All Hallows the Great and All Hallows the Less, London Genealogy

England London  London Parishes  All Hallows the Great and All Hallows the Less

Parish History
All Hallows, the Great, the church of, is situated at the northeast corner of All Hallows Lane, on the south side Upper Thames Street, near you office at the lower end of Bush Lane, Cannon Street. It derives its name from its dedication to all Saints or Hallows, and it's epithets, to distinguish it from an adjoining church of the same name, which was called in The Less. It is also in ancient books called the more, or the greater, and it, ad Faenum, in the ropery, from its vicinity to some rope walks. His church was founded by the ancestors of the Despencer Family, from whom it passed to the crown, until in 1546 Henry VIII gave it to Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, in whose successors it has remained... it is rectory, and one of the 13 peculiars in London, the parish of All Hollows the Less, originally called All Hallows, super cellarium, from being built arched vaults or cellars, was united to All Hallows the Great, and the present church, built from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, erected for the use of both parishes. The interior of his church is at the Tuscan order, is 87 feet long, 60 feet broad and 33 feet high, built of brick and stone in a strong and solid manner. The tower is plain, square, and divided into five stories, and having neither spire turret or pinnacles, has the appearance of being unfinished... Among the funeral monuments that were in the ancient Church Of All Hallows the Great, and that were destroyed by the great fire [1666], was one of too interesting a nature to be omitted... [I]t was one erected, probably by the parish, to the memory of our illustrious... Queen Elizabeth, to whom may very properly be applied to epitaph of the Empress Maria Teresa of Austria.

All Hallows the Less Parish was also known as All Hallows upon the Cellar.

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, nonconformist 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. Here is a list of church records on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City.

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

 * London Family History Centre Catalogue (All Hallows the Great Parish records)
 * London Family History Centre Catalogue (All Hallows the Less Parish records)