Public Graves

[tillypeg]

Grandfather's little brother was buried in Islington cemetery in 1884, aged 4 months.  Deceased Online states that he shares the grave plot with 18 others.  The burial dates begin on 17 May and end on 22 June.  The majority of burials (14) are for children aged up to 5 years but two are adults 22 and 36.  The second and third burials are on 31 May, a fortnight after the first.  I am wondering whether the grave would be dug sufficiently large for the others to follow?  Would the gravediggers estimate the size of the plot, going on usual numbers of interments over a period?  Would they dig out the next space when required or have the whole plot dug with each burial filled in after the funeral?  I have not visited so don't know whether there are any headstones.

(with apologies to midmum for hijacking this thread )

[cjl]

Tillypeg,

It is very difficult to say with any certainty which type of grave your Grandad's brother was buried in.  It could be any of the following.

Common Graves

Common graves were filled in over the course of a few days.  The people buried in them were not related to each other and had died during that period.  No headstone was erected. These graves included people who were penniless and were buried by the Board of Guardians at public expense and also people who's families could only afford to pay for the burial.

Lock-Up Graves

These were the cheapest category of common graves.  There were three prices, one for stillborn babies, one for children under seven and another for persons over seven (5s for a person over the age of seven in the nineteenth century.)  These graves were not completely filled in after each burial.  Instead a wooden 'door' was locked in place on to some kind of framework around the grave.  When the grave was full the contraption was removed and the grave looked like any other

Public Graves

Another type of common grave.  The grave was filled up completely after each interment, so the deepest burial involved most work and cost the largest amount (14s in the nineteenth century.)

Best Wishes
CJL

[tillypeg]

Many thanks CJL for your reply, you have answered all my questions most thoroughly.

Regards,
Tillypeg

[cjl]

Tillypeg,

You are most welcome 

Best Wishes
CJL

[anpefa1]

hello all

I have a feeling that public graves may not have meant x amount of people being buried on top of each other (referring to tillypeg) I previously did a look up in a public grave and it turned out to be an area in the cemetery but in a specific section so maybe there was side by side internment as opposed to the normal regulation of 6 feet under?

tony

[annieoburns]

An interesting topic... I have a forebear in an unmarked grave described as a public plot and this adds to the story of his life.   He would have been of modest means, not a pauper, but had few living relatives to organise affairs and he was an old man when he died. 

Many people would have a fear of affording a decent burial and would take out insurance policies to cover the expense.  In one cemetery I know of, the topography of the land dictated how deep the plots could be and with some public plots up to 12 burials were made whereas 6 was the limit for private plots.   There are cemeteries were plots are reclaimed after say 20 years and reused  so additional people would be non family.  Other plots are 'in perpetuity' so were more pricey.

My father used to visit his family plots annually to give them a tidy up but was upset one year to find that a community centre had been built over the oldest graves  and the stones removed to the perimeter.