British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

This Christmastide, we explore the connections between the author of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, and the cemetery records in the Deceased Online database For many, Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is indelibly associated with Christmas. Besides the iconic   A Christmas Carol (published in 1843) , he also wrote the semi-autobiographical short story ‘A Christmas Tree’ (1850). Dickens loved the meaning and ritual of Christmas festivities. In later life, he enjoyed parties, and even in his poverty-stricken younger days, he always participated in the season. The ghosts in A Christmas Carol are believed to have been inspired by the stories told around the fire in his childhood Christmases that first inspired Dickens’ imagination to ‘hanker’ after the supernatural. Although Dickens is buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey , the burial records of many of his family and friends are found in the Deceased Online database .   In our  Highgate Cemetery  ...

With the recent birthday celebrations of the Queen, it feels timely to highlight some of the royal records in the Deceased Online collections The Queen, pictured in 2015 (Wikipedia) Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 91st birthday on 21 April 2017. Last year, she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history and on the 29 November 2016, she and Prince Philip celebrated 69 years of marriage. Not to be outdone, younger members of the Royal Family have also been in the news recently. Prince Harry , along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge , have been speaking out about the need for improved mental health awareness and services as part of the Heads Together campaign. Notably, last week, Prince Harry spoke at length publicly for the first time about the tragic death in 1997 of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales . The burial place of Katharine of Aragon at Peterborough Cathedral The oldest royal record in the Deceased Online database is from Peterborough Cathedral ...

In honour of Valentine's Day, this week's blog looks at some of the most romantic stories and headstones in the Deceased Online collections marking the everlasting love of couples reunited after death. While Valentine's Day is a fun celebration of love and romance for some, for others it can be a harsh reminder of loneliness or the loss of a loved one. Like birthdays, anniversaries and religious festivals, Valentine's Day triggers thoughts and memories of happy times with someone who is no longer here. An illustration of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne by Stephen Alonzo Schoff, taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne and HIs Wife: A Biography by Julian Hawthorne, p. 39 (Google books)  When I visit graveyards, however, I am often struck by how much love continues after death. This may be the love of a parent, child, spouse, lover, sibling or friend. In some cases, a spouse's body may be removed from a grave or cemetery and relocated elsewhere in order to join the...

For many of us, Christmas is a time of family, feasting and celebration. But f or the working classes of the late 18th and early 19th century, Christmas Day was regarded as a rare break fro m daily toil . Nevertheless, s ome Georgians and Victorians were obliged to continue working in the holidays. Among them were priests, cemetery staff and gravediggers who overs aw Christmas burials.  It faded on the crowing of the cock. Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long. And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad. The nights are wholesome. Then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallowed and so gracious is that time. Marcellus...

Thanks to all who contacted us after the Eureka Moments blog posted earlier this month. The personal stories highlighted proved so popular that we decided to reproduce more. In this week's examples, we hear from a New Zealander who found her family in London's Brompton Cemetery, a Briton who had success in another 'Magnificent Seven' cemetery, and an Australian who reconnected with his Scottish roots. Tree growing among gravestones in Brompton Cemetery, West London New Zealander, Vicki Houlbrooke (nee Leach) , was searching in central London burial records for her Westminster ancestor, George Leach . She had a transcript of the headstone, found in a letter from her Grandad's Great Uncle Fred, but there were no clues as to where the grave was located. The transcript read: Sacred to the memory of Mary Maria, Wife of George LEACH, of Vauxhall Bridge Rd, Pimlico, Who departed this life Sept 3, 1856, Aged 66 years. It is finished. Also Mr. George LEACH, Husba...

This week we have a guest post by Ann Treneman, parliamentary sketch writer for The Times .  Ann is the author of an excellent new book, Finding the Plot - 100 graves to visit before you die. Ann Treneman has been the parliamentary sketch writer for The Times for ten years, winning multiple awards. Before that she was a feature writer for The Times , winning the British Press Award Feature Writer of the Year in 2000. She has also worked for The Independent and The Observer where she was foreign editor. Born in America, she has lived in Britain for the past 30 years.  Ann's latest bo ok, Finding the Plot: 100 Graves to Visit Before You Die, was publish ed in autumn 2013.  Like us, Ann has a passion for cemeteries and memorials, their history and the stories associated with them and as an entertaining writer, she brings them back to life.  The book features many graves and burials which appear on the Deceased Online website . These inclu...

All records for Kensal Green Cemetery and West London Crematorium are now available to search on the database From this week, all 330,000 records for Kensal Green Cenetery and West London Crematorium can be searched on Deceased Online . They include all burial and cremation records from 1833 to 2010. This release heralds the exclusive digitisation of records on the site from two of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries. And we have more to come soon. Watch this space! Among the famous names included in this latest release of records is the iconic sixties and seventies designer, Ossie Clark (1942-1996) . Immortalized in the 1971 painting (above), Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy , by his friend, David Hockney, Clark dressed Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Liza Minnelli and the Beatles. His clothes are still highly sought after, with his vintage designs being worn by Kate Moss and other modern trend-setters. Clark's style continues to influence designers sich as Anna Sui, C...