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| Detail: Ashill Parish Church © Godric Godricson |
Edwin Chadwick's report on burials is a seminal work that influenced a generation of people in the area of burials. He reported on a variety of issues relating to burials and some areas are a little 'icky' by the standards of the early 21st Century. For the next few weeks I want to add some snippet's from Chadwick's work which are illuminating and show how far removed our own views on death are compared to the 19th Century. Here is the first snippet.......
“Some years since a vault was opened in the church-yard (Stepney), and shortly after one of the coffins contained therein burst with so loud a report that hundreds flocked to the place to ascertain the cause. So intense was the poisonous nature of the effluvia arising there from, that a great number were attacked with sudden sickness and fainting, many of whom were a considerable period before they recovered their health.”
From : PRACTICE OF INTERMENT IN TOWNS EDWIN CHADWICK, (1843) p15