Cholera Victims - where were they buried?

[martianuk]

One of my ancestors died of 14 hours certified cholera, in 1854, on a barge on the River Medway, Kent. He resided in London, and there was a documented cholera epidemic in 1854 London. Do you think he worked on a barge, or that the barge could have been a floating hospital/ quarantine place?

Does anyone know if such victims of an epidemic were buried in their home graveyards or specially designated ones, to keep the disease away?

[Nick Carver]

My village had a cholera outbreak at  about the same time and the victims were all buried in the public graveyard. There were sometimes eight funerals in a day and it may be that they were in a common grave, but there are no records that tell us one way or another.

[NigelG]

Possibly a "floating" hospital?

From http://www.medwaypilots.co.uk/medwaypilots/id10.html

"A famous Hospital Ship in the Medway.

In 1828 the Medway area's first purpose built naval infirmary was opened. This was the Melville Hospital, named after Lord Melville the First Lord of the Admiralty, 1812 - 1827 and 1828-30.  It was sited on land immediately opposite the Main Gate to the Chatham Dockyard.

Prior to its opening, rather than designating a building to act as a hospital, a number of old warships were used under the auspices of the Sick and Wounded Board, the body responsible for the care of those injured in naval service."

Re burials - we had thre outbreaks of Cholera in the 1850/60's and specific cemetaries were set up for the burial of Cholera victims. Until very recently they were still referred to as the "Cholera" or "Plague" cemetaries.

It may be worth your while trying to find a similar reference in the Medway area?