Hi All - At least in St. Austell's Holy Trinity, whoever paid the going rate (at one point, 3s.4d.) could be buried in the church, so whether one was included was based on ability to pay, rather than social prominence. In one year, 35 people were thusly buried. The vestry raised the rate eventually to GBP50, in an effort to deter such requests - and finally had to remove all the bodies because the structure was weakened!! (It didn't help to have clay wagons, carrying up to 4 tons, rumbling past day and night.) This information came from a book written in 1897 by the Vicar (Hammond) who loved the old records, and was afraid they'd be lost if he didn't record them. Cheers, Julia Julia Mosman, OPC for St.Austell,Charlestown, and Treverbyn Website at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~staustell W. Briton newspaper transcripts at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wbritonad Please visit the OPC website at http://cornwall-opc.org > From: Catherine Frendo <catherinefrendo@hotmail.com> > Subject: [CORNISH-GEN] Jane Duncalf nee Knuckey (1600's) > As she was buried in the church does that mean that she came from a notable family. Were the Duncalfs an important family or was Jane a descendant of an important family? Jane was the daughter of Christopher Knuckey and Ann Halls. > > > Cheers, > Catherine > Sydney, Australia