Burials in Parish Registers

This section covers burials in Church of England parish registers. Parish register entries can be a little disappointing.

Before 1813, burials and baptisms tend to be entered in the same parish registers. The information may be minimal - often only the name of the dead person and the date when they were buried is entered, although there are exceptions.

Example
My ancestor, Charles John Bond, was a commodore in the East India Company’s Bombay Marine. He died at Baker Street, London, England, on 8 July 1805. The entry in the parish register reads only “Chas John Bond Esq buried 12 July”. However, sometimes older registers do contain more information, and you may be lucky.

From 1813, a standard form was introduced, so the following information was included:

Name
Abode
When Buried
Age
Person who performed the ceremony

Example
For women, the name of the husband was often given. My ggg grandmother, Alice King, was buried at Sudbury St Peter, Suffolk, England, on 27 November 1824. The entry contains the following information: age 53 years, Alice wife of John King, King Street. Ceremony performed by H W Wilkinson.

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