Burial practices - England 1650 - 1850

[rpweedon]

I am trying to tie together the birth and death of an ancestor.  What weight should I place on the fact that the birthplace and burial places are in the same parish church?  I would assume that I should place a lot of weight!  When the burial place is in the neighbouring parish or village should I discount the possibility that there is a connection?  Was it practice to transport bodies back to the parish church where the person was baptized?  What factors might impact burying someone 'away' rather than 'at home'?  Thoughts, please!

[arthurk]

It can be a bit complicated, but for starters, I understand there would be a right of burial at a parish church for (a) parishioners, (b) those who died in the parish, and (c) those who were to be buried in an existing family grave or vault etc.

You couldn't normally ask to be buried at a neighbouring church on a whim, and the provision for those who died in the parish would probably be taken to apply to those who died a long way from home. So if someone was buried in the neighbouring parish to where they were baptised, it's fairly likely that they had permanently moved there.

Others may wish to comment on this; there's also the question of what is a parishioner.

[Top-of-the-hill]

  Can you narrow the date a bit? 1650 is rather different to 1850.

[rpweedon]

1750 - 1850

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I certainly would not say it was the practice to transport bodies back to their parish of baptism.
 A quick look at my own (very rural) family tree shows a good half of those born in the later 18th century were buried in a different parish, maybe the next parish, but often ten or more miles away.