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Hello
Could I ask your advice. I don't know too much about paupers graves. Is it possible that there would be burials 50 years apart.
I have found what i think is the grave of someone buried in 1888. The 1st burial was 1868 and the last was 1918
there are 7 people in the grave that I can't find any connection to.
Thank you

Pauper's or common graves could hold many burials, years apart that have no relationship to each other. It might just depend on which graves had room for more!


Here's an interesting read -
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/social-economic-history/what-were-victorian-paupers-graves

Greyghost thank you

Many years ago I was given by the local council the grave details of grt grandmother who died in 1907

Was told it’s a public grave so no markings

Went to the cemetery and spoke to the supervisor who took me into the lodge and pulled out a big ledger and located the entries

He said there are seven others in the grave do you want to know the names too

As they weren’t connected I said no

Was then taken to a grassed area where the guy paced out the rows and plots and then indicated this is it !

I asked if I could put flowers on it but as I no longer lived in the area wouldn’t be able to remove them when they had died
He was “yes of course and I will get one of my men to keep an eye on on them and remove when they are dead”

The grandmother died two weeks before dad was born so none of us knew about her other than dads paternal family were German

Shirley How lovely that you were able to find your relative's grave and leave a tribute.

Not all cemeteries had staff with a sympathetic approach.
This was the reply, when I enquired about a grave in a Portsmouth cemetery...............


This grave has been reclaimed, this means that your relative is still buried there, but other people not related have been buried in the same grave. The reason being is that this grave was never purchased by the family at that time, and no memorials placed there. They would have been given 14yrs free burial rights from the Local Authorities, however, when they expired the family never renewed them. The burial rights then reverted back to the Local Authorities, hence the reclaimed grave, please be aware that no memorials or flowers can be placed on this grave..................

Gwynn

That’s very sad and rather authoritative

Greenwich council were the opposite. They went out of the way to be very helpful and quick to in their response

But this was way back about 20 years ago so the policy may have changed since then