Grave Search Information
1. To discover whether someone is buried in the cemetery or to trace a grave, please complete
the form and send by post to the above address giving the person's full name and precise
date of death. Please enclose a minimum donation of £40 (cheques made payable to FOHC).
2. The £40 donation includes:
a. the cross referencing of name and date of death from the details supplied by you
b. a letter detailing the original grantee, those buried and the last registered owner of the
right of burial.
c. a search of the 19th Century vellum maps (PLEASE NOTE due to the age and condition
of the maps we cannot guarantee that a grave can be located).
d. an accompanied location search visit to the grave if accessible. This can be for a
maximum of four (4) people.
e. alternatively a photograph of any monument on the grave may be provided by email if
requested.
3. There are 170,000 people buried in 53,000 graves at Highgate Cemetery, so searching
through records and locating a grave, which may be difficult to find, can be time-consuming
and arduous work. As FoHC is not responsible for the upkeep of privately owned graves
your donations help greatly with the charitable work being carried out by FOHC by way of
reclamation and restoration in order to keep the Cemetery open to the public.
4. A minimum of two weeks’ notice by telephone is required to locate a grave within the
grounds and must be booked by telephone. Visits are only available Monday to Friday,
during office hours.
5. Please be aware that the Cemetery is in two halves, one of which (West Cemetery) is only
accessible when accompanied by a member of staff. An ancestral grave does not give
descendants automatic right of access to the Cemetery.
6. Due to the nature of the Cemetery’s terrain and the condition of memorials we are unable to
guarantee access to specific graves due to health and safely restrictions.
7. The upkeep of memorials is the responsibility of the registered owner of the right of burial,
not the Cemetery.
8. PLEASE NOTE that rights of burial were granted for a limited period within graves owned
by the Cemetery authority and are not automatically transferable to descendants.
9. In the event of a negative outcome to the search a letter or email will be sent to you with
details of other local cemeteries that may be able to assist you further.
10. Flowers are welcome but we ask that they are not synthetic and that any wrapping is
removed before they are placed on the grave.
GRAVE SEARCH FORM
To ascertain if someone is buried at Highgate Cemetery please complete the following form and
send to the address above. Please fill all boxes to best enable us to search accurately and for a
speedy reply, particularly including your email address and telephone number. These will only be
used for queries relating to this search. There is a fee of £40 for this service. Please make cheques
payable to FoHCT or pay via PayPal. To pay by PayPal: log-in to Paypal, click ‘send money’ and
pay to paypal@highgate-cemetery.org or use the button on our webpage. Please include an extra
£2.50 to cover PayPal administration fees. Please ensure you put your full name and address and the
full name and date of death of the person you are searching for in the space provided by PayPal for
messages.
Please use BLOCK CAPITALS.
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
Mobile:
Email address:
Please note: Without at least the first two boxes of both sections completed we will not be able to process
your search.
FULL name of
deceased:
Date of DEATH:
Any other information:
I confirm that I have read and understood the terms and conditions above:
I have enclosed a cheque for £40:
I will pay by PayPal:
Please tick as appropriate and note that searches cannot be processed until payment has been received.
Signed……………………………………………………Print…………………………………………
Date………………………………………………………………………………………………………