Cheshire wills that haven't survived

[ElizabethHerts]

I have been very fortunate that a lot of the wills relating to OH's family are on FMP.

However, with some of the later ones I'm finding a recurring theme - the will hasn't survived.

For example, the will of David Hyde, the eldest surviving son of Abel Hyde and his wife Sarah, née Hollinworth:

"I’m afraid the only surviving material for the probate of David Hyde is what you have already found on Find My Past and was taken from the probate act books which we hold here on microfilm. Prior to their deposit with us, wills and probate records were housed in less than satisfactory conditions and so some completely deteriorated before they were transferred to our offices. It seems to me as though the will for David Hyde, 1817 was one of them."

First name(s) David
Last name Hyde
Occupation Gentleman
Residence Mottram, Longdendale
Probate year 1817
County Cheshire
Country England
Record set Cheshire Wills and Probate
Category Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory Wills & probate
Collections from Great Britain

I had another one which is similar. I wonder how many wills were lost?

[Phoenix]

Just consider Devon and Cornwall, where virtually everything held in Exeter was destroyed by enemy action in WW2.

I am told that original PCC wills survive, but I'd bet that even if perfectly conserved, a few would have gone walkabout.

Unless wills are bound together, it would be very difficult to assess survival if they were in poor condition.

[ElizabethHerts]

I'd still keep them even in poor condition, Phoenix. They can do wonders now with deciphering damaged documents, but I suppose they would have to be considered important enough.

[Phoenix]

Difficult to tell, but it sounds as if they were weeded before ever they reached the current location.

Usually you get a "document unavailable for production" if it is too fragile. St Lawrence Jewry displays a doll's house size copy of the Rose Baptismal Register for the parish. If you have handled one, you know they were huge. Water damage has shrunk it to the size of a paperback. Page 1 is legible, but you could never produce it for research.

There is also the question of when the material was acquired. Norfolk RO have a bitter note in their catalogue. There was a librarian but no archivist in the 1950s and he (unnamed) disposed of all the wrappings, accompanying letters etc that would have given provenance to their accessions.