No publications of the Society create a greater interest, and none are so widely and carefully studied. In these five volumes more than a thousand Wills and Inventories have been printed, either in their entirety or to a very considerable extent. In the opinion of some, a large portion of each Will ought to be published. The resources of the Surtees Society are quite unable to satisfy this demand. Few persons have any idea of the vast number of Wills preserved at York, and it has been thought best to give a selection from these documents, which it would be impossible for any Society to print in extension.
