be exhaustive.
TABLE I. WILLS PROVED IN THE PCC
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 |
| BAYNARD(E) | Will of Thomas Baynard or Baynarde of Belchalwell, Dorset | 30 October 1647 | PROB 11/202 |
| DEVENISH | Will of Richard Devenish, Gentleman of Belchalwell, Dorset | 04 November 1678 | PROB 11/358 |
| HAYNE | Will of Edward Hayne of Belchalwell, Dorset | 30 January 1591 | PROB 11/77 |
| KEYNELL | Will of John Keynell, Gentleman of Belchalwell, Dorset | 24 August 1659 | PROB 11/294 |
| KEYNELL | Will of John Keynell, Chirurgion of Belchalwell, Dorset | 01 May 1660 | PROB 11/298 |
| ROSE | Will of Benjamin Rose, Yeoman of Belchalwell, Dorset | 30 October 1849 | PROB 11/2101 |
| SHORT | Will of Edward Short, Yeoman of Belchalwell, Dorset | 19 April 1659 | PROB 11/290 |
TABLE II. WILLS PROVED IN BRISTOL DIOCESIAN COURTS 1568-1792 (now held at Blandford)
(A) Consistory Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1681 – 1792
KIDDLE William, Belchalwell A. 1726
STRANGE Joseph, Belchalwell 1793
(B) Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1568 – 1792 (Wills)
DEVENISH Elizabeth, Belchalwell 2 1706
HAINE Thomas, Belchalwell 6 1764
HASKELL Sarah, Belchalwell 3 1763
MASTERS John, Belchalwell 1 1722
(C) Archdeaconry Court of the late Diocese of Bristol 1660 – 1792
CLOTHIER John, Belchalwell 3 1669
DANYES Frances. Belchalwell 3 1675
DAVIS Mary, Belchalwell 4 1671
DERBY Lawrence, Belchalwell 2 1662
JOHN Thomas, Belchalwell (Pendente, lite Will, 1791) 1 1791
KIDDLE Thomas, Belchalwell 5 1684
PITMAN Richard, Belchalwell 3 1666
SEYMER Robert. Belchalwell 3 1747
SHORT Joan, Belchalwell 35 1672
YETMAN John, Belchalwell 1 1752