Madras Cemeteries

Some cemeteries in the city of Madras.

The Madras Cemeteries Board (300 Kilpauk Garden Road, Chennai 600-010, ph. 611 506) manages all Christian cemeteries in Madras. The Honourary Secretary is/was Mr. G. Jothi Paul, (archived information) and the contact email is/was mcbchennai@gmail.com (archived information) . It is probably preferable to try the contact details for the C.S.I Madras Diocese. The previous website is now archived. The previous website had a search facility for burials from 1900.

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

Cemetery Index for St Mary’s, Fort St George, Madras City.

Facsimiles of Tombstones etc Connected with St Marys Church Fort St George MadrasRevenue Survey Dept Madras 1880. Archive.org

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. Also available as Shelfmark OIR 929.5 open access , where the four volumes are bound in one.

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.

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.

Historical Books Online

List of Inscriptions on Tombs or Monuments in Madras Vol 1by J J Cotton pub 1945. archive.org.