I had the same problem at Penkridge in Staffordshire and eventually was luckily enough to find the local undertaker who had been in the area for well over 150 years had an index to the graves. In Oldham and North Shields it was the cemetery itself that had a plan with names alongside. I even found my older brother in North Shileds and my Gt Grandparents In Oldham. Wonderful JANITA ________________________________ From: Geoff Nicholson <[email protected]> To: [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 23 March 2013, 13:08 Subject: Re: [NMB] Church Graveyard Records - Ashington Pat:     I could well be wrong, but as far as my experience goes, I have never heard of there being any such obligation on clergy, who conduct burials in their own churchyards.  The burial register is indeed usually all one gets.  Indeed, I am in a similar position myself - I know my great grandfather, Isaac Nicholson, was buried in Greenside churchyard, near Ryton, in 1906.  I have seen the burial register (before it was even deposited, never mind microfilmed) and was delighted to note that the plot number was given in the margin for all burials around that time.  However, when I asked for a map/key to discover which plot number was where, I was told that it had been lost for many years !  Yes, I know that all I need to do is to compare the burial plot numbers with those for burials on the MIs (which have been recorded), and that should allow me to deduce how the numbers "run".  That is definitely on my list of things to do - "one day" !                                   Geoff Nicholson -----Original Message----- From: Pat Pierpoint <[email protected]> To: [email protected] com <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:47 Subject: [NMB] Church Graveyard Records - Ashington Can anyone please advise me about the obligation of churches to keep records of where individuals are buried in their cemeteries?  I am not enquiring about civil cemeteries, only church cemeteries. I am presently doing some research for an elderly lady who would like to visit her grandmother's grave and pay her respects but is becoming distressed because we cannot find the grave.  We know for sure that her grandmother, Margaret Bowe, is buried in the graveyard at Holy Sepulchre, Ashington - the death was 29 Jan 1908 and the burial 01 Feb 1908.  However, there is no mention of a plot number on the burial records and sadly there does not appear to be a gravestone (the M.I.s have been recorded and I have consulted these to no avail).  I have asked at the Church Office and they do not have a plot book, and there is no sign of one at Northumberland Archives at Woodhorn.  I have tried various avenues to guess where the burial may have been.  The two people who did the M.I.s have kindly given me information on those who died and were buried at Holy Sepulchre the week before and the week after, in case the burials were close together, however only two of them have a gravestone and they appear to be buried in different areas of the graveyard. One of them is, however, buried in the section that seems to cover the period 1900-1920.  Would the church have been obliged to keep a record of who was being buried where?  At the moment I don't even know if such a record exists - and before I rattle any more cages I need to get my facts straight! Many thanks Cheers Pat ======================== Mrs Pat Pierpoint Publicity Officer - NDFHS Email: [email protected] or [email protected] ========================   _____  I am using the Free version of SPAMfighter <http://www.spamfighter.com/len> . SPAMfighter has removed 12984 of my spam emails to date. Do you have a slow PC? <http://www.spamfighter.com/SLOW-PCfighter?cid=sigen> Try a free scan! .. Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message .. Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message