Historic Records Limited has photographed tens of thousands of graves and memorial plaques in English municipal cemeteries and crematoria, and complemented some with corresponding burial register images and transcriptions.

Municipal cemeteries in England first came into being after the 1852 Metropolitan Burial Act empowered local authorities to create new burial grounds; this a response to the increasingly over-crowded and often unsanitary churchyard cemeteries.

At the time of writing, Historic Records has covered municipal cemeteries in the following English counties:

• Berkshire
• Dorset
• Essex
• Hampshire
• Hertfordshire
• Lancashire
• Norfolk
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• East Sussex
• West Sussex
• Wiltshire

In addition, we have also undertaken grave photography in Birmingham and Greater London.

In all cases, the photos we take are transcribed to record key information such as the name of the deceased, date of death and age (where given). We do not transcribe the inscriptions themselves.

The photo on this page was taken at Chelmsford Cemetery & Crematorium and shows the last resting place of Private John Wilson of the Pioneer Corps who died, aged 41, on the 16th May 1943. In common with many municipal cemeteries, Chelmsford Cemetery and Crematorium is the last resting place for some men and women who died in military service during the First and Second World Wars. Chelmsford is also the last resting place for a number of Belgian refugees and soldiers who, having escaped the German invasion of their homeland in 1914, came to England and died in a foreign land.

For more information about the Historic Records Cemeteries & Burial Registers collection, and to explore licensing options, please contact us.