Parish Records & Archives

The church does NOT hold the earlier parish registers for St Mary Magdalen or our former associated churches, as given below. Please read the dates carefully; there is no point in asking us as we cannot help with the older records.

We ONLY hold the current records for St Mary Magdalen. For the other churches, all records are with the London Metropolitan Archives (formerly the Greater London Records Office) and there are no records after the dates below.

The following parish records for baptisms, marriages and funerals are held by on the church's behalf by the LMA:

St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey Street
Baptisms:
Jan 1548 to Apr 1968
Marriages:
Jan 1548 to May 1967
Burials:
Jan 1548 to Jan 1865
St Olave, Tooley Street
Baptisms:
Mar 1583 to Dec 1915
Marriages:
Apr 1583 to Mar 1918
Burials:
Mar 1583 to Dec 1853
St John, Horsleydown
Baptisms:
Jun 1733 to Oct 1960
Marriages:
Aug 1733 to Feb 1965
Burials:
Jun 1733 to Jan 1865
St Luke, Grange Road
Baptisms:
Feb 1885 to Nov 1959
Marriages:
Apr 1886 to Oct 1961

There are no records for burials since 1865 as most London churchyards were all closed to new burials in the mid-19th C as they were becoming a health hazard! This caused the opening of the large cemeteries at Earlsfield and Brockley, etc.

All requests for information for these dates should be made to the London Metropolitan Archives at 40, Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB. It is suggested that you call 020 7332 3820 to check opening times before visiting, or check the London Metropolitan Archives website. They can do research for you, for a fee, or else you can visit and do it yourself, for free - allow plenty of time!

If you are a beginner, the LMA also has a number of helpful information leaflets about researching family history. To research this history, you need to know the probable parish and the approximate date. Most records are not indexed by name, although you may be lucky with the International Genealogical Index which is available on CD for reference. No records are indexed by address, but an address should tell you which parish records are most likely to be relevant.

The ONLY records that exist since the dates above are the current registers for St Mary Magdalen, for baptisms and marriages only, and the church archivist (see "Contact Us") may be able to help with any requests that you have with these more recent records. The archivist is unable to undertake research for you on the records that we do not hold! Equally, please do not call or e-mail the rector or any other church officer in respect of the church archives.

Please e-mail the archivist (see "Contact Us") if any of the above information is found to not be exactly correct.

This page updated 22 June 2008

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