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Thank you Odessa and Peter, for that very valuable information.  At least it gives us somewhere to start, which is what we really wanted!

We are going to Cheshire in the middle of June, so will add this lookup to the list!

Thanks again,

Sandra

 I wonder if anybody knows whether Poor Law Unions or Lunatic Asylums had to keep burial records?

According to his death certificate, a relative, William Hignett, died at Upton by Chester Asylum in February 1875 aged 60.

I subsequently wrote to Chester Records Office to see if I could find out where he was buried.  They wrote back saying they could find no record of a burial of William Hignett in their municipal cemetery records, but suggested he could have been buried by Northwich Union (to whom the bill for his keep was presumably presented) but they did not keep any records of any Northwich cemeteries or surrounding parishes.

His immediate family, including his wife Dora who died 10 years before him, are buried at Weaverham Church.  But no sign of William!

I live in Somerset, so any help at all in locating where Northwich Union might have buried their dead would be very much appreciated.

Of course it could be that his family, on being told of his death, disowned him, so in that case he would probably have been put in an unmarked grave with others.  But again, I'm surprised that there are no records covering this procedure, with details of when and where.

Thanks again,

Sandra Hignett