A supplementary report on the results of a special inquiry into the practice of interment in towns.Chadwick, Edwin
History
A supplementary report on the results of a special inquiry into the practice of interment in towns.
Chadwick, Edwin
Burial; Cemeteries -- Great Britain; Mortality -- Statistics; Public health -- Great Britain; Working class -- Great Britain
The interments of the middle class and more wealthy among the
inhabitants of the parish of St. James, which do not take place
either in the vaults or grounds of or belonging to the parish, are
presumed to be made in the neighbouring cemeteries, while the
labouring class resort chiefly, as I am informed, to the burial
ground in Spa Fields, where the fees are less by 2_s._ 9_d._ than at
the Hampstead Road ground, the undertaker’s charges being the same
for each.
Is the church to be considered part of the burial ground?—Yes; it
is. The Act apparently contemplated only a place for the performance
of a service over the dead, not for services to regular
congregations. The minister has a house on the ground, and derives a
portion of his emoluments from pew rents, derived from persons who
attend the chapel from the immediate neighbourhood—parishioners of
St. Pancras parish; very few, if any, of the parishioners of St.
James, have pews there. The minister, Dr. Stebbing, has a moiety of
the pew rents, which now amount to nearly £500 per annum. His
proportion of the burial fees may be about £70 per annum.
Since the commencement, has the income defrayed the expenses of the
burial ground?—Since Dr. Stebbing has been the minister it has only
just paid the expenses; but I am apprehensive that it will not
continue to do so. By the Act for the regulation of the chapel, any
deficiency in the expenditure is directed to be made good out of the
moneys in the churchwardens’ hands. Since the establishment of the
chapel it has been a drag on the funds: a very severe one.
When the chapel was established were there any houses round it?—Not
any.
What is its condition in that respect now?—It is now in the midst of
houses which are increasing in numbers.
When asked, what was the condition of the burial ground, notwithstanding
the expenditure made upon it, he states that—
The ground, consisting of four acres, is in a very watery condition,
but is considered capable of being effectually drained, the expense
being the only obstacle.
Is it considered that the ground will hold more than it does?—Many
more; and a much larger amount of burials for a number of years.
What are the objections to the ground?—One objection among the
higher classes, and a very serious one, is that it is very wet.
After a grave has been dug, the water in it has risen, and the
coffin is lowered into the water.
Has there been any expenditure upon it for rendering it attractive
by planting or ornamenting it?—In former years it was planted with
trees or shrubs; but as compared with the cemeteries it cannot
pretend to any attractions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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