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Middlesex Deeds Registry research guide

Date updated: 6/09/2023

1. About this Guide

This guide explains how to find a deed within the Middlesex Deeds Registry. 

In 1708 a registry was established for the registration of all deeds affecting freehold land and land held by a lease for over 21 years within the ancient county of Middlesex. The City of London was not included.

In 1862 a national land registry was established on a voluntary basis. Any land registered there was exempt from registration in the local registry. Only a few Middlesex registrations took place there.

In 1899 compulsory registration in the national Land Registry was introduced in the county of London north of the Thames (formerly inner Middlesex). This considerably reduced the number of registrations made in the Middlesex registry but some deeds, mainly mortgages and leases for little more than 21 years, for land in that part of the county of London continued to be registered there.

In the remaining part of Middlesex, outside the county of London, registration at the local registry continued until 1 January 1937 when registration of all Middlesex land transactions at the national Land Registry was made compulsory. The last deed was registered in the Middlesex registry on 31 December 1938.

2. Searching the catalogue

You can search the surviving records on the LMA Collections Catalogue under reference code MDR. Scroll down to Collection Tree View to see the full list.

3. Online Records

None of these records are available online.

4. How do I find a deed? 

Deeds brought to the Registry for registration were initially copied onto pieces of parchment called memorials and then into large books known as Registers of Memorials.

In order find a deed, you will need to begin with the indexes to the Registers of Memorials.

4.1. Indexes

To use the indexes you will need the following information:

  • Approximate date of the transaction
  • Name of the seller or first party 

There are two sets of indexes: 

If you find an entry, please make a note of the following information: 

  • Year
  • Book number
  • Memorial number for the transaction

This information will enable you to order the correct Register of Memorials

4.2. Registers of Memorials

The registers are arranged by year and then by book number. Within each book are a range of numbers which refer to the memorial numbers. For example, MDR/1890/008/0001-0500 refers to the year 1890, book number 8 and memorial numbers 1-500.

The deeds copied into these registers only contain certain information abstracted from the original including the date of the transaction, the names of the parties and a description of the property.  Covenants and other restrictions contained in the original document were not always recorded in the registered version.

From the mid nineteenth century plans of the property concerned were frequently included in the entries and from 1892 a separate series of plan tracings of larger maps and plans bound into volumes was made. These registers of tracings are arranged by year and then book number.