Calderdale residents, or those with family or historic ancestral connections to the borough, are now able to access burial and cremation records online.
In partnership with www.deceasedonline.com(external link), Calderdale Council has scanned and created digital versions of all burial and cremation records going back to the 1840s to enable easy and fast searching for family and ancestors’ records.
Calderdale is only the third council in Yorkshire to include its records on the Deceased Online website, which already contains records for over 150 UK councils and other archives. Users can search the website free of charge and can download digital copies of records for a small fee per document.
Until now, anyone searching for these records would have needed to apply to the Council or visit the Park Wood Crematorium offices in Elland. The availability of the online records means that individuals are able to search the data themselves 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The online records will also be available worldwide, for anyone with an interest in the region or with local family connections.
The digital records available are as follows:
- Brighouse Cemetery, 1874 to 1996
- Elland Cemetery, 1861 to 1996
- Halifax General Cemetery, (aka Lister Lane), 1842 to 1962
- Luddenden Cemetery, 1860 to 1996
- Parkwood Crematorium, 1956 to 1997, 78,984 records.
- Rastrick Cemetery, 1884 to 1994
- Sowerby Bridge, 1861 to 1992
- Stoney Royd, 1861 to 1995
People searching the website will be able to find scans of original registers, grave details indicating all those buried within each grave, as well as maps indicating the section within the cemeteries where each grave is located (although these are not available for Elland or Halifax General cemeteries or for Parkwood Crematorium).
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Communities, Cllr Susan Press, said:
“Lots of people like to trace their family tree, but it can be a difficult, costly and time consuming job. This new project should not only help people with their research, but by using this digital technology we’re able to ensure that the records are safe and available to people at a lower cost than before.
“The project will also provide local, national and even international researchers access to the fascinating history of the area at the click of a button from anywhere in the world”
For more information, visit www.calderdale.gov.uk and search for deceased online.