Where would he be buried?

[kerryb]

Hi

I have a John Payne who according to his death certificate died in 1890 at Lingfield Workhouse.  Last week when I looked at the Lingfield parish registers I had a quick look at burials in 1890 to see if I could find where his grave was.  He wasn't in the parish register!

Where would someone be buried if they died in a Workhouse?  Would it be somewhere different from the rest of the population and why?

Kerry

[Theli p]

Hi Kerry
My gg grandfather died in Steyning Union workhouse in 1885 and was buried in St Peter's Upper Beeding. You will know those places. I do not! He was born in Upper Beeding. Does that help?
Thelma

[kerryb]

Hi Thelma

Sounds like your man was sent back to whence he came!    That doesn't really help with mine because he was born and bred and died in the same town or at least I presume the workhouse is the same town.  I don't actually know whereabout it was.  That's given me somethng to think about.

Kerry 

[sillgen]

I think he will be in the local cemetery - probably in a pauper's grave shared with several others.  That is what happned to my ancestor who died in the workhouse.
Andrea

[casalguidi]

Hi Kerry

Yes, I have found that, generally, persons were returned to the parish which is responsible for them for burial.  If the admission registers survive, they will give parish of residence at admittance which can be helpful.  Also, as time went on, people were often buried in the nearest main local council cemetery for the area.

Casalguidi

[kerryb]

Would the workhouse have held burial registers and that would explain why he was not in the parish church burial register?

Kerry

[Jebber]

If the death was close to a census year, have you checked the census to see if he was an inmate of the workhouse?  

Just because a person died in the workhouse, does not necessarily mean he was an inmate. The workhouse  often provided the only hospital care, so many people died there who were not residents, these people were more likely to be buried in their parish.

Jebber

[kerryb]

Hi Jebber

Unfortunately not, its a few months before the census of 1891.  However I suspect you could be right and he went in for hospital care, it says he died of senile decay (chronic valv dis heart) and he was 83 years old.

Kerry

[casalguidi]

Would the workhouse have held burial registers

Not generally, no, though they may have other surviving records which could list something ie. death registers, minutes etc..  Take at look at http://www.workhouses.org.uk/ to see what might be available - possibly the East Grinstead Union.

Casalguidi