Compilations and indices of wills can be useful. Consult the online catalog under the subject heading for wills (i.e. Wills--Great Britain). One large collection is listed here.
British Records Society Limited. The Index Library: Containing Indexes , Calendars, and Abstracts of British Records. London etc: C.J. Clark, etc., British Record Society, Limited 1888-
Perkins/Bostock Stacks CS434 .B7
The records are largely from civil and ecclesiastical courts involved with the settlement of estates. Consequently, there are many indexes, abstracts, and calendars of wills and related proceedings. Marriage licenses are reported in a few volumes. The Index Library currently numbers 118 volumes, and publication is continuing.