Devon Wills Project

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This index has been created from the listing at the Devon Record Office (Exeter) of their collection of copies of Devon wills (dated 1812-1857) which were held in London for estate duty ('death duty') purposes, and which survived through the second World War. From 1796 legacy, succession and estate duty ('death duties') were payable on many estates in England and Wales over a certain value. However, surviving copies of the wills which were subject to this duty date from 1812 to 1857. This is because it was only from 1812 that copy wills were made - before this, the Death Duty Registers include very brief abstracts of wills. Although the copy wills from 1812 to 1857 have largely been destroyed, those for Cornwall, Devon and Somerset (from the major local probate courts) were sent to the respective record offices, to fill some of the gap caused by the loss of locally held wills from those counties by enemy action. The collection in Devon Record Office is known as the Inland Revenue Wills Series or the Estate Duty Office Wills.