Tower of London, Middlesex Genealogy

Guide to Tower of London, Middlesex ancestry, family history, and genealogy: Parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
Tower of London, parish, Middlesex, Tower Hamlets parliamentary borough, London,(including Old Tower Without). The parish contains the fortress of the same name, founded by William the Conqueror, probably on the site of an older fortress; once a fortress, a royal residence, a court of justice, and a prison, it is now a Government storehouse and armoury.

1848 parish description: St. Peter ad Vincula, Tower is a Tower parish. It is adjacent to the City of London, in the hundred of Ossulstone, Middlesex. The patron is the Constable of the Tower of London.

Additional information:

The Chapel Royal within the The Tower of London is extra-parochial (see below). It is sometimes known as St Peter Ad Vincula and is ancient in its origins, pre-dating the year 1520 when it was rebuilt and still remains today.

[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 [wa]s still used as a state prison and is under the government of the Duke of Wellington...

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 neighbouring 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.

1547 Subsidy

 * Tower Ward (The National Archives, Ref: E179/145/146), Copy:.

1620 Subsidy

 * Ossulston Hundred, Tower Division: The Tower Hamlets and Whitechapel (The National Archives, Ref: E179/142/254); transcript by Charles Edward Banks:.

1666 Hearth Tax

 * Hearth Tax: Middlesex 1666: Tower of London Liberty at British History Online - free.

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.

Cemetery
(43+ entries)

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

Websites
Tower of London on GENUKI