Tag: Burials
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Thomas Thetcher and Death by Small Beer
Thomas Thetcher, also known as the Hampshire Grenadier, died in 1764 and has become something of a local celebrity and historical curio thanks to both…
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Record Breakers at St Peters Church, Kington Langley
St Peters is a stunning little church built by public donations, boasting a real ‘record breaker’ in its graveyard.
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The Grave of XYZ
In December 1899, the Deep River Savings Bank in Connetticut received a tip-off that a robbery was about to take place.
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The Mourning Letters of George Roe
The mourning letters of George Roe offer a glimpse into a grieving family in 1906.
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‘Grave in a Field at Oldfield’ On the Hunt for a Woodland Grave
A Victorian grave, a field and a garden burial…
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She’s got the Eye (and teeth) of the Tiger: Hannah Twynnoy’s Grave
Hannah Twynnoy is best known for being the first person to be killed by a tiger in Britain.
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Let’s Visit a Finnish Plague Park
‘Ruttopuisto’ means ‘plague park’, and is the final resting place of thousands of Finns who died in the great plague of 1710.
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Henry Trigg and the Coffin in the Rafters
Henry Trigg was an eccentric man. A wealthy and successful man. A real character. And undoubtedly, a pain in the rear to his family. At…
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The Last Witch of Scotland
What may seem to be a simple piece of masonry is in fact the memorial to the most brutal and hysterical of executions.
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The Car Park Grave of Mary Ellis
Beneath the tarmac of Loews Theater car park in New Brunswick lie the remains of Mary Ellis. For the last 193 years, she has occupied…
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“I did not give them willingly”: The Friesthorpe Window
A small rural church in Friesthorpe, Lincolnshire holds one of the most poignant memorials to the sacrifices of war in the form of a beautiful…
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Ye Olde Eco-Burial: The Trapdoor Coffin
In the 16th and 17th centuries, plenty of rural parishes in Scotland utilised a communal coffin of sorts called a ‘common mortkist’, ‘bier’ or ‘parish…
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Big Surprises and Bigger Vaults at Laceby Cemetery
A village on the outskirts of Grimsby isn’t exactly the typical location for an enormous Norwegian funerary monument.
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The Mosaic Grave of Rudolf Nureyev
Representative of the dancer’s ‘nomadic life,’ Nureyev’s Kilim rug is a phenomenal memorial to his talent.
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“I decided to hide Charlie Chaplin’s body and solve my problems…”
On 12th December 1978, Roman Wardas, a 24-year old Polish refugee took to the stand in Switzerland, accused of stealing Chaplin’s body.
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Hudds, Huds and Hudes: Graveside Shelters of Yesteryear
Shelters may seem to have been a rather excessive addition to the world of ecclesiastical furniture, after all; what’s a little rain between a vicar…
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The Yew: Tree of the Dead
While flora and fauna in cemeteries is a fascinating topic of its own, today’s post will just be focusing on one. The granddaddy of all…
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Timothy Clark Smith: The Grave With a Window
Instead of considering glass coffins and mausoleums, physician Timothy Clark Smith had rather more practical ideas…
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Poppyland – Churchyard Treats in the Heart of Norfolk
When travelling through the Norfolk countryside, if you were to stop at every church you passed, you’d be forced to invest in property and inform…
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Grieving Angels and Tudor Tragedies at St Andrew’s Church, Blickling.
However, in my experience, I have found so many of these tiny parish churches filled to the rafters with historical artefacts, sculptures, artwork and more…
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Victorian Iron Mummies: The Fisk Casket
Fisk’s patent explains that ‘the air maybe exhausted so completely as entirely to prevent the decay of the contained body on principles well understood; or,…
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Quaker Burial Grounds and City Centre Hermits
Beside the towering shadow of Bristol’s St Mary Redcliffe church, sits an unassuming patch of grass, surrounded by trees and overlooked by an impressively unchanged…
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Sheffield General Cemetery: The Good, The Bad and the Granite
In its relatively small grounds, it boasts ten listed buildings and monuments ‘including Grade II listed catacombs, an Anglican chapel, with the gatehouse, non-conformist chapel…
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Hidden Pre-Raphaelites and Tiny Women at Birmingham Cathedral
In the centre of Birmingham, flanked by pubs and fashionable wine bars, stands a dinky cathedral and a handful of sporadically placed headstones.
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Nottingham Rock Cemetery and the Doubtful Catacombs of Robin Hood
…this large pit can be seen from above as a 20ft sheer drop, and a health and safety nightmare. Previously, this hollow was open to…
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In Praise of Death Stationery
Memorial cards were often one of the first indicators of grief and one of the last reminders…
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Hidden Treasures of Arnos Vale – A Visitor’s Perspective
Arnos Vale is simultaneously a working cemetery, a heritage site, a habitat and a veritable art gallery of historical remembrance.
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Gravedigging 101
This week on ‘Burials and Beyond’, how to dispose of a body. As much as I’d delight in upholding such a click-bait-y introduction, clarification is…
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Warstone Lane – Birmingham’s Hidden Catacombs
Hidden catacombs, purifying businessmen, sinking graves and a stone family tree… must be Birmingham!
Burials & Beyond 