Gravestone Images in the United Kingdom



Mary KershawBeing hundreds of years old, there are many long standing cemeteries throughout the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). With many of us having ancestors from the British Isles, it is a bonus to have several online listing of cemeteries and images of gravestones available, saving us a trip overseas.

Starting with Gravestone Photographic Resource, this site has hundreds of thousands of images (about 700,000) of cemetery headstones. However, beside photographs from just within the United Kingdom, there are also images from cemeteries in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany, along with a few from other countries such as India, Italy and Spain. There are a few from the United States (California, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina and Wisconsin). The easiest method to search is by surname. At the top are the letters or you can type in a name. Keep in mind the spelling of a surname could have been different a hundred years ago. Viewing all the names close to the spelling can provide some other names to exam.

When you call a surname up the full list of what they have with that surname appears, with the first name in alphabetical order. The full name (as it appears on the gravestone) is listed, birth-death years, cemetery location and any other information found on the headstone. of course not every headstone even in the United Kingdom is photographic, but with thousands available it worth checking out. The site also provides the information on securing a high quality copy of the digital image for free.

Just a few of the numbers on site now are Scotland 76208; United States 7761; New Zealand 12381; Australia 33335 and England 529671 with more added every month.

Another online site has three cemeteries in Lathron and Clyth, in Caithness County, Scotland. For Fife County, Scotland there are 30 Scottish churchyards with gravestone images. Up in the highlands of Scotland is Ross and Cromart and available online photographs of 36 burial grounds.

For any with military ancestors in service to the British Isles, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a web site with images of headstones of some 1.7 million military personnel from World War I and II. Included are some 87,000 civilian citizens who died during World War II. The Commission had cemetery listings across the globe, not just in the United Kingdom.

Photo: In Otley, Yorkshire, England, Mary Kershaw, born 1787 and died 1875, wife of Henry Kershaw.

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