Wills 1608 City of London

My earliest ancestor, Humphrey PARTRIDGE was buried in Billesdon, Leics in
1608. I have found several wills for the later Partridge family at
Leicestershire RO. However, when I was browsing on Ancestry.co.uk I came
across a will for my ancestor as follows:
Inquisitions Post Mortem for the CITY OF LONDON, wills and administrations,
1561-1577. Wills 1608, London, Humphrey PARTRIDGE; Billesdon 97.

I am wondering where this document will be kept (I've searched the web for without
success) and why it is in London and not in Leicestershire? Can anyone with
experience of locating wills at this date in the City of London help me find
out who to contact to obtain a copy?

Chris Watts...

Typical useless ancestry.co.uk. Information without quoting its source is
meaningless.

john...

The reference is from a CD, English Parish Records, published by Ancestry

However, the info on the web site may just be the same as on the CD.

Perhaps someone having access to a copy of the CD could check?

Peter Goodey...

It's not London. The section is headed "Archdeaconry Court of Leicester".
Try the appropriate records office.

But...there's a note against 1608 "The roll of Wills for this year is
unfortunately lost." I wouldn't let that put you off trying!

Mayoh...

Thank you so much Peter for this (also thanks to everyone else who tried to
help). The entry at Ancestry was so confusing. Just my luck if 1608 is
lost!

Daniel Morgan...

Actually, I too find this entry in Ancestry's London database (online,

Hugh Watkins...

scroll down any ancestry page search page and you will find the sources

very often an old rare bookj for that kind of data

Hugh W

not CD) with no mention of Leicestershire, but ...

In my experience, Ancestry's online "parish and probate records"
databases are often garbled very badly. (Are they better on CD?) The
headings often have absolutely nothing to do with the actual source,
which is usually a scanned book of some sort. As Peter indicates, this
entry appears to come from "Calendars of wills and administrations
relating to the county of Leicester : proved in the Archdeaconry Court
of Leicester, 1495-1649, and in the peculiars of St. Margaret
Leicester, Rothley, Groby, Evington, and the unproved wills etc.,
previous to 1801 : all now preserved in the probate registry at
Leicester", which was published in London by the British Record Society
in 1902.

I have just looked at a copy of the above book (scanned page images at
Heritage Quest). On page 95, in the section "Series IV: Wills,

Partridge, Humphrey, Billesdon [No.] 97

The introduction to this section says, "The roll for 1608 is lost, but
the index is preserved. There are good Register Books containing copies
of Wills for" various years including 1608.

Charani...

Try The National Archives (TNA) and/or A2A. If TNA have it you'll be
able to download it from their site.