The details shown were extracted from the printed volumes held at the Probate Dept of the Principal Registry Family Division, at First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP.  We have added the notes in the right hand column to explain who we believe the persons are who are named in the summary.  However, there could be further information in the actual Wills or Administrations themselves.  The search room at First Avenue House is now closed, but Abstracts of the Probate Calendars for England and Wales are now available online at Ancestry (1858-1966) and Find My Past (1858-1959).  

However, the Search form on the Probate Office website now appears to include results for Probates from the whole of the British Isles from 1858 to present time and is free.  The catch is that you do need to know the year of death to obtain any results.  

For probates up to 1966 you will be able to view the calendar which gives you the date of death and date of probate necessary to order the online copy of the relevant document(s).

For probates after 1996 you are not given the opportunity to see the abstract, but you do learn the full date of death and probate and whether a Will or Administration is available.  Copies can be ordered online.

I have not used this service yet, but it looks as if each document costs £10 and it says "you will be able to access the Will(s) for 31 days" after allowing 10 working days for the document to become available.  I would be interested to learn how well the service works from anyone who tries it out!

This website also offers a search for wills of Soldiers who died while serving in the British Armed Forces between 1850 and 1986 - these also cost £10.

For more guidance, and to find other Records Offices where copies of the Probate Calendar are held, see the Genuki site at www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Probate.html