London & Middlesex Family History

Find your London ancestors and relatives with this list of links and resources to family history, genealogy and local history records.

Archives

• Brent Archives
• City of Westminster Archives
• Haringey Archives
• Hammersmith & Fulham Archives
• Imperial College London Archives
• Lambeth Archives
  Lambeth archives covers this London borough where you’ll find its record office and local history library. Family history, house history and local history can be researched free of charge.
• London Metropolitan Archives
  London Metropolitan Archives holds an extraordinary range of collections and records about London. This site offers an insight into the archives, and practical advice on how to research and use them, both at LMA and online.
• Parliamentary Archives

Births, Marriages, Deaths & Parish Records

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

Burials & Cemeteries

There are many websites that contain London Burial Records, which you can see below.

• Greater London Burial Index 1399-1992
  Search over 2 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.

Criminals and Convicts

• Criminal Ancestor Records
• London Lives 1690-1800
  London Lives 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
  This collection contains electoral registers captured at the London Metropolitan Archives. The records contain lists of names and addresses of registered voters. The register of persons entitled to vote at any election of a member to serve in parliament, or to serve on the county council of the county of London. The records cover the years 1847 to 1913.

Forums

• RootsChat Forum
  Help or get help from others researching their London or Middlesex ancestors on this frequently used forum.

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
• London Historical Directories

Local History

• Ancient London Churches
• Bygone London
• Domesday Book Middlesex
• Genuki London
  GENUKI London is 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
• Maps of London Collection
• Layers of London
  Layers of London is 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
  The London Gazette was 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.

Obituaries

• Legacy UK Obituaries

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 and Postcards

• Lambeth Landmark
  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
  Collage 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 and Education

• Dulwich College Register 1619-1926
• London School Registers

Societies and Groups

• East of London Family History Society
  The 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
  The London Westminster & Middlesex Family History Society 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. Monthly meetings are held at five branches at which talks of genealogical or local interest are given. Each branch has its own resource collection which can be consulted by members at the meetings and there are also experienced members from whom advice and assistance may be sought. Members are welcome to attend at all five branches, which meet in the City and at Enfield, Barnet, Wembley and Rayners Lane.
• Woolwich & District Family History Society
  The 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 generation 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.

Surnames

• London Surnames List
• London Surnames 1881

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 to paid etc.

Wills and Probate

• Court of Husting Wills 1258-1688
• Archdeaconry Court Of London Wills Index, 1700-1807
• London Gazette Wills
• London and Middlesex Wills 1700-1704
• London Probate Index

Workhouses & Poor Law

• London Poor Law Records 1581-1899