You can apply to Birmingham to get the wills back to mid 19th century. The wills don't have to be proved in Birmingham. I have ordered two or three from there recently that were proved in London and found the service to be excellent. Cost is £5 and turn around time is about a week, but you will need to provide probate date and location to avoid an additional search fee. If you can't get to Bham Probate Reg, include all the information in a letter to the address in #12, together with payment that should suffice.