CITY OF LONDON
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City of London > Services > Community and living > Deaths, funerals and cremations > Cemetery and crematorium > Registers (burials)

Burial registers

Genealogy research service

The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium has been open since 1856 and there are over 150 years of heritage recorded in the Cemetery Burial and Cremation Registers. There are 88 Registers, weighing around 25kg each, with over 300 pages of recorded interments / cremations per register.  Approximately 600,000 people have been interred here and with the remains of over 30 London Church yards also placed on the site, the figure is approaching 1 million.

From 1856 - 1956 our registers weren't indexed so searching for an individual record can be a lengthily and time consuming process particularly without the exact date of death.  The complexity and length of time it takes to search for a record is reflected in the cost for the searches.  The more data you can gather before contacting us will result in a lower cost to find the information you require.

What information do we have

The City of London Cemetery has a record of every burial and cremation that has taken place since its opening in 1856 and contains the following information.

  • Burial number
  • Date of burial
  • Name of person buried
  • Description, avocation, and parochial residence of person buried
  • Sex and age
  • District in which the death is registered
  • From what parish removed
  • Situation of grave (square and number)
  • Number of grant
  • Description of interment
  • Consecrated or unconsecrated ground
  • Ceremony performed by

Please be aware that the information recorded about a person is limited to:

  1. The date of burial / cremation
  2. The full name of the deceased*
  3. The age of the deceased*
  4. The address of the deceased, or place of death*

* As given when the death was registered. It is not uncommon for information supplied to the cemetery to be incorrect. Often the person making the funeral arrangements will mistakenly give the wrong age of the person, incorrectly spell a name, or not record a middle name etc. This will need to be taken into account when conducting the investigation.

How research is conducted

Information in the registers has always been recorded on the day the burial or cremation took place. Therefore the easiest way to find the information you want is by knowing the name of deceased and date of funeral. It is then possible to locate the register for that period.

It is difficult to conduct searches without accurate information and the possibility of finding the information you want is greatly reduced.

Genealogy searches

We can undertake a search for you, and the costs for doing so are all listed in our Scale of Charges booklet.

Download the 2010 - 2011 Scale of Charges here (1.48mb)

Upon instructing us to conduct a search, we will send you a written report which will contain the following details:

  1. The date of burial
  2. The full name of the deceased
  3. The age of the deceased
  4. The address of the deceased

Please see our terms and conditions.

We require payment for this service prior to undertaking any research. You can pay fees by :

  1. Cheque made payable to "City of London"
  2. Credit card (in person or by phone)

Contact us on 020 8530 9825 or email us or use our booking form to book and pay for research.

Conduct your own research

Alternatively, you are welcome to come along to our site during normal opening times and conduct the search yourself free of charge. This service is only available if you book an appointment - please contact us before visiting in order to book an appointment.

Genealogy research online

A project is now underway that should make all of this historical information available on the internet for users who are unable to visit us in person.

The first eight registers covering the dates 24 June 1856 to 2 June 1861 are currently available for viewing online and the remaining registers will be made available shortly.

You will need to enter a month and year for both the start and end date of your search so have your search criteria ready. You may also use the burial number if it is known. Please note that the records are arranged by date of burial, not date of death.

Search the burial registers online or, alternatively,  contact us and make arrangements to view the registers at our office or book a researcher.

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