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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Durham => Topic started by: northernsearcher on Sunday 05 June 11 14:37 BST (UK)
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Can anyone help me locate a grave please. I have the following information from Durham Records on line; Burial Record Burials, Sunderland District - Record Number: 473340.2 Location: Bishopwearmouth Cemetery. I also have a map of Bishopwearmouth cemetery which I found at; http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2205. The problem is that the numbering on the map does not match the record number and as I am quite far from the North East I can't go and look at the cemetery itself. Am I misunderstanding the numbering system? Is there a vital bit of information I don't have? I am hoping to go to Sunderland in August but I won't have much time and I am trying to get as much research done as I can before the visit. That way I hope I can maximise what I see etc.
Hoping someone can help.
Jen
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Have you seen Locating a Grave http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2072 ?
This says:
A general guideline is that the first number or group of letters indicates the Ward in which the grave is located . The following letter(s) gives the type of grave. The final group of digits specifies the actual grave number. .............
In the majority of cases the information contained in this leaflet should allow you to locate the grave you require, however if you need further help please contact the Cemeteries Office on tel : (0191) 553 1687 where the staff will be pleased to assist you.
Stan
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Thank you for your reply Stan. I hadn't seen the guide so your reply was really helpful. I thought I had located the grave about half an hour ago, but now I am not so confident. Partly because there are no letters on the reference I have from Durham Records Online and also now because the number I have is longer than the grave no. that I located. I will contact the Cemeteries Office for clarification. Thank you for the phone number.
Jen
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The record number isn't anything related to the grave/plot number, it's DRO's own numbering system, each record has one so sadly that won't help you locate the grave.
None of the cemetery records i've downloaded have the grave/plot numbers on them. I did manage to obtain them by looking at the mircofilmed copies of the cemetery registers at a LDS Family History Centre.
Jay
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JayG thank you for this information, I think it confirms my original thought that I couldn't relate the two sets of numbers. I think I might email DRO and ask them how they get the information and why it doesn't give the plot number. If they have the info. from burial records surely they must have the plot number? Will post here if I find out.
Thanks again
Jen
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It may also be worth your while contacting the Local Studies Department of City of Sunderland Libraries as they hold microfilm copies of all the burial records for the municipal cemeteries. You will see a reference to this if you follow the link that Stan Mapstone provided to 'Locating a grave....' in an earlier posting.
Wearsider.
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Hi. I'm hopefully off to Bishopwearmouth Cemetery tomorrow to find a grave, so if you've managed to find the plot number I'd happily take a photo for you.
If you haven't, can you post any more info about who's grave you're looking for - name, death date, and possibly religion? The cemetery is very big but quite well laid out according to those factors, and the online ward map does give the names of purchased graves.
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Hi cwr
Thankyou so much for your kind offer. I have had computer problems for the last few days and have been unable to access my emails and records. I haven't yet had an opportunity to telephone the cemeteries office as I had the number on my machine. Back to normal now, I have downloaded the ward plans for Bishopwearmouth Cemetery, it certainly is very big, and I will phone them today. This is probably too late for you, but thank you again anyway. The details are:
John Dugdale - Bishopwearmouth Church, St Michael's, 18 Nov 1831 - John Dugdale of Deptford age 34
and
William Dugdale 4 Jan 1893 - Bishopwearmouth Cemetery, William Dugdale of 73 Trimdon St age: 65, blacksmith
I think John (father of William) must be buried in the church yard not the cemetery but looking from Google Earth there doesn't seem much space around the church. I am wondering if some graves were relocated.
thank you again for your very generous offer,
Jen
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Bishopwearmouth cemetery was not opened until July 1856. An extension of Bishopwearmouth's burial ground was set out for the burial of cholera the victims (Hind Street Cemetery: Opened in 1831) It is now under the ring road, the bodies being exhumed and re-interred in Bishopwearmouth Cemetery. All funerals were excluded from St. Michael’s and All Angels Churchyard, on 15th October 1849 due to excessive overcrowding, the tombstones were later used as flagstones.
Stan
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Stan
Thank you for that. I am a bit confused by the information. John Dugdale was buried in 1831 at St. Michael and all Angels Cemetery. Would he have been exhumed and re-interred if he wasn't a cholera victim? Is Hind St. Cemetery the same or different from St Michael's cemetery? And, sorry to ask so many questions, were records kept of burials at St Michael's if they were or were not removed?
Jen
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If he was buried in 1831 then it would be in the grave yard at the church, unless he died of Cholera, probably Hind Street extension was not used for ordinary burials, although it was not closed until 1849, the same date as given for St. Michael’s and All Angels Churchyard. In October 1839 Bishopwearmouth Cemetery, Thornton Place, was opened to relieve pressure on St Michael's.
Hind Street burial ground was on the other side of Low Row from the church and was in a separate area. The burial registers are available.
Stan
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Thank you Stan
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Hello Stan and cwr
Today I got a reply from a really helpful person at Bishopwearmouth cemeteries. She gave me the following information; William Dugdale - Blacksmith - 63 years - died at; 73 Trimdon Street - interred 4th Jan 1893
Ward...11
Section..A
Grave...1057
also interred in the grave is his wife Isabella - aged 67 yrs - 22nd July 1897.
This is an unpurchased grave, Ward 11 being a grassed area. No memorial will therefore be erected.
I presume (maybe wrongly?) that the family could not afford to pay for a grave or a headstone and that the cost of their interment was provided by the local authority. Is that right? Stan, can you tell me what an unpurchased grave is please.
Jen
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Hi Jen,
There are Purchased Graves where the applicant purchases the Exclusive Right of Burial in this grave, effectively forming a private grave and giving the family of the deceased control of any future burials in that grave. The owner of the Right must give written permission before any burial can take place in a purchased grave. The Exclusive Right has a fixed term - usually 100 years after which time control of the grave is returned to the relevant authority.
Un-purchased Graves are also known as 'Common' or 'Public' graves. The relevant authority retains control of the burials in these graves. Burial Law used to require a 14 year interval between successive burials in one of these graves, (unless the deceased were from the same family), but this law has since been repealed.
Stan
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the cost of their interment was provided by the local authority.
Most people belonged to a Friendly Society, or other organisation, which would cover the cost of a funeral, otherwise they would be buried in a paupers grave.
A Friendly Society is a voluntary mutual organisation whose main purpose is to assist members (usually financially) during sickness, unemployment or retirement, and to provide life assurance. Friendly societies have been governed by legislation in the United Kingdom for more than 200 years the first Friendly Society Act was introduced in 1793.
Stan
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Bless you Stan
I will work on this.
Jen