Cemetery records

Most people were buried in Church of England (Anglican) churchyards until the mid-19th century.

Burial registers may survive from 1538 onwards and the Norfolk Record Office (NRO) holds these for most Anglican churches.

See our Summary of Church of England Parish Registers and Transcripts (PDF) [3MB] to check if we hold a particular register.

Some Nonconformist churches had their own burial grounds, others used Anglican churchyards.

We hold burial records for some Norfolk Nonconformist churches, but survival is patchy. 

See our Summary of Free Church Registers (PDF) [116KB] to find out if the relevant records are available.

An act was passed by the government in 1853 enabling local authorities to administer their own cemeteries. Many urban churchyards were closed as a result.

Rosary Cemetery

This was established by the Rev Thomas Drummond, a Presbyterian minister, in 1819 and was the first private cemetery in England.

Drummond's aim was to establish a cemetery on freehold land to be secured as a cemetery for all time.
Many Nonconformists chose to be buried here, rather than in a Church of England churchyard.
The NRO holds the following records on microfilm:

• Burial registers, 1821-1991. Information given includes:
  • Name
  • Place of residence
  • Dates of death and of burial
  • Age
  • The section of the cemetery in which the grave was situated
  • The grave number
• Prior to 1867, the date of death is not normally included. The registers are arranged chronologically by the date of burial; use the indexes to the registers to find out the burial entry number, burial register number and folio (page) number.
• Indexes to the burial registers, 1821-1997 - these are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. They give the entry number and folio (page) number in the burial register, as well as the section of the cemetery in which the grave was located.
• Grave books - the plots in Rosary Cemetery were sold as 'squares' or graves. The grave books list the owners or purchasers of the graves or squares, rather than the names of the people who were buried there. The numbers underneath the names are the entry numbers in the burial register.

See the list Norwich City Records on Microform Part 2: Cemeteries' Department in the searchroom for further details.

• Burial registers, 1821-37, and monumental inscriptions, 1819-1986, have been published in P E Hamlin, Rosary Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions, 1819-1986, and Burials, 1821-37, Norfolk Genealogy, xviii, available on the searchroom shelves. This volume has a name index.
• Plans of the cemetery, showing the locations of individual grave plots, are available in a black A3 folder in the microform section of the searchroom.
• The NRO also holds documents relating to the administration of the Rosary Cemetery, 1824-1974. See lists MC 71 and N/C2 for more details. These include:
  • Minutes
  • Accounts
  • Correspondence
  • Records of shareholders
  • Records of owners of grave squares

Norwich City Cemetery (Earlham Road Cemetery)

We hold the following records on microfilm:

• Burial registers, 1855-1970. Entries give:
  • Name
  • Age
  • Occupation
  • Place of residence
  • Date of burial
  • The section of the cemetery in which the grave was situated
  • The grave number
• Indexes, 1856-1998 - these are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. They give the burial number and folio (page) number in the burial register and the grave number and folio in the grave book.
• Grave books - using the section and grave numbers given by the indexes, you can find the entry in the grave book. This will list all occupants of a particular grave plot. On microfilm MF 812, there is an overall section plan of the cemetery and plans of individual sections with the plot numbers, so that the grave can be located at the cemetery.
• Registers of stillborn children, 1928-97 - these record:
  • The date of burial
  • Parents' names
  • Address where the birth took place
  • The section of the cemetery in which the grave was situated
  • The grave number

For more details, see the list Norwich City Records on Microform Part 2: Cemeteries Department, available in the searchroom. There is a plan of the cemetery in this list.

• There are also plans of the cemetery, showing the locations of individual grave plots, in a black A3 folder in the microform section of the searchroom.
• We have transcripts of cemetery inscriptions for the eastern part of the City Cemetery: see catalogue references MC 2669/32-35, 992X6.
• We also have records relating to the administration of the cemetery, 1855-1974. See list N/CI for further details. These include:
  • Minutes
  • Records of grave ownership
  • Records of grave maintenance
  • Financial records
  • Correspondence
  • Plans

We hold microfiche copies of these registers. The originals are held at Magdalen Cemetery in Gorleston. Cemetery staff will undertake paid searches of the registers, but members of the public are not allowed to look at the originals. 

We have plans of the Great Yarmouth Old, Great Yarmouth New, Gorleston, Caister Old, Caister New and Magdalen Cemeteries, showing the locations of individual grave plots.

These are available in two purple A4 folders in the microform section of the searchroom.

Great Yarmouth Old Cemetery, 1856-1987

• Indexes - there are two indexes; you may need to check both. The indexes are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. They give the entry number in the burial register and the folio (page) number.
• Burial registers - each fiche is labelled with the dates it covers and the burial numbers that it includes. The information given in the burial registers should include:
  • Name
  • Age
  • Occupation (in the cases of children, usually gives 'son of/daughter of...' and for married women, 'wife of...')
  • Place of death
  • Date of burial
  • The grave number and section in the cemetery

Great Yarmouth New Cemetery, 1876-1986

• Indexes - there are two indexes; you may need to check both. They are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. The indexes give the entry number in the burial register and the folio (page) number.
• Burial registers - each fiche is labelled with the dates it covers and the burial numbers that it includes. The information given is the same as for Yarmouth Old Cemetery.

Gorleston Old Cemetery, 1879-1987

• Indexes - there are two indexes, both of which are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. The indexes give the entry number in the burial register and the folio (page) number. The first index is arranged like the indexes to the Yarmouth Old and New Cemeteries. In the second index, the first number is the burial number and the second is the folio number. For example, 9410 163 538: 9410 is the burial number, 163 is the folio.
• Burial registers - each fiche is labelled with the dates it covers and the burial numbers that it includes. The information given is the same as for Yarmouth Old Cemetery.

Great Yarmouth Cemetery at Caister, 1907-87

• Indexes - there are two indexes; you may need to check both. They are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. The indexes give the entry number in the burial register and the folio (page) number.
• Register of Burials - each fiche is labelled with the dates it covers and the burial numbers that it includes. The information given is the same as for Yarmouth Old Cemetery.

Magdalen Cemetery, 1958-87

• Indexes - these are arranged alphabetically to the first letter of the surname only. The indexes give the entry number in the burial register and the folio (page) number.
• Burial registers - each fiche is labelled with the dates it covers and the burial numbers that it includes. The information given is the same as for Yarmouth Old Cemetery.

Market Gates Cemetery at Yarmouth, 1828-64 

This was a private cemetery, mainly used by Nonconformists. No original register seems to have survived, but we do have a modern transcript of the burial register, 1828-64, on microfilm NNAS 894754.

Other records

We also hold some administrative records of the Yarmouth Burial Board and Gorleston Burial Board 1828, 1855-1908 (see Y/TC 86/14/62; Y/TC 76-77; Y/TR 238-246).

These are copies of gravestone inscriptions and of other memorials in churches, chapels and graveyards.

About a third of graveyards in Norfolk have been surveyed. Most of those included are parish churchyards or Nonconformist burial grounds, rather than modern civil cemeteries.

Often there is a plan with the survey, which shows the locations of the graves. Surveys may also include the inscriptions on the parish war memorial and on memorials inside the church.

• Most of the surveys are available on microfilm. Further details are given in the list Churchyard Surveys on Microfilm in the searchroom.
• Transcripts of Norwich Cathedral inscriptions are available with the other transcripts on the searchroom shelves. For a list of inscriptions in Norwich Cathedral's cloisters, please request document BOL 4/122, 742X4.
• The Norfolk Family History Society (opens new window) also has a collection of monumental inscriptions, which is available for consultation by its members. A list of churchyards covered is on its website.

Many workhouses had their own burial grounds. See list C/GP for details of burial registers that survive.

St Andrew's Hospital at Thorpe St Andrew, the county asylum, had its own burial ground. We hold burial registers 1815-1966 (see SAH 231-234).

However, these records are closed to public inspection until 100 years after the death of the patient concerned.

We have put together a guide to St Andrew's Hospital and accessing its records.

Norwich

St Faith's Crematorium opened in the 1930s, while Norwich City Crematorium (situated in the Norwich City Cemetery on Earlham Road) opened in 1964. Both are now in private hands. For records of both contact the administrator at St Faith's Crematorium (opens new window).  

Great Yarmouth Crematorium

Registers begin c1968. You can request a search of the registers (for which a fee is charged) by contacting the crematorium at Magdalen Cemetery (opens new window).  

King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Burial registers and indexes for Hardwick Road Cemetery, starting in 1855, and for Gayton Road Cemetery, beginning in the mid-1940s, are held at the offices of the cemetery and crematorium service at Mintlyn Crematorium (opens new window).  

Thetford

A cemetery was laid out on the east side of London Road, Thetford, in 1855. Records of Thetford Burial Board are held by Thetford Town Council.
We have a list of the records at the NRO (see list T/BB). The records include:

• Burial registers, 1855-1978
• Registers of burials in war graves, 1939-49
• Cemetery plans, 1850s-1897
• Burial Board minutes, 1854-1932

Bacton Road Cemetery, North Walsham 

The records (starting in 1856) are held by North Walsham Town Council (opens new window). (opens new window)

For other local authority cemeteries, contact the relevant town or parish council.