Cemetery records

Research Guide

1. About this guide

This guide explains how to find the burial place of an individual in London’s cemeteries.

Before the mid-19th century most burials in London took place in churchyards and were recorded in parish registers.

In the 1850s, the overcrowded churchyards and burial grounds of inner London were closed by a series of Acts of Parliament and subsequently burials took place mainly in municipal and commercial cemeteries.

Some records in this guide are available on Ancestry.co.uk. A subscription is required to access Ancestry.co.uk at home but free access is provided at The London Archives.

2. What do I need to know before I start?

Try to find out:

The date of death
The place of death
Their last known address

For cemetery burials, there was not always a connection between the area where the death occurred, and the cemetery chosen for interment. Start with the cemeteries closest to the place of death and last known address but be prepared to widen your search.

3. Cemetery records held at The London Archives

We hold burial records for the following cemeteries:

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground

Interment order books, gravestone inscriptions and plans in CLC/271
Original burial registers, 1713-1854 are held at The National Archives and can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936

City of London Cemetery, Little Ilford

Registers of private graves, monuments and cremations in CLA/052
Original burial registers, 1856 to date are held at the cemetery and can be searched on the City of London Cemetery website

City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery

Burial registers, day books and registers of private graves in CTHC. These records can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Registers, 1841-1966

Highgate Cemetery

Bishop’s transcripts of burial registers in DL/T/063/001-028 can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003

Kensal Green Cemetery

Burial registers in B/GC
Bishop’s transcripts of burial registers in DL/T/041/001-040 can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
Original burial registers are held at the Cemetery and can be searched on Deceased Online (charges apply)

New Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, Islington

Burial registers and burial fee registers in B/NBF

Nunhead Cemetery

Bishop’s transcripts of burial registers in DW/T/0514-0539 can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
Original burial registers are held at Camberwell New Cemetery and can be searched on Deceased Online (charges apply)

Velho and Novo Cemeteries

Burial registers in LMA/4521/A/02/04. You must get permission from the S&P Sephardi Community to view these records
A transcript of the burials at Novo Cemetery, 1733-1918 is available in our library at shelfmark 60.58 SPA

Victoria Park Cemetery

Plan showing the position of graves in 1891 and lists of names and dates of death taken from tombstones in O/190. The plan can be viewed on the London Picture Archive under record number 345891.
Original burial registers, 1853-1876 are held at The National Archives and can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk . See Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936

West Norwood Cemetery

Bishop’s transcripts of burial registers in DW/T/0899-0969 can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
Original burial registers are held at the Cemetery and can be searched on Deceased Online (charges apply)

Whitechapel Quaker Burial Ground

Microfilm of interment order book in CLC/196

4. Burial records held elsewhere

Most burial records are still held by the cemetery offices of individual London boroughs. Many boroughs have now digitised their records and made them available online on websites such as Deceased Online (charges apply).