However, disputes over burial rights were common, especially when a new monastery became established in an area. In the cases of burial grounds attached to hospitals often an agreement was made for the hospital to pay the parish church for every burial they conducted.

However, as burial services provided a large income for the church or chapel at which the burial took place, these rights were hard won as the parish church would not want to lose the income from these burials. In these instances, the people living in these villages could apply to the parish church for their nearby chapel to be granted burial rights. This sometimes caused issues for those living in distant, rural villages as the journey to the parish church could be long and dangerous. Some of these graveyards were established even earlier as burial grounds dating as far back as the Iron Age, and were later adopted and sanctified to be used for Christian burials.Ī graveyard would usually be established in the grounds of the parish church, and would be consecrated before being used by the people in the parish. Many graveyards that currently exist in England date from the medieval period, and rural graveyards would often have been the first enclosed space to have existed within a parish. The establishment of new graveyards can tell us about practical, political and religious considerations at the time regarding burial. Graveyards are interesting as hanges that have occurred in them over time often reflect a lot about the society that uses them including such wide ranging things as demographics, life expectancy, religious beliefs, attitudes to death, burial and remembrance, use of symbology, aesthetic design preferences and attitudes to the natural elements within the cemetery. As this is a huge topic, I will be focussing predominantly on Christian graveyards in England as that is what I have the most experience and knowledge on, and looking at their development, uses and folklore surrounding them. In this episode we will be looking at graveyards.

Hello, welcome to the History and Folklore podcast, where we look at different folk beliefs through history and how these beliefs shape people’s perceptions of nature. “Time was, like thee they life possessed,Īnd time shall be, that thou shalt rest.” How did English graveyards changed in England between the medieval and Victorian eras? Churchyard grims, stacked graves and Judgement Day.

Dark Folklore by Mark Norman