Madras Cemeteries

Some cemeteries in the city of Madras.

1909 Map of Madras

The Madras Cemeteries Board manages Christian cemeteries in Madras. The website displays images from Kilpauk and Kasimode Cemetery.

Fort St George, Madras

St Mary's Church

The headstones of St Mary's, Fort St George have been removed from their original locations, but can still be viewed around the church. All the headstones have been transcribed and are listed in a booklet entitled 'A Walk Around St Mary's'. Only the very earliest burials took place here, as the churchyard quickly filled up. Once St Mary's was full, the British Cemetery was opened.

• Photographs of 28 gravestones collected and placed nearby St. Mary's Church in the 'Guava Garden' can be viewed via the FIBIS database.

• "Monuments in the Old St Mary’s Cemetery" page 189 from Fort St. George, Madras; a short history of our first possession in India by Fanny Emily Penny 1900 Archive.org
• A Hand Book to St. Mary's Church, Fort St. George, Madras. With a Description of Its Monuments and Other Objects of Interest by the Rev. Charles Herbert Malden 1905. Archive.org. Also available Tamil Virtual Library, where the title is catalogued as A Hand book to St. Mary's Church : with a description of its monuments and other objects of interest with illustrations and a plan. Also available Google Books.
• Facsimiles of Tombstones etc Connected with St Marys Church Fort St George Madras Revenue Survey Dept Madras 1880. Oxford University Digital file.

Archive.org version. Note, illustrations in the first file are superior, even though both files are supposed to be from the same source.

• At the British Library, Official Publications: Church Registers IOR/V/27/73 gives details of the four volumes of the book List of burials at Madras compiled from the register of St. Mary’s Church, Fort St. George by C.H. Malden, for the period 1680-1900, published 1903-05, these being for the years 1680-1746; 1749-1800; 1801-1850 and 1851-1900. Also available as Shelfmark OIR 929.5 open access , where the four volumes are bound in one.

All four volumes are available online, see Cemeteries - Inscriptions in online books.

• Cemetery Index for St Mary’s, Fort St George, Madras City transcribed from FamilySearch/LDS film number 0795967. Rampais website, archived. This film number is a film of the book List of inscriptions on tombs or monuments in Madras possessing historical or archaeological interest by J J Cotton, revised edition 1945, which is available online, see Cemeteries - Inscriptions in online books for both editions.
• Memorials in St Mary's Church gravefindings.com

Pallavan Salai, Madras

(This section appears to have been written in April 2007)

Old British Cemetery

This is a huge cemetery and very overgrown. Although the grounds are in poor condition, most of the headstones appear to be intact, which is unusual for India.

• Photographs: The Old English Burial Ground, Madras greatmirror.com. Website of Bret Wallach, Professor of Geography, University of Oklahoma
• St Mary’s Cemetery, Pallavan Salai, Chennai gravefindings.com
• "A picture of neglect" by T.S. Atul Swaminathan December 2, 2012 The Hindu. St. Mary’s Cemetery on the Island, Madras

Presbyterian Cemetery

This small, derelict cemetery is not marked on any maps. It is near the overpass of Pallavan Salai near the Old British Cemetery. An old lady, who apparently lives on the grounds, has a complete listing of all the inscriptions. She speaks no English, and will simply hand the booklet to any person of European appearance who wanders into the cemetery. If you visit, you should tip her.

Washermanpettah Cemetery

(This section appears to have been written in April 2007)
Washermanpettah is an area of northern Madras. This is a huge and very disorganised cemetery. Although the burial records of my ancestors showed that some had been buried at Washermanpettah Cemetery in the nineteenth century, I was unable to find any graves earlier than the 1940's. It is possible that there may be more than one cemetery, although the locals assured me that there wasn't, or alternatively I may just have not gone to the right spot within the cemetery.

Pursewalkum Cemetery

This is the burial ground for St Matthias' at Vepery. The cemetery has had many of the headstones demolished to build a Tamil church. When I visited in 1993, half of the remainder was under water. Nevertheless, I found the graves of two of my ancestors. To get to this cemetery, you will need to visit St Matthias' on the corner of V.K.Sampath Road and Vepery High Road, and ask for a guide. It is about a 15 minute walk.

Madras War Cemetery

• Madras War Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  • Article by DN Singh July 25, 2011 about 14 RAF airmen (WW2) now buried at the Madras War Cemetery (archive.org link). Also see Royal Air Force.

External links

• Burial Grounds: List Of Corporation and Private Burial Grounds Corporation of Chennai, archived as at 26 April 2020.
• '"Nostalgia at Quibble island cemetery" by Shilpa Krishnan 26th April 2011. The New Indian Express. This cemetery is located on a river island, formed by the Adyar River and its tributary and is situated at MRC Nagar on the DGS Dhinakaran road.

The Cemetery was formed in 1903 and is maintained by the Madras Cemeteries Board.

• "Will Chennai's Jews be there?" by S. Muthiah Sep 30, 2002 The Hindu, archived. Includes mention of a Jewish cemetery in a corner of the larger cemetery off Lloyd's Road.

"Uncovering a story of ill-fated romance and tragic death" by Andrew Whitehead 11 June 2017. BBC News Magazine. The Jewish cemetery "tucked away on a busy market street not far from Marina beach, with stalls obscuring the entrance". Includes photographs.

• "There's little resting space for the dead in Chennai by K. Lakshmi September 19, 2015 The Hindu. Includes mention of the Madras Cemeteries Board (MCB) Trust and its cemeteries.

Historical books online

• See Cemeteries - Inscriptions in online books