Burial in Church

All Saints - Kettlestone [Link]
© Godric Godricson

James Baldwin 1833 - 1904

James Baldwin Died 4th December 1904
All Saints, Stibbard [Link]
© Godric Godricson

The South Side

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Dark and stormy

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

The South Side

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Moving to dereliction

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

William Heath Died 14th July 1747



William Heath Died 14th July 1747

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson



Skinner - Billockby

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Mary Jary Died 29th September 1839

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Dealings with the Dead - Cremation

Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2)

Project Gutenburg

The board of sextons have met, and we have concluded not to recommend a revival of the ancient custom of burning the dead. It would be very troublesome to do it, out of town, and inconvenient in the city. I have always thought it wrong to bury in the city; and it would be much worse to burn there. The first law of the tenth table of the Romans is in these words—“Let no dead body be interred or burnt within the city.” Something may be got to help pay for a church, by selling tombs below. When a church was built here, some years ago, an eminent physician, one of the proprietors, was consulted and gave his sanction. Yet more than one of our board is very sure, that, on a warm, close Sunday, in the spring, he has snuffed up something that wasn’t particularly orthodox, in that church. The old Romans were very careful of the rights of their fellows, in this respect: the twelfth law of the tenth table runs thus—“Let no sepulchre be built, or funeral pile raised within sixty feet of any house, without the consent of the owner of that house.” They certainly conducted matters with great propriety, avoiding extravagance and intemperance, as appears by the seventh law of the same table—“Let no slaves be embalmed; let there be no drinking round a dead body; nor any perfumed liquors be poured upon it.” So also the second law—“Let all costliness and excessive waitings be banished from funerals.” The women were so very troublesome upon these occasions, that a special law, the fifth, was made for their government—“Let not the women tear their faces, or disfigure themselves, or make hideous outcries.”

Burial in the nave

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson

It was not unusual for one person to have several funerals: to prevent this, however agreeable to the Roman undertakers, the tenth law of the tenth table was made—“Let no man have more than one funeral, or more than one bed put under him.” There was also a very strange practice during the first Decemvirate; the friends often abstracted a finger of the deceased, or some part of the body, and performed fresh obsequies, in some other place; erecting there a cenotaph or empty sepulchre, in which they fancied the ghost of the departed took occasional refuge, when wandering about—in case of a sudden shower, perhaps; or being caught out too near daylight.

For the correction of this folly, the Decemvirs passed the sixth law of the tenth table—“Let not any part of a dead body be carried away, in order to perform other obsequies for the deceased, unless he died in war, or out of his own country.” It was upon such occasions as these, in which an empty form was observed, and no actual inhumation took place, that the practice of throwing three handsful of earth originated. This usage was practised also by the Jews, and has come down to modern times. Baron Rothschild (Nathan Meyer) who died in Frankfort, July 28, 1836, was buried in the ground of the Synagogue, in Duke’s Place, London. His sons, Lionel, Anthony, Nathaniel, and Meyer, his brother-in-law, Mr. Montefiore, and his ancient friend, Mr. Samuels, at the age of ninety-six, commenced the service of filling up the grave,—by casting in, each one of them, three handsful of earth. Not satisfied with carrying a bottle of sal volatile to funerals, the women, and even the men, were in the habit of carrying pots of essences, which occasioned the enactment of the eighth law—“Let no crowns, festoons, perfuming pots, or any kind of perfume be carried to funerals.”



Here lieth the body
of William
the son of
Will and Mary
Heath
he died May the
14th 1746
Aged 19 years

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson



Burning or interring was adopted, by the ancients, at the will of the relatives. This is manifest from the eleventh law, which prohibits the use of gold in all obsequies, with a single exception—“Let no gold be used in any obsequies, unless the jaw of the deceased has been tied up with a gold thread. In that case the corpse may be interred or burnt, with the gold thread.” A large quantity of silver is annually buried with the dead. It finds its way up again, however, in the course of time.

Common as burning was, among the ancients, it was looked upon, by some, with great abhorrence. The body to be burned was placed upon a pile—if the body of a person of quality, one or more slaves or captives were burned with it. When not forbidden, all sorts of precious ointments and perfumes were poured upon the corpse. The favorite dogs and horses of the defunct were cast upon the pile. Homer tells us, that four horses, two dogs, and twelve Trojan captives were burnt upon the pile, with the dead body of Patroclus. The corpses, that they might consume the sooner, were covered with the fat of beasts. Some near relative lighted the pile, uttering prayers to Boreas and Zephyrus to increase the flame.

In Memory of
Robert
the son of
Edw Heath
who died August 30
1763
In his infancy

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson

© Godric Godricson

The relatives stood around, calling on the deceased, and pouring on libations of wine, with which they finally extinguished the flames, when the pile was well burnt down. They then collected the bones and ashes. How they were ever able to discriminate between men, dogs, and horses, it is hard to say. Probably the whole was sanctified, in their opinion, by juxtaposition. The bones might be distinguished, but not the dust. Such bones as could be identified, were washed and anointed by the nearest relatives. What an office! How custom changes the complexion of such matters! These relics were then placed in urns of wood, stone, earth, silver, or gold, according to the quality of the parties. Where are these memorials now! these myriads of urns! They were deposited in tombs—of which a very perfect account may be found in the description of the street of tombs, at Pompeii.

Hemblington - All Saints

Ancient and full of interest

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson

All Saints - Billockby

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Moving to dereliction

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Coffin shaped marker

All Saints - Billockby [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Funeral tributes

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson

14th Century wall detail

Hemblington - All Saints [Link]

© Godric Godricson

All Saints - Beachamwell

All Saints - Beechamwell

The ruined Church of All Saints - Beachamwell, is the sort of site that I really like. It is romantic, fragile and away from the crowds. The Church is also ruined and the sort of place that would be included in a 'lost graveyard' report.

The site is dramatic and out of the way down a footpath and on a slight rise in the land. All Saints is ruined, vulnerable and momentarily dramatic as it finally falls into the same ground from which it arose. The flints that forms the remaining walls are seperating from each other and on a hot day in June 2012 it was hard to see where the walls began and ended. The wind blew through the site and the wild grasses rustled in an evocative sort of way.

The outline of the Church was evident from walking the site and the lumps and bumps of the field were noticed underfoot. There were no burials evident amongst the grasses and I'm sure that even if there were stone memorials they have long gone as the locals robbed the site of building materials for the world of the living. The remaining walls have plants colonising the mortar and the the wild flowers help the final stages of dissolution.




All Saints - Beachamwell
Crumbling walls in a sea of grass

© Godric Godricson



All Saints - Beachamwell
"Big sky country"

© Godric Godricson



All Saints - Beachamwell

© Godric Godricson





Charles Calaby 30th April 1817

© Godric Godricson



Kingborrow Martin

All Saints - Newton by Castle Acre

© Godric Godricson

This picture isn’t the best in the world and I have no real excuse for showing it other than the marvellous name of “Kingborrow” which I have never heard of before. It sounds like a man’s name although in this context it is the name of a woman in Newton by Castle Acre in Norfolk. This is an ‘in Church burial’ and the headstone is in the East End of the Church near to the altar. I’m guessing from the geographical location that the Martin clan were quite well off financially and probably had links to the local landowners if they weren’t the landowners themselves. Snug and cosy in the small East End, Kingborrow  Martin rests along with other Martin relatives. This parish, with its Saxon roots, means that the East End is confined and cosy a sort of private area for the clergy and I’m sure that’s how the Saxon ancestors liked it. What they would have made of the Martin’s muscling in is any ones guess.

The memorial set into the floor is an intrusion and Kingborrow should really have been buried outside. The memorials here form the contemporary floor although the 19^th Century memorials get in the way of the calm and cool interior which would be better left in the Saxon past. I know that people will say that Kingborrow is part of the heritage of the Church and is now part of the story although I would argue that the Martin’s crept into the Church and placed themselves into the history of the building without any request. Perhaps they should now be cleared away as part of a formal and planned archaeological examination of the building?

For now Kingborrow rests in her grave safe and sound although they are a sign of burials in Churches that turned the house of God into a charnel house.

King's Lynn - All Saint's

This is a magnificent church in King's Lynn set amongst the ' car crash' that is the "Hillingdon Square" housing development. 



Brick lined grave
Possible Slate ledger stone

© Godric Godricson



Whilst this housing  development may have been a major development in 1960s architecture, it has rather distorted and confused the surrounding geographical area.  The church seems to be hemmed in on all sides by modern development to the point where it is held down and squashed.  Moreover, the railings that probably surrounded the cemetery  on three to four sides have all been removed and the cemetery has become little more than an open space for the housing development.  Unincorporated into its surroundings, the church is isolated and alone and is the subject of vandalism and  community disinterest.  However, it seems to be the way of things that there is little involvement of the local community with this ancient monument and place of worship.  The Anglo-Catholic tradition, once the powerhouse of 19th century Episcopalian worship in the United Kingdom has not continued into the 21st century with its former vigour.  People living nearby have no interest in the building or the cemetery and seen her involvement with building or the tradition that it represents.  The cemetery itself is now largely municipal in nature and contains very little of interest although one can see a brick lined grave atmospherically situated.  The large ledger stone on the surface is swept with rain.  Surprisingly, this interesting church and cemetery is only 100 yards or so away from the Jewish cemetery