To correspondents on this subject: In my area, East Lancs, Manchester & North Cheshire, public graves were a cheap alternative to a private plot but 'better' than a pauper grave. For a small fee one could avoid the dreadful indignity of being buried 'on the Parish' or in a pauper grave. The routine was that a grave would be dug very deep. I'm told that 20 feet was not unheard of. This would be kept open with successive coffins covered by a thin layer of soil and then temporarily boarded at the top. When full, probably about a week, it would be backfilled. There was an option to have a name cut into a headstone for a small extra fee. In Gorton (Manchester) cemetery my wife's grandparents are buried in seperate public graves. Each headstone carries a dozen or so names, on both sides, since one headstone serves two opposing graves.
