Graveyards
St. Neot village has two graveyards. The oldest graveyard is around the church building. The newer graveyard extension is located about 2 mins from the church along Loveny Road.
Church Yard
There has been a church in St Neot for many centuries. People have been baptised, married and buried here for many centuries also. Although there are hundreds of graves certainly dating from when this church was built in the 1200's, none that old have existing markings that are visible today.
Baptisms & Burials
Parish registers were kept but the ones for St Neot are not held in the church now.
Dates kept were for Baptisms (not births) marriages and Burials (not deaths).
In the St Neot Archive we hold two books, one listing Baptisms in the Church and the other listing Burials in the Churchyard. Both books are an "Index of entries between 1641 and 1837 in the Parish Registers".
Titanic Connections
Church Yard Extension
St Neot Churchyard extension is situated two hundred yards along Loveny Road to the east of the church. Opened in 1907 it contains hundreds of graves including John and Sarah Chapman who lost their lives onboard the Titanic.
Churchyard Extension Names & Inscriptions
Where commemorated the graves have now been recorded by Barbara Timms and plotted by Graham Richards. The Church will make every effort to keep this database updated and will do so every six months.
The key to the numbers on the Churchyard Extension Map can be found in the two Churchyard Extension Databases here:
For more recent interments, digital lists and maps can be accessed here:
Searching for Names & Grave Stones
The Cornwall Records Office keeps an online catalogue with direct access to the National Archive.
There are other organisations offering research facilities
such as "Ancestry".
The Mormon Church also have very comprehensive records of English BDM lists.
Valuable information can also be found on www.findagrave.com. St Neot is on the site but most, not all of the stones are featured.
The National Archive is also another valuable resource.
Research Tips
Remember when you are looking for ancestors names in excess
of 100 years ago most people either couldn't read or write let alone spell
"correctly", (hence Pub signs with pictures rather than words) no spelling rules existed and names changed.
For example, one of the windows in the church is the (now written) Callaway Window, perhaps depending on how long ago, it was called the Callawy, Callway, Callwaye.
First names are also spelled differently, Joan / Jone.
Abbreviations can be unexpected, Xtopher instead of Christopher.