National Archives of England Adds Death Duty Registers

The general public is now able to visit the website of the National Archives of England and search Death Duty Registers.

Death Duty Registers hold details of wills and bequests for estates liable to death duties. The Death Duty Registers cover the "country court" death duty registers (in other words, from Courts other than the Prerogative Court of Canterbury) for the period 1796 to 1811.

There are over 66,000 names in the database.

Among the pieces of information it provides...

• the date and place of the testator's death


• details about the deceased including what their personal estate was worth


• details of those named to carry out the instructions


• details of those named to inherit something and how they were related to the deceased


• any special arrangements


• the amount of tax that was paid