London Metropolitan Archives Historical Records

London Metropolitan Archives

Exclusive to Ancestry.co.uk

Now you can explore London’s rich history through the lives of your ancestors with the launch of these fascinating historical records.

The records range from the early 1900s all the way back to the 1500s – around 300 years before Civil Registration. So they can help you go beyond Census, Birth, Marriage & Death records.

There are more than 77 million records in total, which will be released regularly over the next year or so. You'll be able to see records first-hand such as parish records, non-conformist registers, electoral registers, parish poor records, boards of guardians, wills, transportation sessions – and much more. Watch out for more releases soon.

See map of parishes in London boroughs

Available now

Board of Guardians Deaths and Burials collection 1834-1934; and Births and Baptisms 1834-1906.

Opening the doors of workhouses, asylums and special schools across London
and Middlesex.

Search Births and Baptisms, 1834-1906

Search Deaths and Burials, 1834-1934

New to family history?

The best way to start is by searching the Birth, Marriage & Death records. Here you'll find official records from 1837 to the present day. Start with yourself and you could discover your first historical record in minutes!

Search Birth, Marriage & Death records

Watch out for these famous Londoners

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), nick-named ‘Ironsides’, is easily one of the most controversial figures in British history as the man responsible for the English Civil Wars, the removal of monarchy and the regicide of King Charles I, all between 1642 and 1649.

Originating from ‘low level’ gentry, the records of St Giles Cripplegate show that he married Elizabeth Bourchier on 13 August 1620. Elizabeth’s father was a London leather merchant with strong ties to the Puritan movement and whose network of contacts would prove crucial to Oliver’s later military and political career. See record of Oliver Cromwell
Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) is famous for the diary he kept between 1660 and 1669, which has become one of the most important sources available for those studying the period of the English Reformation. Pepys, who kept his diary in code - possibly to hide his infidelities - provides a rich account of major events such as The Great Plague of 1665 and the subsequent Great Fire of London in the following year.

He is said to have been born in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street, London on 23 February 1633 however the record of his baptism in the Parish Register of Baptisms at St Bride Fleet Street clearly shows an earlier date of 3 March 1632. See record of Samuel Pepys
Horatia Nelson

Horatia Nelson (1801-1881) was the illegitimate daughter of the great Admiral Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton. Born in 1801, the LMA records show that she was baptized Horatia Nelson Thompson at St Marylebone on 18 May 1803. All of the baptisms on the same page also list the names of both mother and father, but Horatia’s shows only her name and the date of baptism. It is assumed that in order to avert the scandal of an illegitimate daughter, Nelson had her baptised as the daughter of Vice Admiral Charles Thompson, later ‘adopting’ her as his own. See record of Horatia Nelson

Records included in London Metropolitan Archives collection

In total, the collection spans more than 400 years, representing a varied and colourful picture of London and its inhabitants. It covers registers from over 700 churches within the former counties of London and Middlesex.

In total there are seven different types of records:

Parish Baptism Registers (up to 1906)

Typically, a pre-1813 register recorded the date, name, names of parents, and possibly the father's occupation. Occasionally the street or area in which they lived was also noted. The date of birth was not normally given. The maiden name of the mother, if married, is never entered, nor are the names of the grandparents, god-parents or sponsors.

From 1 January 1813 a new type of register was introduced, known as George Rose's Register. The entries followed a standard format, in bound volumes with pre-printed pages. The information recorded included the date of baptism, child's name, parents' names, address, which may just be the name of the parish or street, father's occupation and the name of the officiating minister. The alleged date of birth may sometimes be noted.
Parish Marriage Registers (up to 1921)

After Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753 a standard form of entry for marriages was introduced in 1754. The information recorded was the date, the names of both parties, the parish in which they lived, whether the marriage was by banns or licence and whether spinster, bachelor, widow or widower. On the introduction of civil registration on 1 July 1837 a new type of register was produced. The entries gave the date, names of the parties, addresses, occupations and ages. Civil marriages, those held in Register Offices, also began in July 1837. Records of these marriages are not held in the London Metropolitan Archives.
Burial Registers

Burial entries until the end of 1812 were usually only very brief. They gave the date and the name of the person to be buried. Occasionally, family relationships such as 'wife of' or 'son of' may be noted. It may be recorded if the burial was that of a child or baby or from the workhouse (pauper or poor). Occupations are rarely given. From 1 January 1813 new format registers were introduced. As with the baptism registers, the pages were pre-printed and bound in a volume. The name of the deceased, address, date of burial, age and officiating minister were given.

During the 1850s the churchyards and burial grounds of inner London were closed by a series of Acts of Parliament. They had become overcrowded and for reasons of hygiene and of good public health not suitable for further burials. Many burial registers for parish churches in inner London cease by 1855.

In the 1830s and 1840s new cemeteries were being established. London Metropolitan Archives holds records from the City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery 1841-1966, New Bunhill Fields (1831-1853), Bishops' Transcripts for Highgate (1839-1871), Kensal Green (1833-1872), Nunhead (1842-1871) and West Norwood (1838-1918).
Bishops' Transcripts

Bishops' Transcripts are copies of entries in the baptism, marriage and burial registers. They were made by churchwardens once a year and returned to the Bishop's Registry.

London Metropolitan Archives holds Bishops' Transcripts for the counties of Surrey, Middlesex, (excluding the City of London) and those parishes in Kent which later became part of the County of London.

Bishops' Transcripts for marriages cease, on the whole, after civil registration was introduced in July 1837. Bishops' Transcripts for baptisms and burials cease at various dates between the 1830's and 1900.
Other religious archives

Non-conformist congregations (i.e. Methodist) baptisms, marriages and burials.
Other collections
- Board of Guardians (up to 1911)
- School Admissions and Discharge Registers (up to 1911)
- Electoral registers and poll books (up to 1965)
- Land Tax documents
- Surrey marriage bonds and allegations (up to 1830)
- Wills
Other material
- Transportation records from the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace
- Diocesan marriage bonds and allegations (up to 1850)
- Diocesan divorce exhibita
- City of London Freedoms

London Historical Records, 1500s-1900s