The genealogical documentation referring to a person's death in England will depend on the year that they died. An ancestor who died from 1st July 1837[1] to the present day will have a death certificate which can be ordered from the General Register Office. This contains standardised information including their date of death. Prior to this date, a deceased person appears in a burial register. This gives a date of burial but usually not a date of death. Other documentation can be used to discover more about an ancestor's death in England including wills and probate, newspaper records, memorial inscriptions and coroner's inquest records.
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
Death certificates
Death certificates for deaths that occured within England from 1st July 1837 onwards can be ordered from the General Register Office. The layout and the information contained within a death certificate remained the same from July 1837 until 1969 when the layout changed to portrait and the text was typed rather then hand-written as it was previously. For death certificates from 1837-1969 the information includes:
- Registration district and sub-district
- County of registration
- Date and place of death (the later the certificate the more precise this will be)
- Name of the deceased
- Sex
- Age
- Occupation
- Cause of death (early certificates often cite 'old age' or 'natural causes')
- The name of the informant, their address and their relation to the deceased (if any)
- Date of registration
- Signature of the registrar
From 1969 the date and place of birth for the deceased is also given. This can be of great use to genealogists but be aware that not all of the information supplied in a death certificate will be completely accurate. The details were supplied by the informant who may not have been aware of the deceased's age or place of birth for example.
Indexes for death registrations can be viewed on various sites, including MyHeritage's England & Wales, Death Index, 1837-2005 collection.
Burial registers
Before civil registration was introduced, it is necessary to find evidence of a person's death via burial registers. They can also be used alongside death certificates to gain a full picture of a persons death and burial information. Initially burial registers were rather haphazard. Early registers often simply recorded the name of the deceased with the date that they were buried. Some clerks also recorded extra information including the name of a deceased woman's husband, the date of death and the cause of death. An occupation or place of residence was rarely given in early burial registers.
From 1812 burial registers were written into standardised forms thanks to the introduction of George Rose’s Act. The information requested was:
- Parish of burial
- Name of the deceased (usually including middle names)
- Their residence
- Date of burial
- Their age
- The name of the officiating minister
A person was not always buried in the same parish, or even the same county, that they died in. Having this extra information from 1812 onwards can help to positively identify a person.
Other death records in England
You may choose to find out more about your ancestor's death from the following sources.
- Memorial inscriptions- An ancestor's headstone can give us a wealth of information about their death, as well as their life. You may discover their full name, age at death, date of birth, date of death and the names of any spouses or children buried with them. Relatives may be buried nearby.
- Wills and probate- A person's will was sometimes written or updated shortly before their decease. Their state of health is often quoted and sometimes the parish where they wish to be buried. The date the will was written and the date that probate was given can help narrow down finding the date of the person's death.
- Newspaper records- A person's death may be recorded in the deaths column of a local newspaper. You may also be able to find an obituary for them.
- Coroner's inquest records- If a person's death was deemed to be suspicious or sudden a coroner's inquest would be completed. The survival of these records is rare but some can be found at County Record Offices. Summary reports can often be found in local newspapers.
- Manorial court records- You may discover that the death of your ancestor is noted in a manorial court record. This is particularly the case if they were a wealthy land owner or owned property within the manor.
- Other sources- You may also find your ancestor's death noted in vestry minutes, school registers and military records.
See also
Explore more about Death records in England
- England & Wales, Death Index, 1837-2005 collection at MyHeritage
- United Kingdom - Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries collection at MyHeritage
- Beyond The Obituary: Finding Alternative Sources for Your Ancestors' Deaths at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Documents of Death at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Death Records: Vital to Your Research on the MyHeritage blog