An update from your excellent suggestion Ken I have received a very prompt and helpful reply from Ann. Sadly I will not be able to confirm the burial place of William or Hannah. Ann tells me that the graveyard has been turned into a car park and no care has been taken to preserve the headstones. They appear to have been just uprooted and thrown into a heap in the corner. Many are broken beyond recognition and many were in several pieces. The chapel register could not be found. How can this type of wilful disrespect of past generations be allowed? Especially as it is important to note that all the gentle folk buried in that graveyard were founders of the present day Grace Baptist Church. Whilst The Time Team value and care for ancient grave yards other organizations are apparently permitted to do such as Beccles Baptist Church has done. Thank you again, Ken, for your help. Marjorie -----Original Message----- From: K Finch Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 6:46 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SFK-UK] Warren Family Have you tried Ann Young who not only does the burial search but also the MI one for Suffolk FHS. She has led the team who have trascrided records of the area as well as graveyard transcriptions (our website gives contact details) Ken Finch

The development of burial grounds is covered by Law. Here is a summary of the Law taken from here: http://www.spoilheap.co.uk/burial2.htm The Disused Burial Grounds (Amendment) Act 1981 and the Pastoral Measure 1983. - the development of a disused burial ground is restricted by the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884. - definition of a disused burial ground - 'any churchyard, cemetery or other ground, whether consecrated or not, which has at any time been set apart for the purpose of interment, and which is no longer used for interments'. - this does not include intramural burials within a church building. - the 1983 measure defines a burial ground as 'any land set apart and consecrated for the purpose of burials whether or not burials have taken place therein'. - the 1981 Act and the 1983 Measure regulate the removal of human remains and tombstones or memorials which may be affected by the development (the former to non-Church of England, the latter to Church of England burial grounds). - other burial grounds are covered by the original 1884 Act, but development is generally not prohibited if no one has been buried on the land in the last 50 years. - notice of the proposed development must be given by the landowner in local newspapers and at the site. The Faculty Jurisdiction Measure 1964 - tombstones and other memorials belong to the person who erected them, and after his death to the heirs of the person in whose memory the monument was erected. - grave goods - generally these belong to the landowner, but in post-medieval or early modern burial sites there may be claims to the effects from the personal representatives. If, after advertisement of the change of use, no heirs of the deceased come forward to "claim" the memorial, it is assumed there are no heirs. If there are true heirs, then if they fail to come forward to claim "what is theirs", then it would seem to me that any "wilful disrespect" is on their part for failing to maintain an interest in the burial plot, not on the part of the developers. Anne On 27 October 2012 02:20, mcculley <[email protected]> wrote: > <SNIP> > How can this type of wilful disrespect of past generations be allowed? <SNIP>

Thank you Ann for that detailed explanation of the situation. I appreciate it very much. It could be a little difficult perhaps for true heirs to come forward to claim the headstones when they have not been advised of their existence. Any advertisement of change of use would of course not reached me in Australia and no part of my family remains in UK. Perhaps this is why many folk are attempting to study family history to ascertain where exactly their ancestors are buried. Families migrate to other countries yet still value their roots as it is discovered with study and help. Once again many thanks for you view on the matter. I still however feel it unfortunate that the headstones were not treated with greater care so that transcription may have been possible. Best wishes Marjorie I -----Original Message----- From: e-mail anne.cruise1 Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2012 5:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SFK-UK] Warren Family The development of burial grounds is covered by Law. Here is a summary of the Law taken from here: http://www.spoilheap.co.uk/burial2.htm The Disused Burial Grounds (Amendment) Act 1981 and the Pastoral Measure 1983. - the development of a disused burial ground is restricted by the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884. - definition of a disused burial ground - 'any churchyard, cemetery or other ground, whether consecrated or not, which has at any time been set apart for the purpose of interment, and which is no longer used for interments'. - this does not include intramural burials within a church building. - the 1983 measure defines a burial ground as 'any land set apart and consecrated for the purpose of burials whether or not burials have taken place therein'. - the 1981 Act and the 1983 Measure regulate the removal of human remains and tombstones or memorials which may be affected by the development (the former to non-Church of England, the latter to Church of England burial grounds). - other burial grounds are covered by the original 1884 Act, but development is generally not prohibited if no one has been buried on the land in the last 50 years. - notice of the proposed development must be given by the landowner in local newspapers and at the site. The Faculty Jurisdiction Measure 1964 - tombstones and other memorials belong to the person who erected them, and after his death to the heirs of the person in whose memory the monument was erected. - grave goods - generally these belong to the landowner, but in post-medieval or early modern burial sites there may be claims to the effects from the personal representatives. If, after advertisement of the change of use, no heirs of the deceased come forward to "claim" the memorial, it is assumed there are no heirs. If there are true heirs, then if they fail to come forward to claim "what is theirs", then it would seem to me that any "wilful disrespect" is on their part for failing to maintain an interest in the burial plot, not on the part of the developers. Anne ------------------------------- 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