Down to earth: Andrew Backhouse on burial grounds

‘Burial grounds are not an area we talk about much these days.’

‘True significance lies not in the grounds and buildings but in the people… The gravestones speak of the past, of those who also served the meeting, whose lives are woven into ours, as ours will affect those still to come’ (William Sewell, 1977, Quaker faith & practice 10.08). 

What would you do with a burial ground that is pretty full, but could be used for the interment of ashes? What if it sits in the middle of the countryside, away from any Meeting house or town, and has a listed wall? Would you maintain it as a mown spot? Would you encourage the local community to get involved, and how, if so? Do you maintain it as a key part of Quaker witness in the area? Does that mean signage?

Then think about the trees on the site. Would you get them checked for risk at regular intervals? Or do you just let the spot go wild?

‘What has your Area Meeting done with its burial grounds? Are you rewilding them, making nature havens?’

But then, the gate is rotten and parts of the wall are falling away, thanks to a deep gravel pit on one side, and trees on the inside, as this photo (left) shows.

Burial grounds are not an area we talk about much these days. Bunhill Fields, where George Fox is buried, is maintained as an open space by the council, with no stones apparent. Some of the ones in mid-Wales, where Quakers moved away a long time ago, were left open for the local farmers. Liverpool has one burial ground only for interment of ashes and mostly maintained by a gardening group, though the wall had to be repointed and trees worked on for safety. And there’s one in Lancaster which had a ‘Danger’ notice to block access on the gate, with the inside looking overgrown. 

What has your Area Meeting done with its burial grounds? Are you rewilding them, making nature havens? 

Do you even know if you have such a space, and have you ever visited it? I certainly have only just visited ours, for the first time in twenty-five years of membership of East Cheshire Area Meeting.

Most of us Friends seem to have gone for cremation – though we have a shift towards green burials now. Will we go back to using our burial grounds again for that? Or are we using the municipal cemeteries as other faiths and denominations do?

If the Friend is to be used as a means of communication between Meetings, what canst thou
say?

---

Comments

The lease for West Chiltington Burial Ground dates from around 1660, which is a generation before the nearby Blue Idol QMH was purchased at the Act of Toleration in 1690. At least two Friends who died in Horsham jail were buried there.
Recently, the access had been reduced to a narrow path by neighbourly encroachment, and we have had to negotiate a land-exchange and lay a level stone surface to restore access for vehicles. The Burial Ground had to be cleared of brush, fenced and hedged, and a conservation program started to attract wildlife and a diverse flora. It is still in use for burials and the interment of ashes, and a sign records something of the history for passers-by. A working group oversees all this.

Looking forward, a number of local Friends have indicated a wish to be buried there. There is enough space for some decades yet.  There is a policy on the size and design of headstones. The interment of ashes is recorded by uniform metal plaques secured to an oak memorial post.

Strange to say it, but this old Burial Ground is a live part of the Area Meeting

By Roger W on 17th April 2025 - 12:09

---

Please login to add a comment