Buried at night

[IJDisney]

I have an ancestor whose burial record in the parish register reads "buried at ten of the clock at night". Why would that be recorded, and what does it imply?

[PrawnCocktail]

It would mean there was some reason why only a few, if any, people would attend.

Infection was a common one, maybe smallpox or cholera, to try to prevent the spread of infection. Suicides might also be buried at night.

[stanmapstone]

When was this?  In the year 1823 it was enacted that the body of a suicide should be buried privately between the hours of nine and twelve at night, with no religious ceremony.

Stan

[Maiden Stone]

Was the burial in England? Burials of some Catholics were at night during Penal times and perhaps for a while later. At the time most burials took place in the parish churchyard which was C. of E. Burial under cover of darkness was done to avoid any involvement by Anglican clergy. I don't know if the mourners dug graves themselves or bribed a sexton. Catholics would have regarded the churchyard of a pre-Reformation church as theirs. There are accounts of people witnessing night-time funeral processions of deceased Catholics.

[IJDisney]

Thanks for some initial interesting answers.

The entry is in the register for Exeter Cathedral, Exeter, Devon, UK;
"Mrs Margarett Barrett, wife of Mr Thomas Barrett archdeacon of Exon buryed 8th of July [1631] betweene Nyne and Ten of the Clock att night."

Margaret was the daughter of John Woolton, a previous Bishop of Exeter (in 1579-1594) and the wife of Thomas Barrett, who had been Archdeacon of Exeter (in 1584-1604).

[IJDisney]

I have looked through the register to see if her burial at night was a one off, or not. I looked from 1593 (when the burials start) to 1650 and found the following;

3 Nov 1622 Mrs Dorothy Cary wife of Mr William Cary at ten o’clock at night
16 Nov 1622 Sir Nicholas Smyth, Knight, at ten o’clock at night
22 June 1623 Mrs Mannering at four in the morning, without ringing
14 Oct 1628 John Dodderidge, a Justice of the Kings Bench buried in our Lady’s Chapel at ten o’clock at night
5 June 1630 Elizabeth daughter of Mr John Balemy buried in the Cloister at eight o’clock at night
8 July 1631 Mrs Margaret Barrett, wife of Mr Thomas Barrett archdeacon of Exeter, between nine and ten o'clock at night

The handwriting is different before 1621 and after 1632, so either there were no more burials at odd times, or the other people recording the details didn't think it important to note.

The people were clearly not poor, and some were buried within the Cathedral, so not Catholics or suicides either. Was it a fashion/social status thing - being buried at night cost more money due to extra work and lighting?

[jim1]

Maybe to avoid bodysnatchers. A daytime procession would be more noticeable.

[hilarykellis]

I think it was likely due to infectious disease. The plague dead were often buried at night. I'm going to guess that these were people who died of something contagious.

Google "Burial of the plague dead in early modern London" for an interesting read. There were plagues in 1625 and 1665, but I think smaller outbreaks occurred not infrequently.

[IJDisney]

I've done a bit of Google searching on those buried.

William Cary, whose wife Dorothy was buried on 3 Nov 1622 at 10 o’clock at night, was residing in Exeter in the early 1620s.

But Sir Nicholas Smyth, Knight, who was buried on 16 Nov 1622 at 10 o’clock at night, lived at Larkbear, Devon. His body was transported 10 miles to be buried in Exeter Cathedral.

Moreover, John Dodderidge (he has a page on Wikipedia) was a Justice of the Kings Bench and was buried in Exeter Cathedral on 14 Oct 1628 at 10 o'clock at night. But he actually died at his Forsters mansion (Great Foster), Egham, Surrey. He had stipulated in his will to be buried in Exeter Cathedral, so they transported his body 150 miles to be buried accordingly.

I don't think these were plague victims being moved across country, or people whose death held any social shame. I'm beginning to think it was a sign of wealth/status to be buried at an inconvenient time.