In a message dated 30/09/2003 12:40:50 GMT Daylight Time, margaret.gardiner3@btopenworld.com writes: > Was it the practice to bury people with complete strangers in the 1800sThe > husband and wife of a family Iam researching appear to be in different > graves and I also noticed some infants, not related with the same grave numbers > Hi George, there are two types of grave, and I assume that this was the position when the cemeteries were opened. Purchased Grave 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 - currently 100 years after which time control of the grave is returned to the City. The Right is, in essence, a lease and does not imply ownership of the ground, or confer any additional entitlement. A grave must be purchased before can be erected on it. An additional fee for the Right to Erect a Memorial must also be paid (usually included in the Memorial Mason's fees). This Right terminates on the expiry of the Exclusive Right of Burial. Un-purchased Graves ('A' Wards) These are also known as 'Common' or 'Public' graves. The City 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). This law has since been repealed, but the above practice has been continued. Regards Stan Mapstone