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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
Click on any of the blue underlined hyperlinks in the guide to view the information you are interested in.
ENGLAND JURISDICTIONS FOR 1851 (http://maps.familysearch.org/) is a map of the counties of England produced by Family Search. The map shows various levels of county division including parish and civil registration districts. The parish map shows all the ecclesiastical parishes in the historic county of Surrey (Anglican Church parishes).
Civil registration commenced on 1st July 1837. Over the years with the growth and movement of the population the civil registration districts have altered. REGISTRATION DISTRICTS IN SURREY (http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/reg/sry.html) on the Genuki website tracks the changes made up to 31st March 1974 and also has a downloadable place name index which includes the registration district each was registered in.
CHURCH BURIAL REGISTERS
A map of the ECCLESIASTICAL PARISHES (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/parishmap.php) in the historic county of Surrey (Anglican Church parishes) provided by West Surrey Family History Society.
FAMILY SEARCH (https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Surrey_Parishes) has information on each Anglican Church and its parish.
A MAP (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/The+administrative+boundaries+of+the+county+of+Surrey?opendocument) showing the dates when various parts of Surrey transferred to London and surrounding counties or transferred to Surrey.
SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Guide+to+parish+registers+held+at+Surrey+History+Centre?opendocument) holds the deposited church registers for Anglican and non-conformist (those not conforming to the established church – the Church of England) for most of historic Surrey, excluding the areas now in the present day London boroughs of LAMBETH, SOUTHWARK and WANDSWORTH (which include the parishes of Balham, Battersea, Bermondsey, Brixton, Camberwell Clapham, Dulwich, Kennington, Newington, Peckham, Putney, Rotherhithe, Streatham, Tooting, Walworth and Vauxhall) which transferred to London in 1889. The registers for these churches are held at the LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES (http://217.154.230.218/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Records_and_archives/london_generations.htm).
You can also use the search engine at AIM25 (http://www.aim25.ac.uk/search/) to find the parish registers held at the LMA.
In 1965 STAINES and SUNBURY were transferred from Middlesex to Surrey. In 1974 these areas became of the new Surrey borough of SPELTHORNE. Most records relating to these former Middlesex areas are held by the London Metropolitan Archives.
Parish registers held at the SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/recreation-heritage-and-culture/archives-and-history/surrey-history-centre/surrey-records) will be online by 2013 on the subscription website Ancestry.
SURREY LIBRARY LOCAL HISTORY CENTRES (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Local+history+centres+in+Surrey+libraries?opendocument) (Banstead, Caterham, Cranleigh, Epsom and Ewell, Lingfield, Horley and Redhill) have collections of research materials relating to their surrounding areas.
It is also worth checking the resources held at some local SURREY MUSEUMS (http://www.surreymuseums.org.uk/museums/)
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CHURCH BURIAL REGISTERS
The local archives and history centres in the eight London boroughs that were formerly part of the historic county of Surrey, either leaving the county in 1889 (LAMBETH, SOUTHWARK and WANDSWORTH) or 1965 (CROYDON, KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, MERTON, RICHMOND-UPON-THAMES and SUTTON), may have produced transcriptions and indexes of the parish registers and monumental inscriptions and will have microfilmed copies of the parish registers for their areas.
A useful map of the present day LONDON BOROUGHS (http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/londonfacts/londonlocalgovernment/londonmapandlinks/default.htm) and a PARISH MAP (http://www.eastsurreyfhs.org.uk/parishes/parish_map.htm) which shows the parishes including those nearest the river Thames which are now part of the eight London boroughs
CROYDON RECORDS AND ARCHIVES (http://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/archives/)
KINGSTON ARCHIVES AND LOCAL HISTORY SERVICE (http://www.kingston.gov.uk/browse/leisure/museum/local_history_and_archives.htm)
LAMBETH ARCHIVES (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/LeisureCulture/LocalHistory/ArchiveGuide0505.htm)
MERTON LOCAL STUDIES CENTRE (http://www.merton.gov.uk/libraries/localstudies.htm)
RICHMOND LOCAL STUDIES COLLECTION (http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/leisure_and_culture/local_history_and_heritage/local_studies_collection.htm)
SOUTHWARK LOCAL HISTORY LIBRARY (http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200161/local_history_library)
SUTTON ARCHIVES AND LOCAL STUDIES (http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1882)
Sutton has copies of parish registers and indexes from across the whole of Surrey (excluding those registers of other boroughs held at the London Metropolitan Archives)
WANDSWORTH HERITAGE SERVICE (http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200064/local_history_and_heritage/888/heritage_and_local_history/5)
Information and links to burials in other areas of London can be found in the Rootschat GUIDE TO BURIALS IN THE LONDON AREA (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,403485.0.html)
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CHURCH BURIAL REGISTERS
The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS), also known as Mormons, has many family history centres around the world. You can order and use their microfilms for a small charge. A list of their CENTRES (http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhc/frameset_fhc.asp)
It is worth checking their catalogue to see which parish and cemetery registers they hold on microfilm in their FILM CATALOGUE (http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp)
FAMILY SEARCH (https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/England_Deaths_and_Burials_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)) England Deaths and Burials 1538-1991 a free index from the LDS with further information about the records it is sourced from.
The National Burial Index 3 (NBI) CD was released March 2010 and covers 185 burial grounds in Surrey. See the FEDERATION OF FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES (http://www.ffhs.org.uk/projects/nbi/nbi-coverage.php) website for coverage. Some of the indexes from the NBI are also on FINDMYPAST (http://www.findmypast.co.uk/help-and-advice/knowledge-base/parish-records#city) though not all Family History Societies have allowed their indexes from the NBI to be transferred to this website.
The subscription website Ancestry's 'THE LONDON DIGITALISATION PROGRAMME (http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/lma/default.aspx)' aims to index and put images onto the internet of parish registers deposited at the London Metropolitan Archives which includes parishes in Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth. Other Surrey parishes are included in the project where the London Metropolitan Archives hold Bishops Transcripts for that parish 1800-1840. Bishops' Transcripts were the annual returns of baptisms, marriages and burials submitted by the parish to the bishop. The survival rate of BTs in Surrey is generally poor. Some parishes have no BTs or a surviving run of only a few years which may be intermittent. As BTs are copies of the registers they are not without errors and omissions though occasionally they may contain more information than found in the register.
The London Metropolitan Archives Guide for Ancestry users
A TO Z (http://c.mfcreative.com/offer/UK/Search/MoreHelp/LMA-AtoZ-of-London-Parishes.pdf) of London parishes (those on Ancestry that are deposited at the LMA)
London parishes arranged by current LONDON BOROUGH (http://c.mfcreative.com/offer/UK/Search/MoreHelp/London-Parishes-arranged-by-borough.pdf) (includes parishes in Lambeth, Richmond-upon-Thames - parishes formerly in Middlesex, Southwark, Wandsworth and the parishes now in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne formerly in Middlesex)
West Surrey Family History Society’s GUIDE (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/assets/documents/researchaids/RA11%205th%20Ed%202007.pdf) to Surrey Bishop Transcripts contains more information.
Ancestry also some extracted parish records (not necessarily always taken from parish registers) for SURREY (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=5937) which includes some burial information.
Parish registers held at the SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/recreation-heritage-and-culture/archives-and-history/surrey-history-centre/surrey-records) will be online by 2013 on the subscription website Ancestry.
Findmypast CITY OF LONDON (http://www.findmypast.co.uk/helpadvice/knowledge-base/parish-records/index.jsp#city) burial registers includes five in Southwark across the river Thames from the City (Independent Chapel, Deadman’s Place 1813 – 1837, St George the Martyr 1813 – 1868, St John Horselydown 1800 – 1865 and St Saviour 1813 – 1856, St Thomas 1813-1854)
West Surrey Family History Society has published transcripts of church registers and monumental inscriptions (including some cemeteries ) and offer searches in their monumental inscriptions index.
Surrey burials on CD (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/cds.php) and MICROFICHE (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/microfichems.php) (includes City of London burial registers)
PARISH REGISTER PUBLICATIONS (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/microfichemp.php) on microfiche
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/monumental.php) search and MICROFICHES (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/microfichemi.php) of monumental inscriptions published by the society.
EAST SURREY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY (http://www.eastsurreyfhs.org.uk/publications/publics1.htm) has published indexes and transcripts of burial registers and monumental inscriptions on CDs and microfiches.
Information about London churchyards and burial grounds by geographic region and parish is given at THE LONDON BURIAL GROUNDS (http://www.londonburials.co.uk/) which has background information and modern photographs (though not of individual gravestones). Many London churchyards and burial grounds have been lost mainly through redevelopment or some from bombing during World War Two. The London Burial Grounds website gives present day information on each churchyard.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
INDIVIDUAL PARISH CHURCH BURIALS ONLINE
If anyone knows of any others please send me a pm
ADDINGTON (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur01socigoog) 1559-1812 online transcription published in 1907 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
ALBURY (http://www.alburychurches.org/records.html) 1559-1865 (records not transcribed directly from parish registers)
BANSTEAD (http://www.archive.org/details/registersbanste00lambgoog) 1547-1789 online transcription published in 1896 (includes monumental inscriptions)
BISLEY (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~engsurry/bisley/) 1561-1941
CHELSHAM (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur01socigoog) 1680-1811 online transcription published in 1907 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
FARLEIGH (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur08socigoog) 1679-1812 online transcription published in 1906 (includes monumental inscriptions), is in a volume with other parish transcriptions.
GATTON (http://www.archive.org/details/publications34socigoog) 1599-1812 online transcription published in 1908 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
GODALMING (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur07socigoog) 1582-1688 online transcription first published in 1904
HASLEMERE (http://www.archive.org/details/registersofhasle57hasl) 1573-1812 online transcription published in 1906
KINGSTON UPON THAMES (http://localhistory.kingston.ac.uk/database/LocalHistoryForm.asp) 1850-1901
PUTTENHAM (http://freespace.virgin.net/ar.indexes/puttenham.htm) 1562-1975
MERSTHAM (http://www.archive.org/details/registersofmerst42mers) 1538-1812 online transcription published in 1902
MORDEN (http://www.archive.org/details/registersofmorde37mord) 1634-1812 online transcription published in 1901 (includes monumental inscriptions)
RICHMOND UPON THAMES 1583-1720 (http://www.archive.org/details/publications61socigoog) 1720-1780 (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur03socigoog) online transcription published in 1903 and 1905
SANDERSTEAD (http://www.archive.org/details/publications34socigoog) 1567-1812 online transcription published in 1908 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
STOKE D’ABERNON (http://www.archive.org/details/theparishregiste00stok) 1619-1812 online transcription published in 1917
SUTTON (http://www.archive.org/details/parishregisterso74sutt) 1634-1812 online transcription published in 1915
TATSFIELD (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur08socigoog) 1679- 1812 online transcription published in 1906 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
WANBOROUGH (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur08socigoog) 1591-1664 online transcription published in 1906 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
WANDSWORTH (http://www.archive.org/details/registersparish00squigoog) 1603-1787 online transcription published in 1889
WARLINGHAM (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur01socigoog) 1731-1812 online transcription published in 1907 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
WINDLESHAM (http://www.archive.org/details/registerswindle00pargoog) 1677-1783 online transcription published in 1881
WOLDINGHAM (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationssur08socigoog) 1765-1812 online transcription published in 1906 (in a volume with other parish transcriptions)
WONERSH WITH BLACKHEATH (http://www.wonershchurch.org.uk/cemetryrecords.htm) 1900-1950
WYKE (http://normandyhistorians.co.uk/) 1848-1998
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS ONLINE
CROYDON (http://www.archive.org/details/historyandantiq00garrgoog) parish church online transcription published in 1818
CROYDON (http://www.archive.org/details/croydoninpasthis00croy) online transcription published 1883 and includes Addington, Beddington and Shirley
ST MARY LAMBETH (http://www.archive.org/details/historyandantiq00allegoog) online transcription published in 1826
ST MARY NEWINGTON PART 1 A-I (http://www.archive.org/details/monumentalinscr00englgoog) online transcription published in 1880
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
NONCONFORMIST BURIAL REGISTERS NOT HELD AT SURREY HISTORY CENTRE
At the start of civil registration the government reached an agreement with most nonconformist churches. If the churches deposited their registers, in return they would be recognised as legal documents. Most churches except the Catholics deposited their records, with the Quakers (the Society of Friends) first making copies. The deposited non-conformist records are held in series RG4 (Registrar General) at The National Archives. A second smaller deposit of records was made in 1855. These records are held in series RG8. This explains why many earlier nonconformist records are held at The National Archives with only microfilmed copies of Surrey nonconformist registers at Surrey History Centre. Most of these records have been indexed on the IGI (International Genealogical Index/Family Search) the index created by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The registers not indexed on the IGI, were the burials and the Quaker records.
Indexes and the images for all the registers are now online at BMD REGISTERS (http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk/)
The full list of church registers and separate non-conformist burial grounds held at THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Collection/Display?uri=C13329)
There are a few nonconformist burials for churches in some of the London boroughs that were once part of Surrey on ANCESTRY (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1906)
NONCONFORMIST RECORDS (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Nonconformist+records?opendocument) at Surrey History Centre (see also West Surrey and East Surrey Family History Societies’ indexes)
The National Archives GUIDE (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/nonconformists.htm) to nonconformist records.
East Hill later known as Mount Nod burial ground (1680-1854) East Hill, Wandsworth SW18
No registers seem to have survive but monumental inscriptions were copied in 1886 and printed in the Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London volume 1
THE HUGUENOT SOCIETY (http://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk/)
This burial ground was not established by Huguenots though historically it has become associated with them. Many none Huguenot burials also took place there as well as Huguenot burials.
THE CATHOLIC FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY (http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/cfhs/), the SOUTHWARK DIOCESAN ARCHIVIST (http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/contacts.html) and the BRIGHTON AND ARUNDEL DIOCESAN ARCHIVIST (http://www.dabnet.org/Administration/Chancery.htm) might be able to help in locating records, which for Catholic churches may often remain with the church. Southwark PARISH DIRECTORY (http://directory.rcsouthwark.co.uk/) Brighton and Arundel PARISH LIST (http://www.dabnet.org/parishes/Parishes/parishes.htm)
THE CATHOLIC NATIONAL LIBRARY (http://www.catholic-library.org.uk/registers.html) at Farnborough Abbey hold some transcripts of burial registers.
The National Archives guide to CATHOLIC (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/catholics.htm) records.
THE INTERNATIONAL JEWISH CEMETERY PROJECT (http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/british-isles/index.html) gives detailed information about Jewish cemeteries and where each cemetery’s records can be found. Further information and contact addresses for tracing JEWISH BURIALS (http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/roots/jewish/religiousrecords/burials.htm#)
OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES (for both churchyards and cemeteries)
A number of gravestones in churchyards and cemeteries within Surrey have been photographed and indexed on GRAVESTONE PHOTOGRAPHIC RESOURCE (http://www.gravestonephotos.com/public/area.php?area=Surrey&country=En)
There are a few transcriptions of some indexed monumental inscriptions in Surrey at INTERMENT (http://www.interment.net/uk/eng/surrey.htm)
Find a Grave coverage for SURREY (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=csr&CScn=&CScntry=5&CSst=4243) and GREATER LONDON (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=csr&CScn=&CScntry=5&CSst=4220) for the areas of Surrey that became part of London
COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION (http://www.cwgc.org/) has an online database for those who died in the two World Wars some of whom have gravestones in the country.
THE WAR GRAVES PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT (http://twgpp.org/) works in association with the CWGC photographing gravestones.
LEST WE FORGET (http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Surrey/) also has photographs and transcriptions of some Surrey war memorials.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CIVIC CEMETERIES
Every inhabitant of a parish had a right to be buried in their parish churchyard or burial ground. Before the 1840s most people were buried in Anglican churchyards, though some non-conformist churches had their own burial grounds. By the 1840s city churchyards and burial grounds were so overcrowded they were considered a growing health risk and were increasingly closed to new burials. By the early 1850s following the Burial Act of 1852, the majority of churchyards in Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth were closed or would be closed within the next few years. THE TIMES (http://www.agfhs.org/site/index.php/articles/76-article-1819-closing-of-burial-grounds) newspaper listed some of the closures as they took place.
As the population grew throughout the nineteenth century more large non-denominational civic cemeteries were created and churchyards in towns and urban areas were closed to new burials. Throughout the twentieth and twenty first centuries further civic cemeteries were opened administered by local parish councils in less urbanised areas of Surrey.
Churchyards in rural areas throughout Surrey still remain open to burials .Other churches where burials have ceased in their churchyards, still continued to maintain registers of burial services where the service is held at the church with the interment taking place at the cemetery, though this is not always clearly stated in the registers themselves. Increasingly in urban areas most services were held at the cemetery chapels. Records for civic cemeteries interments are held by borough, district, town or parish councils or by the private companies which manage these cemeteries.
A useful timeline on the HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CEMETERIES IN ENGLAND (http://beckettstreetcemetery.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=1) explains the context in which cemeteries and later crematoriums developed in this country.
With the closing of churchyards in urban areas many families could not afford the expense of a cemetery plot, let alone a gravestone. Such burials would be in common graves which contained other unrelated interments. Burial in a common grave was not synonymous with a pauper funeral. It did not mean the funeral itself was not paid for by the family. TYPES OF GRAVES IN THE CEMETERY (http://beckettstreetcemetery.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=1), though not from a cemetery in Surrey, is very helpful in explaining the difference between the possible types of common, pauper and private graves.
Cemetery burial registers usually give the name of the deceased, age, abode and occupation, the date of death and of burial, and the position of the grave. These records are arranged chronologically, and are not indexed alphabetically, though some cemeteries may have some computerised indexes. If a private grave was purchased those records indicate who purchased the plot, their address, when it was purchased and whether a gravestone was erected (though not whether it survives). The records will also indicate who else was buried in the plot, when and at what depths. The plot number indicates where in the cemetery the grave is located, essential knowledge when trying to find a grave in a large cemetery.
Cremations became increasingly common after the Second World War when more crematoriums were opened. Cemeteries with crematoriums keep separate burial and cremation registers. Not all borough and district councils have crematoriums. A search for a burial or cremation may require a wider search which could include adjacent counties.
In a large and growing metropolis like London people were not always buried in their local cemetery though there were often arrangements between specific cemeteries to bury those from certain agreed geographical areas. Cemeteries vied with each other for institutional burials since, though they were pauper burials, they represented a constant income for each cemetery. Brookwood cemetery in Woking twenty-five miles from central London nevertheless had major contracts with London poor law unions such as Bermondsey and Southwark and was also a popular cemetery for many families in London who travelled out to Woking on the cemetery’s own TRAIN SERVICE (http://www.brookwoodcemetery.com/cemetery_railway.htm).
Some of the older London cemeteries have been neglected over the years and the gravestones have been degraded by pollution, general age and the growth of trees and undergrowth. This neglect has meant some, or sections of some cemeteries are now designated nature reserves. NUNHEAD (http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/10/nunwood_cemetery_feature.shtml) cemetery in Southwark is one such example.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CIVIC CEMETERIES
LOCAL AUTHORITY ADMINISTRATION IN MODERN SURREY
Present day Surrey has three tiers of administration, the County Council which is responsible for services across the whole county. The second tier of administration is the eleven District and Borough Councils who are responsible for the main services within their own areas. The Surrey district and borough councils are
ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL
EPSOM AND EWELL BOROUGH COUNCIL
GUILDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL
MOLE VALLEY DISTRICT COUNCIL
REIGATE AND BANSTEAD BOROUGH COUNCIL
RUNNYMEDE BOROUGH COUNCIL
SPELTHORNE BOROUGH COUNCIL
SURREY HEATH BOROUGH COUNCIL
TANDRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL
WAVERLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL
WOKING BOROUGH COUNCIL
The third tier of administration and most local is the town and parish councils. Not all of the borough and district councils in Surrey have this third tier of administration. There are presently over 80 parish or town councils in Surrey. Some of these councils maintain their own cemeteries and may help to maintain their local churchyard. The records of burials in churchyards are found in the church registers. The records for burials or cremations in civic cemeteries are held by the district, town or parish councils.
A map showing Surrey’s BOROUGH AND DISTRICT COUNCILS
(http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/environment-housing-and-planning/surrey-data-online/surrey-data-geography/map-of-surreys-district-and-borough-councils)
London’s growth become ever more rapid at the beginning of the C19th. Between 1889 when the London County Council was formed and 1965 when Greater London was created, London formally absorbed parts of the surrounding counties including major parts of north Surrey.
By 1900 the areas of historic Surrey now part of the County of London and London boroughs were
Battersea, Bermondsey, Camberwell, Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth
In 1965 more areas of Surrey became part of Greater London (with Battersea, Bermondsey and Camberwell merging with Southwark and Wandsworth) and forming the eight London boroughs of
CROYDON, KINGSTON UPON THAMES, LAMBETH, MERTON, RICHMOND UPON THAMES, SOUTHWARK, SUTTON AND WANDSWORTH
In 1965 STAINES and SUNBURY were transferred from Middlesex to Surrey. In 1974 these areas became part of the new Surrey borough of SPELTHORNE.
The British Towns And Villages Network website is very useful in helping to navigate a map of modern day Surrey, showing the ELEVEN SURREY DISTRICT AND BOROUGH COUNCILS (http://www.british-towns.net/en/level_2_display_ByL1.asp?GetL1=146) and the individual places within them and the EIGHT LONDON BOROUGHS (http://www.british-towns.net/en/level_2_display_ByL1.asp?GetL1=203) no longer part of Surrey.
The London Metropolitan Archives GUIDE (http://217.154.230.218/londonGenerations/download/Places%20in%20London%20Boroughs.pdff) to areas in Greater London Boroughs is useful in helping find where places are in which London borough today.
Use the website FUNERAL MAP (http://www.funeralmap.co.uk/) to help with locating present day cemeteries and crematoriums in the area and then use this guide for further information and contact details for the local authority or company which manages them.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
SURREY CIVIC CEMETERIES
The following is a list of civic cemeteries in each of the areas of the eleven current Surrey Borough and District Councils and the eight London boroughs that were formerly part of the historic county of Surrey. The date of opening of each cemetery is given with a website contact where that can be found.
If anyone knows of any others please send me a pm
CEMETERIES IN MODERN DAY SURREY BOROUGH AND DISTRICT COUNCILS
ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/cemeteries/)
Burvale Cemetery, Burwood Road, Hersham KT12 (1938)
Cobham Cemetery, Tilt Road, Cobham KT11 (1885)
Hersham Cemetery, Falmoth Road, Hersham KT12 (1865)
Long Ditton Cemetery, Rectory Lane, Long Ditton KT6 (1950)
Molesey Cemetery, Walton Road, Walton KT8 (1866)
Walton Cemetery, Terrace Road, Walton-on-Thames KT12 (1863)
Weybridge Cemetery, Brooklands Lane, Weybridge KT13 (1876)
EPSOM AND EWELL BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/EEBC/Community+and+Living/Life+events/Deaths/Epsom+cemetery.htm)
Epsom Cemetery, Ashley Road, Epsom KT18 (1870)
DATABASE (http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/EpsomCemeteryBurialsA.shtml) for Epsom cemetery records 1871-1945 at Epsom and Ewell History Explorer
ASYLUM CEMETERY WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF EPSOM AND EWELL
Horton Cemetery, Horton Lane, Epsom KT18 (1901)
The cemetery of the five London County Council mental asylums situated in Epsom (Horton, Long Grove, Manor, St Ebbe’s and West Park)
Registers are held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_6336)
DATABASE (http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/HortonCemeteryBurialsA.shtml) for Horton Cemetery records 1902-1955 at Epsom and Ewell History Explorer
GUILDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.guildford.gov.uk/guildfordcemeteries)
Guildford Crematorium, New Pond Road, Godalming GU7 (1967)
Stoke Cemetery, Stoughton Road, Guildford GU1 (1883)
The Mount Cemetery, The Mount, Guildford GU1 (1856)
ASH PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.ashpcsurrey.gov.uk/cemetery/cemetery.htm)
Ash Cemetery, Ash Church Road, Ash GU12 (1888)
COMPTON PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.compton-surrey.co.uk/#/watts-chapel/4518411494)
Watts Cemetery, Down Lane, Compton GU3 (1895)
PUTTENHAM PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.guildford.gov.uk/article/1048/Puttenham-Parish-Council)
Puttenham Cemetery, Puttenham Heath Road, Puttenham GU3 (1882)
Ground plan of cemetery 1900 with addition annotations held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_8180)
SHALFORD PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.surreycommunity.info/shalfordparishcouncil/)
Shalford Cemetery, The Street, Shalford GU4 (1886)
Notices of interment 1887-1932, registers of purchased graves 1890-1947 and registers of burials 1928-1960 held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_2177)
MOLE VALLEY DISTRICT COUNCIL (http://www.mole-valley.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=9295)
Dorking Cemetery, Reigate Road, Dorking RH4 (1855)
West Surrey Family History Society BURIAL INDEX (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/cds.php) (CD) has coverage of Dorking cemetery between1855-1999
BETCHWORTH PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.betchworth-pc.gov.uk/PageBuilder.asp?Id=22)
Betchworth Burial Ground, The Walled Garden, Betchworth RH3 (1949)
Notices of interment in the burial ground 1949-1969 are held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_3367)
INDEPENDENTLY MANAGED CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM WITHIN THE DISTRICT COUNCIL OF MOLE VALLEY
Randalls Park Cemetery, Randalls Road, Leatherhead, KT22 (1950 crematorium - 1961) presently owned by DIGNITY (http://www.dignityfunerals.co.uk/crematoria/index.asp?pageid=26&fd=610)
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
SURREY CIVIC CEMETERIES
REIGATE AND BANSTEAD BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/community_and_living/death_and_bereavement/cemeteries/)
Redstone Cemetery, Philanthropic Road, Redhill RH1 (1932)
Burial registers and indexes 1932-1995 are also held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_8605)
Reigate Cemetery, Chart Lane, Reigate RH2 (1856)
Burial registers and indexes 1857-1951 are also held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_8605)
Reigate Garden of Remembrance, Bancroft Court, Bancroft Road, Reigate RH2 (1951) cremated remains only
ASYLUM CEMETERY WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF REIGATE AND BANSTEAD
Banstead Asylum, Sutton Lane? Banstead, Surrey SM7 1877-1955
This was a Middlesex later a London county mental asylum. Burial registers are held at the LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES (http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=11896&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=)
RUNNYMEDE BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.runnymede.gov.uk/portal/site/runnymede/menuitem.b8ba4e4a932b1a41be138e11af8ca028/)
Addlestone Cemetery, Green Lane, Addlestone KT15 (1897)
Chertsey Cemetery, Eastworth Road, Chertsey KT16 (1894)
Englefield Green Cemetery, St Jude's Road, Englefield Green TW20 (1859)
Burial registers 1859-1870 (Egham now Englefield Green cemetery) also held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_2544)
Thorpe Cemetery, Ten Acre Lane, Thorpe TW20 (1917)
SPELTHORNE BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/article/2464/Cemetery-FAQs)
Ashford Burial Ground, London Road, Stanwell TW19 (1910)
Stanwell Burial Ground, Town Lane, Stanwell TW19 (1900)
Staines Cemetery, London Road, Staines TW15 (1913)
Sunbury Cemetery, Green Way, Sunbury on Thames TW16 (1900)
CREMATORIUM OUTSIDE THE BOROUGH OF SPELTHORNE
Spelthorne with four London boroughs is jointly a member of the SOUTH WEST MIDDLESEX CREMATORIUM BOARD (http://www.swmcrematorium.gov.uk/)
South West Middlesex Crematorium (Hanworth Crematorium), Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham TW13 (1954)
This crematorium is in the London borough of Hounslow (formerly in the county of Middlesex) and is jointly managed with the London boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames.
SURREY HEATH BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/services/list.htm?mode=8&pk_services=244)
The Council does not directly provide any public cemeteries.
The Victorian Cemetery, off Chobham High Street, Chobham GU24 (1858?) is maintained by Surrey Heath Borough Council.
CHOBHAM AND WEST END PARISH COUNCILS (http://www.chobham.net/parish/cemetery.php)
Chobham Cemetery, off Chobham High Street, Chobham GU24 (1957)
Chobham Cemetery is managed by the Chobham & West End Joint Burial Committee on behalf of Chobham & West End Parish Councils.
There is an online index for graves for this cemetery, identifying the person (or persons) interred, and their dates of interment.
WINDLESHAM PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.windleshampc.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=10)
Bagshot Cemetery, Chapel Lane Bagshot GU19 (1807?)
Information taken from the burial register from 1912 and transcriptions of memorial inscriptions held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_Z/465)
Bagshot cemetery was originally the churchyard for St Anne’s chapel of ease Bagshot (the ancient parish was Windlesham). The chapel of ease was demolished when the main church of St Anne’s was built in Church Road in 1884. Surrey History Centre hold the burial registers for St Anne’s 1837-1935
Lightwater Cemetery, The Avenue, Lightwater GU18 (1924)
Windlesham Cemetery, Church Road, Windlesham GU20 (1894)
ARMED FORCES CEMETERY WITHIN SURREY HEATH BOROUGH COUNCIL
Sandhurst Royal Military College Chapel (Army), Sandhurst, Camberley GU15 (1829)
The burial registers are held by THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C11294073)(series WO156)
DECEASED ONLINE (https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch) is a pay as you view indexed database of burials and cremations which The National Archives has contributed cemetery records. COVERAGE (https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch?SrchView=Basic&DetsView=Content&ListSource=Contributors§ion=CONTRIBUTORS&context=NATIONALARCHIVEMB&lang=E&sessionid=1311574451) of Sandhurst Royal Military College Chapel burial registers.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
SURREY CIVIC CEMETERIES
TANDRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL (http://www.tandridge.gov.uk/leisure/LocalHistory/cemeteries_and_crematoria.htm)
St Mary’s Church Cemetery, Church Hill, Caterham CR3 (1892)
Burial registers 1892-1964, graves 1913-1925 and copies of plot sales 1923-1947 held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_3385_(PART2OF2))
BLETCHINGLEY PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.bletchingley.org.uk/?page_id=37) Bletchingley Cemetery, Godstone Road, Bletchingley RH1 (1858)
Burials and grave space registers 1858-1979 held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_7185)
GODSTONE PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.godstonepc.org.uk/)
Godstone Burial Ground, Church Lane, Godstone RH9 (1964)
NUTFIELD PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.nutfield-pc.org.uk/npc_news.html)
Nutfield cemetery, Nuffield Road, Nutfield RH1 (1923)
Register 1923-1963 held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_6761)
OXTED PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.oxted-pc.org.uk/burial_ground_8.html)
Oxted Burial Ground, Church Lane, Oxted RH8 (1967)
ASYLUM CEMETERY WITHIN TANDRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL
St Lawrence Hospital Cemetery, Coulsdon Road, Caterham, Surrey CR3 1870-1994
The cemetery served the Metropolitan Asylum Board (later London County Council)’s Imbeciles Asylum, renamed Caterham Mental Hospital 1920-1941 and St Lawrence Hospital up to 1991. Registers held at LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES (http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=11891&inst_id=118)
WAVERLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.waverley.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=709&pageNumber=1)
Sunvale Cemetery, Sunvale Avenue, Haslemere GU27 (1935)
Thursley Road Cemetery, Thursley Road, Elstead GU8 (1896?) closed maintained by Waverley
Clerk’s burial register 1896-1910 held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_EL)
BRAMLEY PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.bramleyparish.co.uk/)
Bramley Cemetery, Birtley Road, Bramley GU5 (1851)
CRANLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.cranleighpc.org/)
Cranleigh Cemetery, Dewlands Lane, Cranleigh GU6 (1901)
ELSTEAD PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.elstead.org.uk/index.html)
Woolfords Lane Cemetery, Woolfords Lane, Elstead GU8 (1973)
EWHURST PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.ewhurst.org/councils/parish-council.htm)
Ewhurst Burial Ground, The Mount, Ewhurst GU6 (1964?)
FARNHAM TOWN COUNCIL (http://www.farnham.gov.uk/towncouncil/cemeteries/genealogy.html)
Badshot Lea Cemetery, Badshot Lea Road, Farnham GU10 (1921)
LIST OF GRAVES (http://www.farnham.gov.uk/document-downloads/documents/cemetery-documents.html) with unknown owners
Green Lane Cemetery, Greenfield Road, Farnham GU9 (1914)
Hale Cemetery, Alma Lane, Farnham GU9 (1872)
West Street Cemetery, West Street, Farnham GU9 (1856)
Burial registers (unnamed Farnham cemetery) 1898-1907 held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_8119)
GODALMING TOWN COUNCIL (http://www.godalming-tc.gov.uk/)
Eashing Cemetery, Franklyn Road, Godalming GU7 (1900)
Nightingale Road Cemetery, Deanery Road, Godalming GU7 (1857)
West Surrey Family History Society BURIAL INDEX (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/cds.php) (CD) covers Eashing cemetery 1900-2003 and Nightingale Road cemetery 1857-1998
HASLEMERE TOWN COUNCIL (http://www.haslemere.com/towncouncil/)
Weycombe Road Cemetery, Weycombe Road, Haslemere GU27 (1943)
WITLEY PARISH COUNCIL (http://www.witley-pc.gov.uk/)
Milford Cemetery, Haslemere Road, Milford GU8 (1908?)
INDEPENDENTLY MANAGED CEMETERY WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF WAVERLEY
Shamley Green Woodland Burial, Oakfield Wood, Guildford Road, Shamley Green GU5 (2001)
Present owners WOODLANDS OF REMEMBRANCE (http://woodlandburials.co.uk/shamley_info.htm)
WOKING BOROUGH COUNCIL (http://www.woking.gov.uk/woking/heritage/crematoriumandcemetery)
Woking Borough Council manages no cemeteries or crematoriums
INDEPENDENTLY MANAGED CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF WOKING
Brookwood Cemetery (London Necropolis), Cemetery Pales, Woking GU24 (1854) present owners BROOKWOOD CEMETERY (http://www.brookwoodcemetery.com/)
Burial registers 1854-1976 and grant deeds 1854-1971 held at THE SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_2935)
THE BROOKWOOD CEMETERY SOCIETY (http://www.tbcs.org.uk/index.htm)
Woking St John’s Crematorium, Hermitage Road, St. John’s, Woking GU21 (1885)
Present owners the LONDON CREMATION COMPANY PLC
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (http://www3.hants.gov.uk/redirect-district?LGSL=335&LGIL=8)'s website helps locate cemeteries close to the county boundary.
HAMPSHIRE ARCHIVES (http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives/hals-collections/cemetery-registers.htm)' list of cemetery records.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CIVIC CEMETERIES
CEMETERIES IN THE EIGHT LONDON BOROUGHS (formerly part of historic Surrey)
Land for burials is always at a premium in London so cemeteries managed by London boroughs may not always be within their own areas.
CROYDON (http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/deaths/cemeteries/index)
Bandon Hill Joint Cemetery, Plough Lane, Wallington SM6 (1900) is jointly managed with the London borough of Sutton and is situated in Sutton.
Croydon Cemetery, Mitcham Road, Croydon CR9 (1897 crematorium - 1937)
Croydon Crematorium on line BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE (http://sites.bookofremembrance.eu/index2.php?site=croydon)
Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Chelsham Road, Warlingham CR6 (1938)
Queens Road Cemetery, Queen’s Road, Croydon CR0 (1861)
Copies of the burial registers 1861-1871 are held at CROYDON LOCAL STUDIES AND ARCHIVES (http://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/archives/)
West Surrey Family History Society has produced a BURIAL INDEX (http://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/cds.php) on CD which has coverage of Queens Road Cemetery between the years 1861-1865
ASYLUM CEMETERIES WITHIN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF CROYDON
Cane Hill Hospital, Portnalls Road, Coulsdon, Croydon CR5 1884-1950
This was first a Surrey and then later a London county mental asylum. Burial registers are held at CROYDON LOCAL STUDIES AND ARCHIVES (http://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/archives/)
Netherne Hospital, Woodplace Lane, Hooley, Coulsdon, Croydon CR5 1909-1960
This was a Surrey county mental asylum. Burial registers are held at SURREY HISTORY CENTRE (http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHCOL_3540)
KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES (http://www.kingston.gov.uk/bereavement_services)
Kingston Cemetery, Bonner Hill Road, Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 (1855 crematorium - 1952)
Online DATABASE (http://localhistory.kingston.ac.uk/database/LocalHistoryForm.asp) for Kingston Cemetery 1855-1911 at Kingston Life Cycles Kingston
Crematorium online BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE (http://217.37.28.57/kingston/index.html) password rbk
Surbiton Cemetery, Lower Marsh Lane, Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 (1915)
Online DATABASE (http://www2.kingston.gov.uk/GraveRecords/) for all Kingston-upon-Thames cemetery records
LAMBETH (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/CommunityLiving/DeathsFuneralsCremations/Cemeteries.htm)
Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, SW17 (1854 crematorium - 1958)
Streatham Cemetery, Garratt Lane, SW17 (1893)
West Norwood Cemetery (South Metropolitan), Norwood Road, SE27 (1837 crematorium - 1915)
A cemetery DATABASE (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/cemetery/) holding details of all reused graves in West Norwood Cemetery (therefore by no means a complete database of burials in the cemetery)
Bishop Transcripts for West Norwood Cemetery (Anglican burials only) 1838-1918 held at the LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES (http://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll?patronlogin&application=LMA_ANONYM&language=144&file=[LMA) and also at ANCESTRY (http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/lma/default.aspx)
FRIENDS OF WEST NORWOOD CEMETERY (http://fownc.org/)
LAMBETH ARCHIVES (http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/LeisureCulture/LocalHistory/ArchiveGuide0505.htm) hold burial registers (on microfilm) for Lambeth Cemetery 1854-1978, Streatham Cemetery 1893-1955 and an index to burials at Streatham 1955-1981, West Norwood Cemetery 1837-1987, a common graves register 1838-1968 and an index to burials 1955-1981. The archives also hold a cremation register for West Norwood Crematorium 1893-1955 with an index and registers 1915-1984. They also hold a burial register for Greek burials at West Norwood Cemetery 1845-1962
INDEPENDENTLY MANAGED CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF LAMBETH
Streatham Park Cemetery and South London Crematorium, Rowan Road, Streatham SW16 (1908 crematorium - 1936) presently owned by DIGNITY (http://www.dignityfunerals.co.uk/crematoria/index.asp?pageid=26&fd=601)
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CIVIC CEMETERIES
CEMETERIES IN THE EIGHT LONDON BOROUGHS (formerly part of historic Surrey)
MERTON (http://www.merton.gov.uk/cemeteries)
Church Road Cemetery (St Peter’s and St Paul’s), Church Road, Mitcham CR4 (1883)
London Road Cemetery (Figge’s Marsh), London Road, Mitcham CR4 (1929)
Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery (Garth Road), Garth Road, Morden SM4 (1947) jointly managed with the London borough of Sutton
Gap Road Cemetery (Wimbledon), Gap Road, SW19 (1876)
DECEASED ONLINE (https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch) is a pay as you view indexed database of burials and cremations to which the London Borough of Merton has contributed cemetery records. COVERAGE (https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch?AcctView=Login&SrchView=Basic&DetsView=Content&ListSource=Contributors§ion=CONTRIBUTORS&context=MERTON&lang=E) of Merton cemetery registers so far.
See the London borough of Wandsworth for Battersea New Cemetery, (Morden) Lower Morden Lane, SM4 (1892) which is managed by Wandsworth
JOINTLY MANAGED CREMATORIUM WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF MERTON
North East Surrey Crematorium, Lower Morden Lane, Morden SM4 (1958)
This CREMATORIUM (http://www.nes-crematorium.org.uk/) is jointly managed by the London boroughs of Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth.
RICHMOND UPON THAMES (http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/community_and_living/deaths/burial/cemeteries.htm)
Barnes Cemetery, Rocks Lane, Barnes Common, SW13 (1855)
East Sheen Cemetery, Sheen Road, Richmond-upon-Thames TW10 (1905)
Hampton Cemetery, Holly Bush Lane, Hampton TW12 (1879)
Old Mortlake Burial Ground, Avenue Gardens, SW14 (1887)
Richmond Cemetery, Grove Road, Richmond-upon-Thames TW10 (1839)
Teddington Cemetery, Shacklegate Lane, Teddington TW11 (1879)
Twickenham Cemetery, Hospital Bridge Road, Whitton TW2 (1868)
DATABASE (http://www2.richmond.gov.uk/lbrburials/(S(dzd55zjakdh1khijawapba55))/Search.aspx) for all Richmond-upon-Thames cemetery records
CREMATORIUMS WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE BOROUGH OF RICHMOND-UPON-THAMES
Richmond-upon-Thames with other London boroughs is a member of two crematorium boards
MORTLAKE CREMATORIUM BOARD (http://www.mortlakecrematorium.org/)
Mortlake Crematorium, Kew Meadow Path, Townmead Road, Richmond-upon-Thames TW9 (1939)
The Crematorium is jointly managed with the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Hounslow.
SOUTH WEST MIDDLESEX CREMATORIUM BOARD (http://www.swmcrematorium.gov.uk/)
South West Middlesex Crematorium (Hanworth Crematorium), Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham TW13 (1954)
This crematorium is in the London borough of Hounslow (formerly in the county of Middlesex) and is jointly managed with the London boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow and the Surrey borough of Spelthorne.
CEMETERIES MANAGED BY OTHER LONDON BOROUGHS WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF RICHMOND-UPON-THAMES
The London Borough of HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM (http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Community_and_Living/Birth_marriage_and_death/Burial_and_cremation/10968_Burial_and_cremation.asp) (formerly part of the county of Middlesex) has two cemeteries situated in the London Borough of Richmond
Mortlake Cemetery (Hammersmith New), Clifford Avenue, SW14 (1926)
North Sheen Cemetery (Fulham New), Lower Richmond Road, TW9 (1909)
The London Borough of HOUNSLOW (formerly part of the county of Middlesex) has one cemetery situated in the London Borough of Richmond. Hounslow‘s cemeteries are managed for the borough by CONTINENTAL LANDSCAPES LTD (http://www.hounslow.info/parks/cemeteries/index.htm)
Borough Cemetery, Powder Mill Lane, Whitton TW2 (1942)
INDEPENDENTLY MANAGED CEMETERY WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF RICHMOND-UPON-THAMES
Mortlake Roman Catholic Cemetery, North Worple Way SW14 (1852) is actually the churchyard of ST MARY MAGDALEN ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (http://www.stmarymags.org.uk/about/church-history/)
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
CIVIC CEMETERIES
CEMETERIES IN THE EIGHT LONDON BOROUGHS (formerly part of historic Surrey)
SOUTHWARK (http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200032/deaths_funerals_and_cremations/185/camberwell_new_cemetery/1)
Camberwell Old Cemetery, Underhill Road, SE22 (1856)
Camberwell New Cemetery, Brenchley Gardens, SE23 (1927)
Honor Oak Crematorium, Brockley Way, SE23 (1939)
Nunhead Cemetery (All Saints), Linden Grove, SE15 (1840)
Bishop Transcripts for Nunhead cemetery (Anglican burials only) 1842-1871 held at the LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES (http://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll?patronlogin&application=LMA_ANONYM&language=144&file=[LMA) and also at ANCESTRY (http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/lma/default.aspx)
SOUTHWARK LOCAL HISTORY LIBRARY (http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200161/local_history_library) hold microfiche indexes of burials at Nunhead Cemetery 1840 to 1996 and indexes of grave purchases 1895-1912.
FRIENDS OF NUNHEAD CEMETERY (http://www.fonc.org.uk/)
SUTTON (http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2031#Cemetery and Cremation Facilities in Sutton)
Bandon Hill Joint Cemetery, Plough Lane, Wallington SM6 (1900) is jointly managed with the London borough of Croydon
Cuddington Cemetery, Lindsay Road, Worcester Park KT4 (1902)
Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery (Garth Road), Garth Road, Morden SM4 (1947) is jointly managed with the London borough of Merton and is situated in Merton.
Sutton Cemetery, Alcorn Close, off Oldfields Road, Sutton SM3 (1889)
See the London borough of Merton for information on the jointly managed North East Surrey Crematorium, Lower Morden Lane, Morden SM4 (1958)
WANDSWORTH (http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200032/deaths_funerals_and_cremations/86/cemeteries_and_crematorium/1)
Battersea New Cemetery, (Morden) Lower Morden Lane, SM4 (1892) situated in Merton
Putney Vale Cemetery, Stag Lane, SW15 (1891 crematorium - 1938)
Putney Lower Common Cemetery, Lower Common, Lower Richmond Road SW15 (1855)
St Mary’s Cemetery, Battersea Rise, SW11, (1860)
Wandsworth Cemetery, Magdalen Road, SW18 (1878)
WANDSWORTH HERITAGE SERVICE (http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200064/local_history_and_heritage/888/wandsworth_heritage_service/1) also hold copies of burial registers for Battersea New Cemetery 1892-1930, Putney Vale Cemetery 1891-1930, Putney Lower Common Cemetery 1855-1982, St Mary’s Cemetery 1860-3 and 1875-81 plus a transcription of monumental inscriptions and Wandsworth Cemetery 1878-1930.
See the London borough of Merton for information on the jointly managed North East Surrey Crematorium, Lower Morden Lane, Morden SM4 (1958)
Information on individual London cemeteries in the eight London boroughs can also be found at LONDON GARDENS ONLINE (http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/select-borough-gardens-online.html)
Information and links to civic cemeteries in other areas of London can be found in the Rootschat GUIDE TO BURIALS IN THE LONDON AREA (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,403485.0.html)
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
WHO MIGHT BE MISSING FROM CHURCH OF ENGLAND BURIAL REGISTERS?
UNINTENTIONALLY MISSING
In 1538, a law was passed in England, which required the clergy to keep a record of baptisms, marriages, and burials, which would be recorded every Sunday after services. A further notice was sent out to churches in 1558, but compliance was still not uniform. In 1597 it was required that any existing records should be copied into a book (the parish register). There was some opposition from parish clergy. Some copied what records the parish had amassed into the new register, some copied some of the records and some did nothing starting their parish register from 1598. Not all parish registers survive from this period and because records were rarely written up on the day they occurred, not all events were remembered and written into the registers, particularly in smaller parishes lacking a resident minister.
In 1598, parishes were ordered to make annual returns of their baptisms, marriages, and burials to their local bishop. These are known as Bishops Transcripts and where obligatory up until the mid-nineteenth century. Not all parishes complied with the requirement on a regular basis and not all the transcripts have survived. Where they have, they serve as a useful check against the actual registers themselves. Not all entries in the parish registers are found in the Bishops Transcripts and sometimes records in the BTs are not found in the parish registers.
The English civil war lasted from1641-1651. The country was without a monarchy until the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Parish registers may only be fragmentary throughout this twenty-year period.
Institutions such as workhouses, asylums, and military hospitals often had their own burial grounds, particularly in the nineteenth century. With the building of municipal cemeteries from the 1840s onwards in towns and cities and the growing popularity of cremation, particularly from the twentieth century onwards, most burials and cremations in this country no longer occurred in churchyards, apart from in the more rural areas of England. Memorial services, in more modern times, might be listed in parish church registers if they are held in a church prior to a burial in a municipal cemetery. Such entries usually but not always give the actual burial location. A cremation would rarely be noted in a church burial register unless the ashes were buried in the churchyard later and then an entry should be made in the register.
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
WHO MIGHT BE MISSING FROM CHURCH OF ENGLAND BURIAL REGISTERS?
INTENTIONALLY MISSING
The Church forbade the ceremonial interment of all excommunicated or unbaptized persons as well as suicides, though it was more sympathetic towards those suicides considered ‘bereft of reason’. Non-conformists were entitled to burial in the parish churchyard. The insertion of all such burials in the registers was often only fitful and irregular, though such burials did occur nevertheless.
UNBAPTISED
Unbaptised and stillborn babies can be found intermittently in even the earliest Church of England registers showing they were buried in churchyards, but more likely at the edges and in unconsecrated ground because they were not entitled to the full church rites of burial. Many of these burials went unrecorded in registers.
For parents who have experienced stillbirths this remains quite rightly a very sensitive subject, since attitudes to stillbirths were slow to change until well into the second half of the twentieth century ANSWERS.COM (http://www.answers.com/topic/unbaptized-babies)
NON-CONFORMISTS
By 1851, about a quarter of the population was non-conformist. Non-conformists were dissenters who disagreed with the beliefs and practices of the Church of England. They might be Protestants e.g. Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Independents, Congregationalists and Quakers or Roman Catholics. Some non-conformist chapels had their own burial grounds, but burials for many non-conformists still took place in parish churchyards, until the larger towns and cities had established their own municipal cemeteries from the 1840s onwards. In 1880, the Burial Laws Amendment Act allowed for the burial of non-conformists by their own ministers in Anglican churchyards. Where burials did take place in non-conformist burial grounds, the survival rate of these registers, if they ever existed, is much poorer than Church of England registers.
The example below is taken from the ANNOTATED BURIALS AT WESTBURY ON SEVERN (http://www.rebus.demon.co.uk/wos_br.htm) 1889 - 1895
In this register, the vicar gave far greater information than the standard requirement for burial registers of the period. In the register is mentioned the service conducted for a man who had committed suicide and the burial of three unnamed non-conformists, demonstrating that in a standard Church of England burial register these would have gone unrecorded
'18 Dec 1890 Memorandum that there had been 3 other persons buried by Sectaries this year whose names are not entered in this book'
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A GUIDE TO BURIALS IN SURREY
WHO MIGHT BE MISSING FROM CHURCH OF ENGLAND BURIAL REGISTERS?
INTENTIONALLY MISSING
SUICIDES
Suicide ‘whilst of sound mind’ was considered by the state to be a serious crime. A suicide’s property could be forfeited to the crown. The church considered suicide ‘whilst of sound mind’ a mortal sin. It was customary in England to bury suicides at cross roads, but not infrequently for charity's sake, the body was interred in the graveyard without ceremony. Coroner’s juries were often sympathetic and returned verdicts of ‘suicide while of unsound mind’. Better to be judged mad than a criminal and denied a Christian burial. If the jury returned the rarer verdict of 'felo de se', felon of himself, the suicide was deemed a felon and their property was confiscated.
Though in the context of the suicide of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, SHAKESPEARE LAW LIBRARY (http://www.sourcetext.com/lawlibrary/guernsey/03.htm) has an informative article on the church’s response to the burials of suicides.
Penalties against suicides and their families were gradually reduced throughout the nineteenth century. In 1823, the Right to Burial Act allowed for the burial of felo de se suicides in the churchyard. In 1870, the Abolition of Forfeiture Act removed the penalty of forfeiting the suicide’s property to the Crown. No religious ceremony could be obtained for a felo de se until the Burial Laws Amendment Act of 1880, though the full burial service was still denied them and until 1882; the suicide’s body was buried privately between the hours of nine and twelve at night. Under the Suicide Act of 1961, suicide no longer became a crime, though assisting someone to commit suicide still is. The Church of England proposed Book of Common Prayer (1928) began the order for the burial of the dead with this statement.
'Here it is to be noted that the Office ensuing is not to be used for any that die unbaptized, or for any that are excommunicate, or have laid violent hands upon themselves, or in the act of committing any grievous crime.
If question arise as to whether this Office should be used for the burial of any person, reference shall (if time and opportunity permit,) be made to the Bishop, who shall decide the question.'
EXCOMMUNICANTS
The Church of England could excommunicate parishioners for many moral offences, as well as heresy. A modified form of the burial service was available for excommunicants following the Burial Laws Amendment Act of 1880, though this was merely the formalisation of the process where sympathetic clergymen absolved deceased excommunicants and read the normal burial service. Those who were excommunicated because they had committed a grievous crime, if they died unrepentant, would be deprived of the normal burial service. From 1745 onwards the relatives of excommunicants, where necessary, could compel their burial in a churchyard.
CRIMINALS
Taken from THE HISTORY OF JUDICIAL HANGING IN BRITAIN 1735-1964 (http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hanging1.html)
‘From 1752 the bodies of executed murderers were not returned to their relatives for burial. Up to 1832, except in a case of murderers where the court had ordered dissection or gibbeting it was usual for the criminal's body to be claimed by friends or relatives for burial. This burial could take place in consecrated ground provided that the person had not committed murder. In earlier times (pre 1752) it was not unusual for murderers to be buried under the gallows on which they had suffered. Dissection was removed from the statute book on the 1st of August 1832, by the Anatomy Act. The same act directed that the bodies of executed criminals belonged to the Crown and were now to be buried in the prison grounds in unmarked graves, often several to a grave to save space. Typically, the person was placed into a cheap pine coffin or even a sack and covered with quicklime, which was thought to hasten the process of decomposition of the body. This practice was later abandoned, as the quicklime was found to have a preserving effect. The Capital Punishment Amendment Act of 1868 required that a formal inquest be held after an execution and that the prisoner be buried within the grounds of the prison unless directed otherwise by the sheriff of the county. This practice continued up to abolition. After the inquest, the body was placed into the coffin, which had large holes bored in the sides and ends. The burial normally took place at lunchtime and was carried out by prison officers and overseen by the chaplain who conducted a simple burial service. The position of the grave was recorded in the Burial Register for the prison. Prisons in major cities soon had quite large graveyard areas. Where prisons were demolished for redevelopment the bodies were removed and buried elsewhere, normally in consecrated ground.’