BRITISH CEMETERY, MADRID
	BRITISH EMBASSY

AN INTRODUCTION

Anyone seeking the last resting place of an ancestor or kinsperson should remember that not all of our forebears died quietly at home and were buried in the local Churchyard. Quite apart from the many millions who lost their lives on distant battlefields, whether wielding battleaxes or Bren guns, many of our missing people died abroad for quite simple and undramatic reasons: they were on holiday, they were on a job in a foreign land, were living temporarily or premanently away from their homeland.

The British Cemetery in Madrid is typical of scores of such burial places all over the world: a repository for people whose mortal remains could not be sent home, but which did not belong in the local graveyard, perhaps for reasons of religion or culture. Under the administration of the British Consulate in Madrid, this cemetery became over the years a convenient place for the interment of Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox or Jewish persons who died in the city.

Spain, in common with most other countries in post-Reformation Europe, excluded those not of their established Church from burial in their consecrated ground. Long before the time of the Guerra de Independencia (Peninsular War) treaty arrangements were arrived at between the British and Spanish governments for cemetries for non-Roman Catholics. The cemetery in Madrid was at first established in 1796 in what is now central Madrid, but was never used. However, a land transaction between the two governments enabled the present cemetery in the Carabanchel district to be opened in 1854. Burials are recorded from that date onward.

The British Cemetery is a quiet place, cooly shaded by cedar and cypress and plane trees, and surrounded by a high brick wall which shuts out the noise - although not the bright warm sunshine - of one of Europe's busiest capital cities. The gravestones, witnesses to nearly a thousand burials over 150-odd years, carry the usual messages of love and loss - mainly in English, but also in Latin, French, German, Hebrew, Serbo-Croat, and numerous other languages; not forgetting Spanish, of course.

Perhaps 500 (half) of the burials were of British nationals. However, there is also a good presence of U.S. citizens (49) as well as numerous Germans (63), Spanish (30), Swiss (28), French (27) and others. Altogether 43 separate nationalities are represented. The deceaseds' occupations were just as varied: from bank manager to butler, from missionary to music-hall artiste, from accountant to waiter. There are diplomats and doctors, journalists, lawyers, teachers and nannies. All died in Spain, for whatever reason: old age, war, a sudden illness, a road accident, a 'plane crash.

The monuments are testimony to the population movements of the last hundred and fifty years. They tell the story of young people far from the British Isles, here for trade, or for engineering and construction projects, who died prematurely.

Now very few burials take place in the British Cemetery as the site is full, but there is provision for the burial of ashes.

A database has been compiled, covering all recorded burials in the British Cemetery in Madrid, and is available for searching. We are still struggling with the technology, but the intention is to include a link to the database on this site (click on the button opposite). Details often include - beside the name and date of burial - useful details such as age, address, occupation and, sometimes, an inscription from the monument. We are currently seeking to include the database within this site. 

A short history of the British Cemetery, written by David J. Butler, MBE is available for €7.50, US$7.50 or £5.00. Contact the Church Office for details of how to obtain the booklet.