From wills to letters—if it's legible, I can transcribe it. Specialising in British, Irish, and Scottish historical documents from 1550 to 1900. Based in England with expertise in UK archives—ideal for USA, Australian, and Canadian researchers tracing British ancestry.
Last wills and testaments, probate inventories, letters of administration, executor accounts. I understand the legal language and can decode even the most complex bequests.
A plain English summary is available as an optional add-on — ideal if you want to understand the document at a glance without working through the original language. See Pricing for details.
Individual entries from diocesan probate act books, bishops' registers, and ecclesiastical court records — including grants of administration, probate acts, and institution entries. Though brief in length, these documents use the same heavily abbreviated, formulaic Latin found in a probate clause, and require the same specialist expertise as full wills. Each entry is transcribed with full editorial notes, expanded abbreviations, and uncertain readings clearly flagged. Particularly valuable for pre-1600 research where the act book entry may be the only surviving probate record.
Indentures, conveyances, lease agreements, mortgage deeds, marriage settlements. These often contain crucial family information beyond just property transfers.
Quarter Sessions records, trial depositions, witness statements, bastardy bonds, Assize records, ecclesiastical court material. Court documents can reveal fascinating family stories that appear nowhere else in the archive.
Sworn witness depositions from the Court of Chancery and other equity courts — among the richest and most detailed sources in the archive for 17th and 18th century research. Each deposition records a witness's answers to written interrogatories: full name, occupation, age, and place of residence, followed by detailed personal testimony on the matters in dispute. These documents frequently name family members, neighbours, servants, and business associates, and often contain information found nowhere else.
Chancery depositions are written in a specialist legal secretary hand with heavy abbreviation, contracted legal formulae, and interlinear insertions, and require experienced handling. A single Chancery case typically involves multiple depositions from several witnesses, taken across more than one hearing date — each document is quoted individually. Found principally in The National Archives series C21, C22, and C24.
Please note: If you are commissioning transcription of a Chancery case, please send details of all documents in the set so that I can quote for the collection as a whole. Individual documents within a case vary considerably in length and difficulty — a single upfront quote for the full set avoids surprises mid-commission.
Baptism, marriage, and burial entries (when handwritten), churchwardens' accounts, vestry minutes, poor law records, settlement examinations and removal orders. Essential sources for early family history.
Letters, diaries, journals, family papers. Often the most intimate and revealing documents in your family history.
Apprenticeship indentures, guild records, account books, ledgers, receipts. Show how your ancestors made their living.
Service records, discharge papers, pension applications, medal citations. Track your ancestors' military service.
Handwritten census returns, prison registers, workhouse records, hospital admission books, school registers. Tabular records transcribed into clear spreadsheet format.
Manorial records, tithe maps and apportionments, enclosure awards, land tax assessments. Trace property ownership through generations.
Passenger lists, naturalisation papers, port records. Follow your ancestors' journeys.
20th century letters, notes, manuscripts, diaries. If you can't read someone's handwriting or just need it typed up, I can help.
If you have a historical document not listed here, contact me. I can usually help with any handwritten English-language document from the 16th century onwards.
Delivered as a clean, formatted transcription via a Google Docs link — or as a Word document or another format if you prefer. You'll see a PDF preview of the first page (or about 25% of shorter documents) first, to confirm you're happy before you pay.
Layout matches the original where helpful. Paragraphs, lists, and sections clearly indicated. Tabular records converted to readable table format.
Any word I cannot read with complete confidence is marked [unclear] — never guessed, and never silently left out. You'll know exactly what's definite and what might need verification.
Archaic terms, unusual abbreviations, or legal phrases explained in footnotes or endnotes where helpful.
I keep the original spelling and punctuation so you have an accurate historical record—but I'll flag anything confusing.
For an additional fee, I'll explain what the document says in plain modern terms — highlighting the key people, relationships, bequests, and legal provisions. Ideal for clients who want to understand the document at a glance. Available for wills, deeds, and most legal records.
Please note: The plain English summary is provided for general reference and ease of understanding only. It should not be relied upon for any legal, financial, or genealogical purpose without reference to the full diplomatic transcription. Heritage Script accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of the summary alone.
For an additional fee, I can provide basic historical context where possible—identifying dates, legal officials, or place names mentioned. This is NOT professional genealogical research or family tree building, just contextual information to enhance completeness of the transcription. Additional research quoted separately.
If you spot something that needs clarification or have questions about the transcription, minor revisions are included in the price.
Send me your document and I'll provide a free, no-obligation quote within 24 hours.
Request a Quote