Beside Houghton On The Hill

Grey Friars in King's Lynn

Graves as part of municipal space

Tall Cross

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Brick Table Tomb

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Human bone - [Unidentified parish]

© Godric Godricson

In my time visiting cemeteries I have never found such a large bone on the surface and in public view and this is quite shocking for England where we prefer our bones to be either under gound or in an ossuary. This picture is of a large bone around 10 inches long and it looks like a neck of femur. Any osteologists like to comment? I should say that I notified the Anglican parish about this find although they did not respond for reasons best known to themselves. I suspect that they already knew the bone was there but they couldn't be bothered to do anything about stray human remains.

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe

Saint Mary - Haddiscoe [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Burial in the aisle

Burial in the aisle

St Gregory - Heckingham [Link]

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Poverty

The idea of poverty was frightening enough in a time without social security althugh it must have been all the more repellent if a person had an idea of being buried in the workhouse as well as ending life there. I know that people did not have to be buried in te workshouse and I’m sure that the Authorities encouraged communities and the next of next to take responsibility for the dead. We can imagine the book keepers keeping a tally of the costs involved in provising a funeral and the gasp of excitement at the thought of saving a few pennies.

Those people who did find themselves buried in the workhouse are almost always lost to view and without markers. Yes, there will be the dry as dust paper records that exist in the UK although the physical markers of a grave are often absent. Without a marker and surrounded by the shame of poverty it is likely that many graves have never been visited or the prople occupying the grave actually mourned. Such is the way of poverty, death and burial in a land that perceives itself as being rich and vibant.

In England the workshouses that were built up and down the County have cemeteries attached to them although most people have no idea of this proximity. The cemetery is shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty. The dead are moved into that half world that is based on reality and clothed in fear.

Gressenhall, in Mid-Norfolk is an example of a place where the poor were transported and where they died over time. The Ordnance Survey maps are available and they record the presence of the cemetery. A map published in 1884 shows the cemetery to the west of the site.  The second map was published in 1906  shows the burial ground as being disused. More importantly, a map published in 1978 shows the cemetery as an orchard and we see the life cycle of the cemetery. The dead and the spaces occupied by the dead become a public space and a place for recreation. The idea of poverty becomes so difficult that the dead who died in poverty apparently have less rights to memorials than the living.

Saint Michael - Stockton, Norfolk

Saint Michael - Stockton, Norfolk

Saint Michael - Stockton, Norfolk [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Railings

Saint Michael - Stockton, Norfolk [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Edith Cavell - Modern hero and martyr

In some postings we have focused on the saints as examples of funerals and burials that have  religious connotations. We have also referenced relics as an example of the bones and tissue of the dead being a desirable object to have around the living. However, the story of Edith Cavell gives us something of a modern hero and martyr from World War One. Edith Cavell is remembered in Norwich and is buried there at the rear of the Cathedral. perhaps in years gone by we would have seen a small chapel dedicated to her somewhere in this mausoleum of a building.

The grave of Edith is now covered in scaffolding due to building works on the cathedral although you can still see the care that it receives. Modern hero and martyr.

Edith Cavell celebrated in stone - Norwich [Link]

© Godric Godricson

The grave covered in flowers and protective material - Norwich [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Samuel Warnes Died 1914

Buried - Saint Andrew, Trowse

© Godric Godricson

Saint Andrew - Trowse

Saint Andrew - Trowse....... on
© Godric

a wet and misty July day in England
© Godric Godricson

© Godric Godricson

Granite Cross - Saint Andrew, Trowse

Granite Cross - Saint Andrew, Trowse

Muntjac wilderness

© Godric Godricson

This is a shot that I really like although it may need some explanation. The graveyard is way out in the countryside of Norfolk or 'Planet Norfolk' as I often think of it because the environment is like no-where else.

This graveyard is in a parish that has no population nearby. The weather was hot for England in 2012 where we have some of the wettest weather on record. The sun shone and the flies buzzed around in an aimless sort of manner. There was a faint rustling from the grasses and I suspect that this was caused by a small deer, possibly Muntjac or similar. This was a wonderful experience as wildlife creeps into the graveyard and makes a home there turning a place of the dead into a place for the living. I was frustrated that I couldn't reach the furthest edge of the graveyard although this was a small price to pay for the benefits of this wildlife reserve..

Pettus at Rackheath

© Godric Godricson

All Saints - Rackheath

Putto



The Putto (singular) or Putti (plural)    (Link)

Death, thou wast once an uncouth hideous thing,

                           Nothing but bones,

      The sad effect of sadder groans:

Thy mouth was open, but thou couldst not sing

George Herbert 1593–1633

© Godric Godricson



Lydia Meadows Died 11th March 1845



Lydia Meadows
wife of James Meadows
who died March 11th 1845
Aged 65 years,

All Saints at Necton - Norfolk (Link)
© Godric Godricson



15th Century brass



© Godric Godricson



I have found very little brass in Churches so far and this is either because it has been stolen or has been covered up by carpets and new furniture. This is a small fragment of brass from the 15th century and in a working Church. I have not said where its sited for reasons of security. The brass is beautiful although in reality it is only a few inches across from side to side.