'STEPS AT THIS END' - 1850s Cheshire grave - meaning ?

[SiGr]

Hello,
I have wondered about this for a while. These words appear on one of the supporting stones in a churchyard in Cheshire. There are 4 people named on the slab on top and all are dated in the 1850s. The plot is close to the church wall but not adjacent.
I know little about burial procedures but do know that a typical grave can hold at least four people. So, why would these words be there ? By the way, it looks like there is a word of two or three letters eroded between 'STEPS' and 'AT' but I cannot make it out.
This is not crucial to my research but I am intrigued to understand it as I have never seen it before.
Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions, comments, etc.
Simon

[pjs12]

Just a suggestion, could the wording have been 'steps are at this end'. Which could relate to the grave being a vault with various compartments underground.
To save dismantling all the sides of the memorial when another body is to be placed in the vault the top slab and the end where the steps are would only need to be removed to allow access to the vault.

[GrahamH]

I agree regarding the vault but there may not have been a need to remove the top or end slabs. My family's vault in the cemetery at Glossop in Derbyshire has a large granite slab laid on the ground. The entrance is actually in the grass on one side of it.

[SiGr]

Hi, pjs12 and GrahamH,
TVM for your thoughts. The word 'ARE' makes perfect sense and now that I look at it the outlines of those letters are there.
I do not really understand the concept of a vault very much. I always thought they were inside the church or else in a large plot specific to a reasonably prestigious/wealthy family and typically surrounded by railings and such like. Given there are surrounding graves (though not apparently in the gap between this grave and the church wall) I can't really see how there would be space given you need to have the steps, the space for the caskets and the space to physically access and place new caskets. In short, it must be a reasonably large space compared to the typical 'footprint' of a conventional grave.
As I mentioned in my post, I have never seen this inscription elsewhere so I wonder if this is typical or exceptional.
Any further comments, suggestions, thoughts welcome.
Thank you once again.
Simon

[pjs12]

Hi Simon,

In your photo there doesn't appear to be a grave to the right of the one with the lettering on. Neither can we see what is to the left of the grave.

It could be the vault is built to the side of the memorial stone. It would only need to be 3-4 foot wide to accommodate caskets placed on shelves one above the other similar to bunk bed arrangement.

As the grave dates from 1850's it could originally have had railings or kerbstones around it or stone slabs which are now covered by grass.

The burial and grave records may still be held by the church or deposited in a Local Archive.

Just another thought,

Ian

[GrahamH]

Simon, as Ian says the church or RO should be able to provide information as to how large the vault is.
In my family's case the vault covers three grave spaces. They were actually described by the cemetery officer, when I requested information, as three vaults, presumably because of the shelf arrangement mentioned by Ian.
The reason I know is that, about 9 months before she died, my Mum suddenly announced that she wanted to be buried when we had always thought she wanted cremation, like my Dad. Thinking there may not be space I wrote to the cemetery officer (who had already been helpful with information in the past). He was able to tell me how many coffins and ashes caskets each vault contained, and the space that remained.

[SiGr]

Hi, pjs12 and GrahamH,
Thanks again for your thoughts - they are much appreciated. I have another photo that I am attaching which better shows the area around the grave. What you suggests seems to apply here - there is no grave immediately to the left, right, front, behind.
There is no sign of railings and I am pretty sure I would have noticed them underfoot at the time but as you can see, the grass was a bit high that day.
The Church itself is no longer in daily use, so I think I will have to follow-up with the Record Office. In contrast, however, the Churchyard is still in use so I'll have to research that part further.
By the way, I said the burials were 1850s but they are actually 1870s. Probably not crucial to know that but I should correct my mistake.
Thank you once again for your interest and support.
Best wishes.
Simon