In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Court of Probate was created by the

Court of Probate Act 1857 The Court of Probate Act 1857 ( 20 & 21 Vict. c. 77) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that transferred responsibility for the granting of probate, and letters of administration, from the ecclesiastical courts of England and W ...

, which transferred the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

of the

ecclesiastical courts In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...

in testamentary matters to the new court so created. The Judge of the Court of Probate also presided over the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, but the two courts remained separate entities. On 1 November 1875, under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1875, the Judge of the Court of Probate was transferred, as its President, to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

Judges of the Court of Probate

* 11 January 1858: Sir Cresswell Cresswell * 3 September 1863: Sir James Plaisted Wilde (from 6 April 1869, Lord Penzance) * 20 November 1872: Sir James Hannen

References

* * * * * Swabey and Tristram's Reports ** ** ** ** * Courts and tribunals established in 1857 1875 disestablishments in England Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales 1857 establishments in the United Kingdom Probate courts Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1875 {{UK-law-stub