London & Middlesex

Family history & genealogy records

London and Middlesex have some of the richest genealogical records in England, covering everything from parish baptisms to criminal trials, electoral rolls to apprenticeship abstracts. The depth of sources reflects centuries of record-keeping by the City, the parishes, the courts and the livery companies, many of which are now held at the London Metropolitan Archives or freely available online.

Births, Marriages, Deaths & Parish Records

England BMDs
FreeBMD
London Parish Records
Baptisms, marriages and burials for London and Middlesex from the 1500s onwards.

Cemetery Records

There are many websites that contain London burial records.

Greater London Burial Index 1399–1992
Search over 3 million records from more than 300 Anglican and non-conformist parishes.
Boyd's London Burials
This dataset, completed by Percival Boyd in 1934, is an index to some 243,000 of the burials in the London area 1538–1872.
Brompton Cemetery Records
City of London Burials
Search the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium records for burials and cremations. The cemetery has been open since 1856 and there are over 150 years of heritage recorded in the Cemetery Burial and Cremation Registers.
London Burial Grounds
An index of burial grounds and sites within and around London.
London Churchyard Inscriptions
Ladywell and Brockley Cemeteries
Records for the Ladywell & Brockley cemeteries. There are currently transcripts of 13,700 gravestones which include the names of 37,000 individuals buried there. The cemeteries were originally called Lewisham & Deptford and both were established in 1858.
Deceased Online
Has many burials for London and the London area.
Kingston and Surbiton Burials
Shoreditch St. Leonard's Burials
Search almost 39,000 records from this East London parish.

Census Records

Census 1841–1921
Search the complete census records from 1841–1921, plus the 1939 Register all at once. There are almost 3 million records for London in the 1939 Register, which is a great census substitute for that period.
FreeCen
Has a good, but not complete, selection of free records to search and view.
Westminster Catholic Census 1893
These records indicate whether the individual attended mass, received confirmation, was married and the priest's opinion of the family.

Criminals & Convicts

Criminal Ancestor Records
London Lives 1690–1800
Features more than 240,000 pages of records taken from criminal justice and local government agencies in the capital between 1690–1800. The documents are drawn from parishes, guilds, workhouses, hospitals and more which include an estimated 3.35 million names.
Newgate Calendar
Old Bailey Online
A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.

Electoral Registers

Electoral Registers 1832–1932
London Electoral Registers
Lists of names and addresses of registered voters held at the London Metropolitan Archives, covering the years 1847 to 1913.
Lambeth Electoral Registers 1832–1886
Middlesex Poll 1802
An alphabetical list of those who were eligible to vote.

Heraldry

Visitation of Middlesex 1663
A list of prominent families and their pedigrees.
Visitation of London 1568
Visitation of London 1633, 1634, 1635

Historical Directories

Inhabitants of London in 1638
London Citizens in 1651
Directory of London 1794
Cities of London and Westminster, & Borough of Southwark. An alphabetical list of inhabitants, businesses and merchants.
London Historical Directories

Local History

Ancient London Churches
Bygone London
Domesday Book Middlesex
Genuki London
A free family history & genealogy resource which lists links and resources for the English county of London.
Genuki Middlesex
A free family history & genealogy resource which lists links and resources for the English county of Middlesex.
London City, People, Places, Streets
Medieval London
Memorials of Old London Vol. 1
Memorials of Old London Vol. 2
Middlesex County Records
Various records, including session rolls, spanning the years 1550–1618.

Maps

London and Environs Maps and Views
Map of London 1862–1871
Civitas Londinum
Known as the Agas map (1561), it offers a detailed and interactive view both of the buildings and streets of the city and its environment.
Layers of London
A map-based history website developed by the Institute of Historical Research. Users can access free historic maps of London and contribute stories, memories and histories to create a social history resource about their area.
Charles Booth's London
Poverty maps and police notebooks.

Military Records

British Military Records
London Volunteer Soldiers
London Roll of Honour
Middlesex Military Service Appeal Tribunal 1916–1918
Did your ancestor appeal against their conscription in WWI? Over 8,000 men did.

Newspaper Archives

British Newspaper Collection 1710–1953
Illustrated London News
London Gazette
First published in 1665 and is an official record of the British government. Certain notices are required to be published by the government and they can be found here. It's a great resource for historians and genealogists.

Occupations

British Apprentices 1710–1808
London Apprenticeship Abstracts 1442–1850
Discover your ancestors who were apprenticed to various livery companies in London between 1442 and 1850. The records may reveal the trade your ancestor was learning, when he was apprenticed, his master's name and where he was born. Some records may also provide information on the apprentice's father's occupation and parish. The original records can be accessed from the Guildhall Library.
London Police Roll of Honour
Search the City of London and Metropolitan rolls.
London Ironmongers 1511–1939
Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
Lost Pubs of London

Photos & Postcards

Lambeth Landmark
Showcases the best images from Lambeth Archives' collection of over 50,000 photographs, drawings, prints and watercolours. You can also buy photographic prints of most images from the site.
The London Picture Archive
Contains over 250,000 prints, photos and drawings from the 15th century to the present day as well as over 1,000 maps from the Guildhall library. The collection is devoted to everyday life in and around London.

Schools & Education

Societies & Forums

East of London Family History Society
Comprising over 1,800 members who share an interest in family history in one of the most fascinating and historic areas of London.
London Westminster & Middlesex FHS
Was formed in 2001 from an amalgamation of two former societies: the London & North Middlesex FHS (formed in 1978) and the Westminster & Central Middlesex FHS. The Society's area now comprises the City of London, the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow and Islington, together with parts of Ealing and Hillingdon.
Woolwich & District Family History Society
Covers not just Woolwich but also Greenwich, Woolwich, Charlton, Plumstead, Eltham, Welling, Bexleyheath and Crayford. Many people have ancestors who spent a few years or a few generations in this area. Many worked at the Royal Arsenal, the Royal Dockyard or served in the Artillery.
West Middlesex Family History Society
Aims to encourage and assist those involved in the study of family history and genealogy in the western part of the ancient English county of Middlesex.
RootsChat Forum
Help or get help from others researching their London or Middlesex ancestors on this frequently used forum.

Surnames

Taxation

London Hearth Tax
Westminster Rate Books 1634–1900
Find out the name of the occupier or owner of a household and the street address, amount paid, etc.

Wills & Probate

Workhouses & Poor Law

London Poor Law Records 1581–1899
Westminster Poor Law
Over 1,700,000 records in this collection which includes workhouse admissions, paupers, settlement examinations and more.