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Family History Documents and Artefacts => Graveyards and Gravestones => Topic started by: dsjturner on Friday 14 September 12 13:33 BST (UK)
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Hi all!
I'm very sorry if this has been asked before, I've had a quick look and couldn't see anything!
Anyway I recently found my great grandfathers grave and the lady who manages the graveyards in Watford was very helpful and gave me lots of information. The graveyard is split into consecrated and dedicated graves and my great grandfather was in the dedicated section. I have tried to find out what this means and am still none the wiser! My question is what is the difference between a consecrated and dedicated grave and what does this mean?
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Daniel
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Basically for non conformists. Non conformists sometimes had their own burial grounds but in other cases burial grounds were divided. Dedication is a stage below Consecration, a similar situation applied to hospital chapels which allowed non conformist patients to hold their own services. Also in the case of a cemetery a suicide death was normally buried outside of the Consecrated land. I believe in Londonderry a wall 14 feet in depth goes underground to divide different religions.
Institutions such as workhouses, prisons etc often had such areas to accommodate non conformists' burials.
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Hi!
Thank you very much for your reply!! It's very interesting! I think I may have to do a bit more research on him!
Daniel
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Hi
Suicides deemed to be of 'unsound mind', the vast proportion of suicides, would be buried in the churchyard. From 1823 onwards the Right to Burial Act (England and Wales) allowed for the burials of all suicides in churchyards.
Regards
Valda
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Hi! Thank you very much for that! It's very interesting!
The graveyard where my great grandad is buried is not in a churchyard, although there is a little chapel you can use should you wish. The graveyard is closed to burials now though. I spoke to my great grandads daughter who is still alive and she said he died naturally so I'm not sure why he's in that section!!
Daniel
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Hi
If you have someone to ask was the family strong Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists etc.. that would mean he would be buried there.
Helen.
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Hi!
I have asked her but she said he wasn't very religious. Not sure what denomination he was though. I know a lot of the family, including myself, were christened Methodist so I wonder whether he was too?
The dedicated section in the graveyard is quite large too! Almost half of the graves are in the dedicated section!
Daniel
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having had a quick read about it could include Roman Catholics too. basically anything that wasn't Church of England was non-conformist. So they probably buried him there for that reason. You may have trouble finding baptism records if he was Methodist, like my family, records seem to have been lost as chapels closed down or just not kept in the same way as churches. that is my experience anyway but good luck. :)
Helen
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Thank you very much for that!! I'll have to do a bit more research I think and see what I can find out!!
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Hi, my ancestor, George Goodman, married a Roman Catholic. His daughter is buried in the dedicated burial section of Watford Cemetery. He, and another daughter, are buried in unconsecrated ground in Chorleywood Road Cemetery, Rickmansworth. Church of England was the recognised religion at the time, therefore those followers could be buried in consecrated ground by a recognised clergy. Other religions, including R/C, were non conformist. Those people were in unconsecrated or dedicated burial ground, using their own clergy ministers. I believe dedicated and unconsecrated may mean the same thing. I noticed that one of your surnames listed is Seabrook. One of my Goodman ancestors married Seabrook and lived in Watford. Not sure if there is any connection to yours.
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Hi Thank you for your reply, it certainly makes sense now!
I know where two of my great grandfathers are buried, one as mentioned is in vicarage road the other......Chorleywood road! What a coincidence!
My great grandmother (Seabrook) had 12 (or so) siblings so its quite likely there is a connection.
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Hi, my ancestor, George Goodman, married a Roman Catholic. His daughter is buried in the dedicated burial section of Watford Cemetery. He, and another daughter, are buried in unconsecrated ground in Chorleywood Road Cemetery, Rickmansworth. Church of England was the recognised religion at the time, therefore those followers could be buried in consecrated ground by a recognised clergy. Other religions, including R/C, were non conformist. Those people were in unconsecrated or dedicated burial ground, using their own clergy ministers. I believe dedicated and unconsecrated may mean the same thing. I noticed that one of your surnames listed is Seabrook. One of my Goodman ancestors married Seabrook and lived in Watford. Not sure if there is any connection to yours.
Not quite.
A Church of England churchyard is consecrated before first use as is the consecrated section of a cemetery, as is a Catholic churchyard. the difference lies in the unconsecrated sections of cemeteries.
If a grave plot in the unconsecrated section is to be used for a Catholic burial the grave plot is consecrated (blessed) as part of the graveside procedure before the body is lowered into the grave, meaning the body is buried in consecrated land.
Cheers
Guy
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Thank you for clarifying that Guy. Would that have been the case in 1888, for example, also.
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Thank you for clarifying that Guy. Would that have been the case in 1888, for example, also.
Yes
Cheers
Guy