Gravestones, Tombs & Memorials (4 page)

FIG 1.13:
Privately-funded cemeteries first appeared in the 1820s and 1830s, most notably six around London, including Kensal Green and Highgate. A series of Burial Acts between 1852–7 established the system for public cemeteries and most were laid out in wide open spaces on the then edge of the urban sprawl. Some were simply fitted into a regular-shaped urban plot (top) while others had meandering paths and carefully placed trees to make pleasant parkland (bottom). Larger ones also had sections divided off for other denominations.

The corpse itself was traditionally wrapped in a cloth shroud. Charles II had ruled it should be of wool to aid the ailing national woollen industry, a decision only overturned in the early 19th century. Where a wooden coffin could not be afforded by the poor, then a parish one may have been available to transport the corpse to the grave and it would then be reused for the next burial.

The problem of overcrowding caused by the amount of space interments take up was somewhat relieved after the eccentric Dr William Price burned his son's corpse on a Welsh hillside in 1884. The subsequent test case proved his actions were not illegal and heralded a return to cremation not used, on religious grounds, since Anglo-Saxon times.

Over the last 100 years the churchyard has again been transformed. Those which remained open to burial have often been extended with a neighbouring plot or field taken over, while those inner city ones closed by the Burial Acts were turned into gardens or lost under later building. Many have had memorials removed or stacked up against the boundary wall, in part to make mowing the grass easier. Nearly all are well tended with flowers adding a splash of colour, although it only became a common practice to place
them on graves after the mid 19th century. Even Victorian cemeteries have had to adapt with memorials removed on health and safety grounds and graves even reused after barely 100 years (a surprisingly common practice). Privately-owned cemeteries had the additional problem that, when full, their income dried up and many were taken over by local authorities, who in some cases removed memorials and reused the ground for new burials. Recent listing of many monuments, tombs and gravestones has given some protection to these often disgracefully neglected works of art.

FIG 1.14:
The ‘lych' gate, from the Old English word meaning ‘corpse', was erected as a resting point for the coffin and its bearers as they waited to be welcomed onto consecrated ground by the vicar. Originally they would have had a stone slab or timber shelf onto which the coffin was placed, many having to be carried miles from outlying communities which didn't have a burial ground (along routes still known as corpse tracks or ways). Most of those you see today are Victorian or modern, only a few are medieval as in this example from Anstey, Herts which has a tiny room to the right side once used as the village lock-up.

C
HAPTER
2

Gravestones and Ledgers

FIG 2.1:
A selection of gravestones from Long Sutton, Lincs, illustrating the elaborate carving and changing styles which can be found in churchyards today. The three in the foreground show the move from the simple deep bordered type on the left with consoles on top from the early 18th century, to the Rococo style of 50 years later (centre) and the delicate Classical decoration from its final decades (right). Note also how the size increases through the century.

Early Gravestones

G
ravestones (vertical slabs as opposed to those lying flat and referred to as ledgers) come in all shapes and sizes; from small stubby grave markers to large and elaborate headstones, with a separate foot-stone marking the limit of the burial. The Romans used a version known as
stelae
and a few later Anglo-Saxon types also survive, although both are usually now inside museums or churches. Medieval gravestones were only for notable burials, principally at monastic sites and most have sunk into the ground, been built into the fabric of a church (where they can often still be seen) or were destroyed in the turbulent century after the Reformation.

FIG 2.2:
The thickness, shape and quality of inscription will vary depending upon the nature of the stone used. Prior to the 19th century it was expensive to transport masonry very far so most had to make do with that which was quarried locally. Some like the slates of the West Country and Leicestershire (left) could be sliced into thin slabs and decorated with incredibly delicate carving which has retained its sharpness today. Others, like some sandstones, were cut very thick as at Bromsgrove, Worcs (right).

The earliest gravestones you are likely to find in a churchyard today date from after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. These are usually simple, thick slabs only a few feet above ground level (although many may have sunk further), with crudely inscribed lettering which is often poorly laid out. It should be remembered that at this date there would have been few in a village who could write, possibly only the vicar or schoolmaster, and the first masons to undertake the work were probably builders rather than skilled artists. However, in just a short time, in many areas, a notably higher standard of work was being produced. These usually have a border moulded around the edge, symbols of death and time carved in the upper section and a square, arched or scrolled top. The rear of the slab might also be worked, usually with just a simple tooled pattern which was a popular treatment in the Northern counties.

FIG 2.3:
Medieval gravestones and slabs were often used as later building material, sometimes thrown into the foundations as at Bakewell (see
Fig 1.5
) or fitted into external walls as here at Wharram Percy, Yorks.

FIG 2.4:
Medieval gravestones can occasionally be found preserved inside a church. They usually are short, have a disc-shaped upper part with a cross incised (as on the right) or cut in relief (as on the left).