Dalwood and Stockland Wills

These two parishes were originally in the county of Dorset but in 1836 they were transferred ecclesiastically to the Exeter diocese and in 1844 they were transferred to the civil county of Devon. Dalwood is a chapelry of Stockland. This transfer from Dorset to Devon meant that the wills of the parishioners were not proved by the Devon church authorities but those of Dorset. For this reason, unlike the old Devon wills and admons that were all lost in 1942, those for these two parishes still survive. This is an index of the names and jurisdictions where their wills were proved and that have been extracted from Vols 22 (published 1900) and 53 (published 1922) Index Library, British Record Society: "Calendars of Wills & Administrations relating to the County of Dorset. All now preserved in the Probate Registry of Blandford (Dorset)".

It is assumed that, subsequent to the publishing of these Index Library volumes, these wills were transferred from the Probate Reigistry in Blandford to the Dorset Record Office.

The old Diocese of Bristol was created in the year 1542 and included a large part of the County of Dorset which had originally belonged to the Diocese of Sarum.

VOL 53 Index Library, British Record Socty (published 1922)

Transcribed by by Jean E. Harris