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Annotate & transcribe burial records from the 18th-19th centuries, helping archaeologists learn more about the people of London in a period of rapid growth and social change.
Learn moreWe are asking volunteers to help with two key tasks. These are:
- Transcribing records: Looking at scanned pages from burial records and responding to a series of questions. The information we are looking for has been broken up into the separate workflows listed below. Not all of this information will be on every record, but it all helps to build a clearer picture of the people buried at St James's.
- Highlighting unique notations or markings: Identifying arrows, crossing out, corrections or unusual entries that have been drawn on the record.
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Message from the researcher
“This fantastic project will ensure that as much as possible can be learned from the archaeology of St James’s Burial Ground. Unlocking these burial records will bring to light key details about what life was like for the residents of the London parish of St James’s, at a time when it was changing beyond all recognition.”
Stories of St James's Burial GroundAbout Stories of St James's Burial Ground
High-Speed Rail 2 (HS2) is a major infrastructure project connecting cities across the UK with faster train lines and services. In London, contractors Mace Dragados Joint Venture (MDJV) are managing work near Euston Station where construction is taking place on the site of St James’s Burial Ground, a major 18th-19th century cemetery site. Ahead of this work over 100 archaeologists and specialists from MOLA Headland Infrastructure were brought in to excavate and record over 40,000 burials, the largest archaeological excavation of its kind ever undertaken in the UK. While this is giving us unique insight into the people who lived in London during a time of rapid growth and social change, much more still needs to be done. We need your help!
We are seeking volunteers to assist with the transcription of burial records in order to create a searchable digital archive. These records contain information about the thousands of ordinary Londoners buried at St James’s, including their names, addresses, occupations and more. With your help we can begin to understand the everyday details of who these people were and how they lived, contributing to an unprecedented record of Georgian and Victorian urban life in London. All contributions can be made online, no previous experience is needed and you can choose to do as much or as little as you like.