Tower of London, Middlesex Genealogy

England   Middlesex   Tower of London

Parish History
The chapel within the The Tower of London is extra-parochial (see below). It is sometimes known as St Peter Ad Vincula.

[The] Tower of London, ..is on the eastern side of the city, by the side of the Thames, between the eastern end of Lower Thames Street and St. Katherine's.

The earliest account of any fortification on this site was a small fortress, by William the Norman [Conqueror] in 1076, who,... [a]lso built in 1078 that portion which is called the White Tower...  In 1239 Henry III added to its fortifications, [and was built up, until the] present area of the Tower within the walls, is 12 acres and five poles, and the circuit outside of the ditch, 1052 feet. The principal objects of curiosity within the Tower, are the menagerie of wild beasts in the Lion Tower, the Jewel Office, the armory, the White Tower, the ancient chapel and church (see St Peter ad Vincula), the record office, Beauchamp Tower, the bloody Tower, traders bridge, and the Mint... The Tower is still used as a state prison and is under the government of the Duke of Wellington, Constable, General William Loftus, Lt.; Lt. Colonel Sir  F. H.  Doyle, Bart. Deputy Lt.; Captain John H. Elrington, Fort Major; the Rev. Andrew Irvine, M.A., chaplain; Charles Murray, Esq., Gentleman Porter; Joseph turtle, Gentlemen Jailor; Berg Tompkins, M.D., physician;..."

(Adapted from: "Topographical Dictionary London" by James Elmes; published 1831.)

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.
 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.