Genealogy Chat

Hi Joan

I have a suicide too, and he was buried in the C of E section of Macclesfield Municipal Cemetery. So it seems there was no hard and fast rule about this.

Margaret

Yeah thanks Cynthia
When I was at the library the assistant there suggested that it was because they were not baptised, but I knew that they both were, my mum suggested that it was because they were not catholic? I'm wondering is it because they may have extended the cemetery and buried people before it was blessed? Darlington Cemetery opened in 1874 my rels buried 1890's onwards.

Well Margaret, thats what I thought.......but the info was given by someone who worked in the records office??

I think I will have to do a bit of googling!!

Annx

Ann, if that is the case then a lot of my rellies were passed over the wall, and given that the cemetery is on a very steep hillside, it must have taken a lot of effort!

I would image they were pulling your leg.

Margaret

Someone told me that if you were to be buried in unconsecrated ground then you would not enter the churchyard through the gate but were passed over the wall in your coffin!

Were they pulling my leg?

Ann

That doesn't sound right, Sue. Glossop, Derbyshire, cemetery has unconsecrated ground, but most of it is consecrated, and included several areas for different religions.

I wonder though if it depends on the spaces available in churchyards at the time - if there was lots of space, it might have been assumed that if you wanted to be buried in consecrated ground you would choose a churchyard, so the municipal cemetery didn't bother with consecrated ground. I have relatives buried quite late on in Sheffield (e.g. 1920s) in churchyards, so perhaps Sheffield had more space in churchyards than some other places.

Guesswork.

Margaret

Consecrated ground is blessed by a Bishop. Some people may prefer to be buried in ground that has not been blessed and has no religious significance.

Kath. x

CONSECRATION OF CHURCHES AND
BURIAL GROUNDS
Consecration is the setting aside of land or buildings for sacred use in perpetuity. The consecration of a church or a burial ground can only be undertaken by a Bishop. It is usual for a written request to be made to the Bishop in the form of a Petition for Consecration. This is usually presented to the Bishop at the beginning of a consecration ceremony. The church or burial ground becomes legally consecrated upon the Bishop signing a document called a Sentence of Consecration, which is usually done in the course of a consecration ceremony.

When a church or burial ground has been consecrated, it becomes subject to the Bishop’s jurisdiction (see Faculty Jurisdiction). As well as consecrating churches and churchyards in the diocese, the Bishop consecrates cemeteries owned by Parish Councils or other local authorities. Where a burial authority wishes to have all or part of a cemetery consecrated, it should write to the Diocesan Registrar with a request for the land to be consecrated by the Bishop.

unconsecrated ground
That a portion of the ground be left unconsecrated for the use of those who do not wish to avail themselves of the services of the Church of England
In previous times a person who committed suicide or a murder would be interred in unconsecrated ground as they had committed a sin against the Church

What is the reasoning behind Consecrated and Unconsecrated ground?