Records relating to burials
Burial records are an invaluable source of information not only for family history but also for demographic and social studies. We hold the records of Hull’s municipal cemeteries along with the monumental inscriptions of several Anglican burial grounds.
Cemetery records
Before the 1850s the vast majority of burials were recorded in the registers of Anglican parish churches, although some non-conformist chapels had their own burial grounds. An act of Parliament in 1853 enabled local authorities or private companies to purchase and use land for the purpose of burial.
There are five main cemeteries within Hull’s boundaries. Hull General Cemetery was privately run by the Hull General Cemetery Company until 1972, when it closed for burials and the council took over its maintenance. The remaining four were created as municipal cemeteries and are still run by the council. We hold burial registers on microfilm for each of them.
The dates they cover are:
- Western (old), Spring Bank West 1861 – present
- Western (new), Chanterlands Ave 1889 – present
- Hedon Road (old) 1875 – present
- Hedon Road (new) 1897 – present
- Northern Cemetery, Chanterlands Ave 1915 – present
- Eastern Cemetery, Preston Road 1931 – present
- General Cemetery, Spring Bank West 1847 – 1972
Should you wish to view these records, we ask that you contact us in advance to book an appointment. When doing so, please make sure that you specifically ask for the use of a microfilm reader.
Background information that will help your research
Before 1850 the most likely place of burial would be a parish churchyard. Later burials may be much harder to trace since there are over 40 churchyards and cemeteries inside the city’s boundary. It is therefore helpful if you have an idea about where and when the person died. If the death took place after 1 July 1837 (the beginning of civil registration), you should be able find this information on the death certificate.
It can be useful to consult maps of the area where they lived to find out which cemeteries and churchyards were situated closest to the person’s home address. We have copies of old Ordnance Survey maps that are available for you to look at. If the person left a will, this can help you to identify their place of death or residence. Newspaper obituaries and death notices can also be helpful.
Local newspapers are available on microfilm at the local studies library.
Information that can be found in our burial registers
Register entries are in date order of burial, not name order. For each cemetery there is an alphabetical index which provides a burial number. The alphabetical index should therefore be your starting point unless you have an exact date of death. The burial registers themselves then give a detailed entry for each burial. The information found in the burial registers includes the grave and compartment numbers, the name and age of the deceased, address where the death occurred, the person who acted as informer and occasionally includes the occupation and cause of death of the deceased.
The grave and compartment numbers are important tools for discovering the physical whereabouts of a grave within one of the municipal cemeteries. We can provide a compartment plan for most of the cemeteries listed above. This often shows if the compartment was privately or publicly owned. If it was privately owned the burial numbers of others buried in the grave will be given and this may help you further your research.
As well as the indexes and actual burial registers of the Hull General Cemetery Company, we also hold administrative and financial records. In addition, when the cemetery closed in 1972 an indexed survey of the monumental inscriptions was undertaken and the results given to us. Such inscriptions often give invaluable biographical details of the deceased. Please ask a member of staff how to use this valuable resource.
The original records of the four municipal cemeteries are held at the crematorium on Chanterlands Avenue. You must book an appointment in advance should you wish to view the records held there.
Church burial registers
The parish registers for the Church of England burial grounds in Hull are held at the East Riding Archives Service in Beverley. We have some monumental inscriptions for these. They include the Drypool burial ground on Hedon Road and St Peters and St Mary’s. We also have all of the East Yorkshire Family History Society’s published monumental inscriptions for Hull and the East Riding. The information given in these printed documents is limited but can be useful if you wish to pursue further information at the East Riding Archives Service in Beverley.
Some non-conformist churches had their own burial grounds for a short period of time in the 1840s. We hold some of their burial registers. However, the bodies were later exhumed and, in most cases, transferred to the General Cemetery. Details of these can be found in the records of the General Cemetery Company.
Most Roman Catholic records for Hull are held at the Diocesan Archives in Middlesbrough.
The Jewish cemetery on Delhi Street, Hedon Road, opened in June 1858 and is still in use today. An alphabetical list of burials at the cemetery was produced in 2000 and is available to view in our search room.
An alphabetical list of burials at the German Church on Nile Street, 1848-1872, has also been produced and is available to view in our search room.
Cremation
Until 1885 cremation was illegal in this country. Hull Crematorium on Hedon Road was opened 1901. A further crematorium was opened at the Northern Cemetery on Chanterlands Avenue in 1961. Records for both are held by the crematorium on Chanterlands Avenue.
Contact details
Hull local studies library
Central Library
Albion Street
Hull
HU1 3TF
Tel: (01482) 210077
Email: local.studies@hullcc.gov.uk
Bereavement services
Chanterlands Avenue Crematorium
Chanterlands Avenue
Hull
HU5 4EF
Tel: (01482) 614975
Email: public.protection@hullcc.gov.uk
East Riding of Yorkshire Archives Service
County Hall
Beverley
East Riding of Yorkshire
HU17 9BA
Tel: (01482) 392790
Email: archives.service@eastriding.gov.uk
Website: East Riding of Yorkshire Archives Service (link opens in a new window)
Catholic Diocesan Archives
Curial Office
50a The Avenue
Linthorpe
Middlesbrough
TS5 6QT
Email: archives@dioceseofmiddlesbrough.co.uk
Website: Catholic Diocesan Archives (link opens in a new window)
