Burial in common grave

[maxdog]

Can anyone tell me what circumstances would need to exist for burial in a common grave?  The relative I refer to had relations, including close next of kin, so I am presuming they were all too poor to pay for a plot.  Or is it a choice? Can one 'economise' and choose such a burial as the cheapest option? The burial took place in September 1946 after a death in hospital. There is no one left in the family who can tell me why this happened. I would be glad for any suggestions. Thank you, Pat W

[puellaanimae85]

Hi Pat,

We have had a couple of unmarked burials in our family, albeit earlier than yours. They were due to the person being poor and not having any remaining family to pay for the burial, or certainly no family who chose to.

We have recently been advised  that although graves paid for from public funds cannot normally be marked by families, if they are very old, they might stretch a point. In accordance with this, we are about to mark a family grave from 1890, containing a g.g. aunt and uncle (they are the sole occupants of this grave though). No such offer has been made to us for a g.g.uncle who was laid to rest in a communal grave.

The only other reason I can think of for a communal burial would be an epidemic or a local disaster.

Hope this helps,

Sarah

[stanmapstone]

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successive burials in one of these graves, (unless the deceased were from the same family), but this law has since been repealed.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

[maxdog]

Thanks Sarah and Stan. I knew the answer would come from Rootschat; very grateful to you both. Best wishes, Pat W

[maxdog]

Completed question please archive, thanks, Pat W