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We love connecting people with their family and local history. When the cemetery company was dissolved in the 1960s, a number of records were lost, and our research suggests the administration of the cemetery wasn’t particularly robust even before then.
If you have an interesting story to share, please do let us know – heritage@fothcp.org.
Opened in 1841 and closed to burials in 1966, the official name for the cemetery was The City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery (not to be confused with the City of London Cemetery in Newham) and it is locally known as ‘Bow Cemetery’. There are over 350,000 people buried here.
All burials took place in either consecrated or unconsecrated ground. Individuals buried in consecrated ground were members of the Church of England, while unconsecrated ground was used for Christians of other denominations, people of other faiths and those with no religious affiliation. Our research shows that these burials reflect the rich diversity of the East End.
The cemetery became a public park in 1966 and over time, some gravestones and memorials have become damaged, lost, buried, fallen, or weathered beyond legibility.
Private graves can often be located if they are correctly marked on existing maps, though some are missing or inaccurately recorded. Public graves are more challenging to trace, and while the Friends have developed strong knowledge of many areas, it’s not always possible to pinpoint exact locations. Even so, the Cemetery Park remains a peaceful and meaningful place to visit.
We are a small charity that relies on the support of volunteers. Please note that our capacity to research graves is significantly reduced in the summer months as plant growth makes accessing graves particularly challenging. If you are planning a visit, we recommend coming between September and April. While we are unable to assist with ad hoc enquiries, we’re happy to help by advance arrangement or appointment.
The original company registers for the cemetery are held at the London Metropolitan Archives and are now available online on Ancestry.
The Register of Burials covers the period from September 1841 up to August 1966. It will show name, abode when buried, age, private vault/grave numbers, etc.
The Daybook of Burials will show name, number of grave, abode, age, mode of interment and how the certificate was received. Information is available on consecrated burials for the period Oct 1854 – May 1901, and for unconsecrated burials Jan 1855 – May 1901.
Once you have identified the person you are looking for in the registers, the burial register or daybook will give the grave number. Please note, for the very early public graves there is no record location available.
For a Private Grave, you might also consult the Register of Private Graves, which is a plot purchase register in grave number order. This will show who else is buried in the plot, and the grid square number (often marked ‘sq’). Once the square number has been found, the ‘square’ plan can be searched for the grave number, though unfortunately, the grave numbers do not run in sequence on site. Please note that these plans are not available online. FoTHCP may be able to assist in person by appointment, or the London Metropolitan Archives also hold a series of the plans.
Public graves are denoted by having a letter or symbol in the grave number. Locating public graves is a challenging and time-consuming task: there were never any official maps for the later graves, and while the earlier graves are marked on the map, many no longer exist.
Over the years the Friends has built up extensive knowledge of where public graves may be located: to aid in locating the grave you should note who else is buried in the grave (even if they are not your family) and in the graves on either side.
Make a note of the grave number, square number, the register you obtained the information from, and all the details available on it, or save a copy of the image. If you would like help locating the grave or further assistance please emil them to us, at heritage@fothcp.org. As a volunteer-run organisation, we’ll do our best to respond as soon as we can.
If you would like to conduct any maintenance, cleaning or tidying around a grave, please first get in touch with us by email to heritage@fothcp.org.
Whilst we welcome support in caring for the 47,000 headstones on sites, we need to delicately balance the needs of heritage and nature at the Cemetery Park. We have grave care policies in place to ensure that both the stones and our habitats can be cared for. The headstones at the Cemetery Park are no longer owned by the families of the deceased after the closure of the Cemetery in 1966, but we welcome families who might like to be part of the process and support through physical maintenance or financial contributions towards upkeep.