An index of wills and administrations proved in the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry from 1516-1652 has been made available online.
The index volume (British Record Society volume 7) is available as part of the British Record Society Probate Collection at the National Wills Index, and contains references to some 50,000 testamentary records at Lichfield and Birmingham.
The Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry was, until the year 1541, one of the largest in England. The diocese included the whole of the counties of Stafford, Chester, and Derby, parts of Shropshire, Warwickshire, Lancashire, Westmorland and Yorkshire, and extending into Wales held testamentary jurisdiction over some small portions of Flintshire and Denbighshire. Some Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire wills may also be found.
