how to see ORIGINAL cemetery records for Isleworth, London UK

[Little Nell]

It may be that Hounslow Library no longer holds the local history archives (and therefore All Saints PR).  There was a move to Feltham Library about 2017 for material related to the western part of the borough.

Nell

[Bookbox]

Original cemetery records may well be at London Metropolitan Archives.  See their catalogue:

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01r39/

Dates given for Isleworth Cemetery are 1879-1936

According to the catalogue, the LMA records referenced above are mainly diocesan deeds of consecration, etc., not burial records.

However, there are burial records for Isleworth Cemetery 1929-1949 held at the National Archives, in HO 45/23050. See this link for the catalogue entry ...

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4757275

The records themselves cannot be viewed online, so you would need to visit or have someone go on your behalf.

Have you tried looking for this person in the 1939 Register? If found there, it would considerably narrow your timeframe, which might make things easier.

[guest259648]

UPDATE
Record has been found!
Thanks to all helpful contributions here.

The individual lived a great deal longer than expected, given their destitute circumstances, which is mainly why it was proving tough to locate.

[guest259648]

Original cemetery records may well be at London Metropolitan Archives.  See their catalogue:

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01r39/

Dates given for Isleworth Cemetery are 1879-1936

According to the catalogue, the LMA records referenced above are mainly diocesan deeds of consecration, etc., not burial records.

However, there are burial records for Isleworth Cemetery 1929-1949 held at the National Archives, in HO 45/23050. See this link for the catalogue entry ...

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4757275

The records themselves cannot be viewed online, so you would need to visit or have someone go on your behalf.

Have you tried looking for this person in the 1939 Register? If found there, it would considerably narrow your timeframe, which might make things easier.

Lovely.
Thank you so much for your generosity.
It's a great help.

[guest259648]

It may be that Hounslow Library no longer holds the local history archives (and therefore All Saints PR).  There was a move to Feltham Library about 2017 for material related to the western part of the borough.

Nell

That's very useful to know, thank you for posting this up.
Material does get moved around and it's not easy to find where it has gone.
x

[guest259648]

I am puzzled about the large time span for a possible burial/cremation, especially when you seem to know that the person would almost certainly have been buried/cremated within a couple of miles of Isleworth, but which part?  It makes me wonder: has the death has been found in the GRO index to narrow the time down?  By then ages were given in the index.

Be that as it may.

My thoughts are (and perhaps you have already done this and eliminated possible duplicate names, in which case, apologies):

- use wild cards if possible to search the indexes and consider what letters might have been confused for others e.g. St can sometimes look like H; 'll' can be mistaken for 'tt' and vice versa; W can look like M; N could be mistaken for V and vice versa (definitely seen that one)
- check the probate index for possible entries corresponding to GRO deaths;
if you can establish when the person died, check the online newspapers around the right date;

- check the deceased's parents' burial places to see if they were buried there.

All Saints' church at Isleworth has a churchyard but it ceased to be used in the 19th century.  The cemetery beyond the hospital was opened in 1879 to replace it.  I would imagine the burial records are with London Borough of Hounslow, but sometimes burials were recorded by the officiating minister in their own church registers as well as cemetery records.  The registers of All Saints' are held by Hounslow Library.  They were water damaged during the war and can be difficult to read.  There may even be restrictions on viewing now due to their condition.  Isleworth cemetery is now closed for burials, but I can't find out when it closed.  Closure of cemeteries in the time period you are possibly looking at needs to be considered and therefore where might the next choice be.  Inevitably it might be further from Isleworth itself.  New Brentford cemetery for example is in Hounslow.  Hounslow cemetery is still open and that too should be considered. 

Possibly Gunnersbury cemetery - managed by LB Kensington  & Chelsea, opened 1929.

There is a guide to all the cemeteries of London but it may be more of a historical guide than where the records are kept.

South West Middlesex Crematorium (aka Hanworth) is the only crematorium in Hounslow.  However, some residents might have opted for Mortlake, depends on date.  Certainly more recently that was another option.  Both Mortlake and SW Middx has an online Book of Remembrance - doesn't seem to be searchable by name and may be too late for your purposes.

Good luck.

Nell

This is a totally splendid reply and is the main reason I come onto RootsChat, because there are experts like yourself who know things that I don't know, and that I'm struggling to find.
Thank you so much for all these details.

All suggestions for possible search methods are always very welcome. I always learn something from every post, and you've taught me a lot here.

Death Certificates are usually easy to find but burials/cremations, that's another matter!
Great reply, very grateful.

[guest259648]

I am in NSW Australia.  In the decades before the internet and the commercialisation of family history,  the search for original records was always a very high priority.   In respect of the deceased, it was often a reasonably simple task of writing to the funeral directors and asking for details as to who paid for the funeral, and where buried/cremated.  Funeral director organisations in NSW often were and still can be family businesses passing down through generations.  Some of these have archival records back into the 1800s.  Some have shared their records to peak family history groups. 

Have you considered compiling your own index/database of funeral directors in that London U.K. locality in that broad timeframe,  and then seek out where any of them have archived their old records, even if E&W statute law may have mandated a short timeframe for retention of records.

JM  edited for spelling and grammar.

I think that's an excellent idea of yours, to compile a list of funeral directors. Thank you for the suggestion.
We could all use such a database, especially for London, it would be a wonderful resource.

I have spoken with several funeral directors this week (regarding a different enquiry) and they do hold accurate records going back to the moment they opened their business. And they offer a free search. And are lovely helpful people.

Maybe RootsChatters would help in compiling some valuable Lists.  Family History Societies do good work in this direction, but I don't think funeral directors (past and present) are currently covered.
x

[Little Nell]

Good to know that you found the record.

Out of curiosity - and in case it helps others in the future - would you tell us how you found it?  Was it a result of any of the suggestions put forward above?

Nell

[guest259648]

Good to know that you found the record.

Out of curiosity - and in case it helps others in the future - would you tell us how you found it?  Was it a result of any of the suggestions put forward above?

Nell

Nell
It's always good to see how a solution was found - and, in my experience, it's usually as a combination of many factors combined.

I was working with details provided by another person, who didn't want actual 'names' posted up publicly, however I'm happy to talk generally.

Assumptions were made which turned out to be incorrect. Big Lesson! Never assume.
So we hadn't been searching in a wide enough range.

We didn't expect a pretty ill person, who'd had to convey their offspring to orphanages, to be able to survive the experience and live a very long time. Another big lesson! Never expect.

Your suggestion Nell re: using wild cards to replace letters was very valuable. That worked. [See another post I'll be putting up today, I'd value your help.]

We found the person on the 1939, huge surprise! but wrongly indexed, so a wild card search succeeded.

A Family History group researcher [from an enquiry outside RootsChat) came forward with knowledge of burial records which can be consulted online. (I wasn't aware of them.) Not quite Isleworth but very close.

I'm sorry I can't post up actual details (it's not my family) but I will always share research methods, because it's important.

I find RootsChat one of the very best online sites for assistance.
Many thanks for your own help.