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TheGenealogist has added to its Headstone Collection copies of records from certain local authorities and the Church Commissioners that relate to the removal of graves and tombstones in burial grounds. These records are held by The National Archives.

They detail former cemeteries from all over England and Wales and cover the years 1619 to 2003. A number contain a plan of the original place of burial while some will reveal the place of reinterment also.

An example of transcription of a headstone removed in TheGenealogist’s RG 37 records

Headstones are an extremely useful record for the family historian as they can give the researcher information that has not been recorded elsewhere.

They are mostly accurate in revealing dates and names and often other family members are on the same tombstone or are buried close by.

When a grave or headstone has been removed then a record of the inscription may have been recorded in this particular recordset.

The Removal of Graves and Tombstones records on TheGenealogist are part of their Death & Burials – Headstone Collection and are searchable by: 

• the deceased’s name
• year of death
• place of original burial
• any keyword that may have been included

Details from a search of TheGenealogist’s Death & Burials records

The origin of these RG 37 official records of burial ground removals can be traced back to 1911 and a recommendation was made by the Attorney General that such records be made and deposited with the local registrar of births and deaths. The Registrar General suggested to the Home Secretary of the time that the records should be deposited with the miscellaneous records held by the General Register Office instead of at the local registrar. 

If your ancestor was buried in one of the burial grounds to have been recorded in this release then, despite the headstone no longer standing, you will be able to discover details about your ancestor recorded on their tombstone at the time it had been originally erected.

Read TheGenealogist’s article: A not so final resting place

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/a-not-so-final-resting-place-1813/

TheGenealogist has added to its expanding International Headstone Collection with some interesting and useful new searchable images of gravestones.

These enable family historians to see details that have been recorded about their ancestors by the monumental masons in various churches and cemeteries. All the records are fully searchable with transcripts of the inscriptions that help to decipher some of the more weathered memorials.

The headstone records released cover 174 new churchyards or cemeteries and include submissions from their many prolific volunteers. The International Headstone Collection is an ongoing project where every headstone photographed or transcribed earns credits for volunteers.

The credits are used by volunteers to help support their hobby spending them on subscriptions at TheGenealogist.co.uk or products from GenealogySupplies.com. If you would like to join them, you can find out more about the scheme at: https://ukindexer.co.uk/headstone/

_{The unusual, but informative, plaque on the Penruddocke family tomb at St Michael’s, Compton Chamberlayne}

These new records are all available as part of the Diamond Subscription at TheGenealogist.

You can read TheGenealogist’s article: Headstones and Church Memorial plaques a fantastic resource for family historians

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2021/headstones-and-church-memorial-plaques-are-a-fantastic-resource-for-family-historians-1370/