diff --git a/src/database.c b/src/database.c
index de8224d4..75f083c5 100644
--- a/src/database.c
+++ b/src/database.c
@@ -121,10 +121,66 @@ static void subhier_clean(struct _mosquitto_subhier *subhier)
 int mqtt3_db_close(struct mosquitto_db *db)
 {
 	subhier_clean(db->subs.children);
+	mosquitto__db_msg_store_clean(db);
 
 	return MOSQ_ERR_SUCCESS;
 }
 
+
+void mosquitto__db_msg_store_add(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto_msg_store *store)
+{
+	store->next = db->msg_store;
+	store->prev = NULL;
+	if(db->msg_store){
+		db->msg_store->prev = store;
+	}
+	db->msg_store = store;
+}
+
+
+void mosquitto__db_msg_store_remove(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto_msg_store *store)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	if(store->prev){
+		store->prev->next = store->next;
+		if(store->next){
+			store->next->prev = store->prev;
+		}
+	}else{
+		db->msg_store = store->next;
+		if(store->next){
+			store->next->prev = NULL;
+		}
+	}
+	db->msg_store_count--;
+
+	if(store->source_id) _mosquitto_free(store->source_id);
+	if(store->dest_ids){
+		for(i=0; i<store->dest_id_count; i++){
+			if(store->dest_ids[i]) _mosquitto_free(store->dest_ids[i]);
+		}
+		_mosquitto_free(store->dest_ids);
+	}
+	if(store->topic) _mosquitto_free(store->topic);
+	if(store->payload) _mosquitto_free(store->payload);
+	_mosquitto_free(store);
+}
+
+
+void mosquitto__db_msg_store_clean(struct mosquitto_db *db)
+{
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store *store, *next;;
+
+	store = db->msg_store;
+	while(store){
+		next = store->next;
+		mosquitto__db_msg_store_remove(db, store);
+		store = next;
+	}
+}
+
+
 static void _message_remove(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto *context, struct mosquitto_client_msg **msg, struct mosquitto_client_msg *last)
 {
 	if(!context || !msg || !(*msg)){
@@ -133,8 +189,7 @@ static void _message_remove(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto *context,
 
 	(*msg)->store->ref_count--;
 	if((*msg)->store->ref_count == 0){
-		HASH_DELETE(hh, db->msg_store, (*msg)->store);
-		db->msg_store_count--;
+		mosquitto__db_msg_store_remove(db, (*msg)->store);
 	}
 	if(last){
 		last->next = (*msg)->next;
@@ -399,8 +454,7 @@ int mqtt3_db_messages_delete(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto *context)
 	while(tail){
 		tail->store->ref_count--;
 		if(tail->store->ref_count == 0){
-			HASH_DELETE(hh, db->msg_store, tail->store);
-			db->msg_store_count--;
+			mosquitto__db_msg_store_remove(db, tail->store);
 		}
 		next = tail->next;
 		_mosquitto_free(tail);
@@ -502,7 +556,7 @@ int mqtt3_db_message_store(struct mosquitto_db *db, const char *source, uint16_t
 		temp->db_id = store_id;
 	}
 
-	HASH_ADD(hh, db->msg_store, db_id, sizeof(dbid_t), temp);
+	mosquitto__db_msg_store_add(db, temp);
 
 	return MOSQ_ERR_SUCCESS;
 }
diff --git a/src/mosquitto_broker.h b/src/mosquitto_broker.h
index 7b96b252..4686f1b7 100644
--- a/src/mosquitto_broker.h
+++ b/src/mosquitto_broker.h
@@ -141,9 +141,16 @@ struct _mosquitto_subhier {
 	struct mosquitto_msg_store *retained;
 };
 
-struct mosquitto_msg_store{
+struct mosquitto_msg_store_load{
 	UT_hash_handle hh;
 	dbid_t db_id;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store *store;
+};
+
+struct mosquitto_msg_store{
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store *next;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store *prev;
+	dbid_t db_id;
 	char *source_id;
 	char **dest_ids;
 	int dest_id_count;
@@ -220,6 +227,7 @@ struct mosquitto_db{
 	struct mosquitto *contexts_bridge;
 	struct _clientid_index_hash *clientid_index_hash;
 	struct mosquitto_msg_store *msg_store;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store_load *msg_store_load;
 	int msg_store_count;
 	struct mqtt3_config *config;
 	int persistence_changes;
@@ -380,6 +388,9 @@ int mqtt3_db_messages_easy_queue(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto *cont
 int mqtt3_db_messages_queue(struct mosquitto_db *db, const char *source_id, const char *topic, int qos, int retain, struct mosquitto_msg_store *stored);
 int mqtt3_db_message_store(struct mosquitto_db *db, const char *source, uint16_t source_mid, const char *topic, int qos, uint32_t payloadlen, const void *payload, int retain, struct mosquitto_msg_store **stored, dbid_t store_id);
 int mqtt3_db_message_store_find(struct mosquitto *context, uint16_t mid, struct mosquitto_msg_store **stored);
+void mosquitto__db_msg_store_add(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto_msg_store *store);
+void mosquitto__db_msg_store_remove(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto_msg_store *store);
+void mosquitto__db_msg_store_clean(struct mosquitto_db *db);
 /* Check all messages waiting on a client reply and resend if timeout has been exceeded. */
 int mqtt3_db_message_timeout_check(struct mosquitto_db *db, unsigned int timeout);
 int mqtt3_db_message_reconnect_reset(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct mosquitto *context);
diff --git a/src/persist.c b/src/persist.c
index e41af589..e8f7fe19 100644
--- a/src/persist.c
+++ b/src/persist.c
@@ -131,13 +131,14 @@ static int mqtt3_db_message_store_write(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 	uint32_t i32temp;
 	uint16_t i16temp, slen;
 	uint8_t i8temp;
-	struct mosquitto_msg_store *stored, *stored_tmp;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store *stored;
 	bool force_no_retain;
 
 	assert(db);
 	assert(db_fptr);
 
-	HASH_ITER(hh, db->msg_store, stored, stored_tmp){
+	stored = db->msg_store;
+	while(stored){
 		if(!strncmp(stored->topic, "$SYS", 4)){
 			/* Don't save $SYS messages as retained otherwise they can give
 			 * misleading information when reloaded. They should still be saved
@@ -192,6 +193,7 @@ static int mqtt3_db_message_store_write(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 		if(stored->payloadlen){
 			write_e(db_fptr, stored->payload, (unsigned int)stored->payloadlen);
 		}
+		stored = stored->next;
 	}
 
 	return MOSQ_ERR_SUCCESS;
@@ -403,7 +405,7 @@ error:
 static int _db_client_msg_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, const char *client_id, uint16_t mid, uint8_t qos, uint8_t retain, uint8_t direction, uint8_t state, uint8_t dup, uint64_t store_id)
 {
 	struct mosquitto_client_msg *cmsg;
-	struct mosquitto_msg_store *store;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store_load *load;
 	struct mosquitto *context;
 
 	cmsg = _mosquitto_malloc(sizeof(struct mosquitto_client_msg));
@@ -422,13 +424,13 @@ static int _db_client_msg_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, const char *client_id
 	cmsg->state = state;
 	cmsg->dup = dup;
 
-	HASH_FIND(hh, db->msg_store, &store_id, sizeof(dbid_t), store);
-	if(!store){
+	HASH_FIND(hh, db->msg_store_load, &store_id, sizeof(dbid_t), load);
+	if(!load){
 		_mosquitto_free(cmsg);
 		_mosquitto_log_printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error restoring persistent database, message store corrupt.");
 		return 1;
 	}
-	cmsg->store = store;
+	cmsg->store = load->store;
 
 	context = _db_find_or_add_context(db, client_id, 0);
 	if(!context){
@@ -555,8 +557,16 @@ static int _db_msg_store_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 	char *topic = NULL;
 	int rc = 0;
 	struct mosquitto_msg_store *stored = NULL;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store_load *load;
 	char err[256];
 
+	load = _mosquitto_malloc(sizeof(struct mosquitto_msg_store_load));
+	if(!load){
+		fclose(db_fptr);
+		_mosquitto_log_printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Out of memory.");
+		return MOSQ_ERR_NOMEM;
+	}
+
 	read_e(db_fptr, &i64temp, sizeof(dbid_t));
 	store_id = i64temp;
 
@@ -565,6 +575,7 @@ static int _db_msg_store_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 	if(slen){
 		source_id = _mosquitto_malloc(slen+1);
 		if(!source_id){
+			_mosquitto_free(load);
 			fclose(db_fptr);
 			_mosquitto_log_printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Out of memory.");
 			return MOSQ_ERR_NOMEM;
@@ -583,6 +594,7 @@ static int _db_msg_store_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 	if(slen){
 		topic = _mosquitto_malloc(slen+1);
 		if(!topic){
+			_mosquitto_free(load);
 			fclose(db_fptr);
 			if(source_id) _mosquitto_free(source_id);
 			_mosquitto_log_printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Out of memory.");
@@ -591,6 +603,7 @@ static int _db_msg_store_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 		read_e(db_fptr, topic, slen);
 		topic[slen] = '\0';
 	}else{
+		_mosquitto_free(load);
 		_mosquitto_log_printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Invalid msg_store chunk when restoring persistent database.");
 		fclose(db_fptr);
 		if(source_id) _mosquitto_free(source_id);
@@ -605,6 +618,7 @@ static int _db_msg_store_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 	if(payloadlen){
 		payload = _mosquitto_malloc(payloadlen);
 		if(!payload){
+			_mosquitto_free(load);
 			fclose(db_fptr);
 			if(source_id) _mosquitto_free(source_id);
 			_mosquitto_free(topic);
@@ -615,6 +629,12 @@ static int _db_msg_store_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 	}
 
 	rc = mqtt3_db_message_store(db, source_id, source_mid, topic, qos, payloadlen, payload, retain, &stored, store_id);
+
+	load->db_id = stored->db_id;
+	load->store = stored;
+
+	HASH_ADD(hh, db->msg_store_load, db_id, sizeof(dbid_t), load);
+
 	if(source_id) _mosquitto_free(source_id);
 	_mosquitto_free(topic);
 	_mosquitto_free(payload);
@@ -633,7 +653,7 @@ error:
 static int _db_retain_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 {
 	dbid_t i64temp, store_id;
-	struct mosquitto_msg_store *store;
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store_load *load;
 	char err[256];
 
 	if(fread(&i64temp, sizeof(dbid_t), 1, db_fptr) != 1){
@@ -643,9 +663,9 @@ static int _db_retain_chunk_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db, FILE *db_fptr)
 		return 1;
 	}
 	store_id = i64temp;
-	HASH_FIND(hh, db->msg_store, &store_id, sizeof(dbid_t), store);
-	if(store){
-		mqtt3_db_messages_queue(db, NULL, store->topic, store->qos, store->retain, store);
+	HASH_FIND(hh, db->msg_store_load, &store_id, sizeof(dbid_t), load);
+	if(load){
+		mqtt3_db_messages_queue(db, NULL, load->store->topic, load->store->qos, load->store->retain, load->store);
 	}else{
 		_mosquitto_log_printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Corrupt database whilst restoring a retained message.");
 		return MOSQ_ERR_INVAL;
@@ -712,11 +732,14 @@ int mqtt3_db_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db)
 	uint8_t i8temp;
 	ssize_t rlen;
 	char err[256];
+	struct mosquitto_msg_store_load *load, *load_tmp;
 
 	assert(db);
 	assert(db->config);
 	assert(db->config->persistence_filepath);
 
+	db->msg_store_load = NULL;
+
 	fptr = _mosquitto_fopen(db->config->persistence_filepath, "rb");
 	if(fptr == NULL) return MOSQ_ERR_SUCCESS;
 	read_e(fptr, &header, 15);
@@ -790,6 +813,10 @@ int mqtt3_db_restore(struct mosquitto_db *db)
 
 	fclose(fptr);
 
+	HASH_ITER(hh, db->msg_store_load, load, load_tmp){
+		HASH_DELETE(hh, db->msg_store_load, load);
+		_mosquitto_free(load);
+	}
 	return rc;
 error:
 	strerror_r(errno, err, 256);
diff --git a/src/subs.c b/src/subs.c
index 985072e6..1faf7942 100644
--- a/src/subs.c
+++ b/src/subs.c
@@ -82,8 +82,7 @@ static int _subs_process(struct mosquitto_db *db, struct _mosquitto_subhier *hie
 		if(hier->retained){
 			hier->retained->ref_count--;
 			if(hier->retained->ref_count == 0){
-				HASH_DELETE(hh, db->msg_store, hier->retained);
-				db->msg_store_count--;
+				mosquitto__db_msg_store_remove(db, hier->retained);
 			}
 #ifdef WITH_SYS_TREE
 			db->retained_count--;