The churchyard before the 1967 survey and reorganisation
Figure 1. Paths in the churchyard prior to the reorganisation
Figure 2. Churchyard areas used in church registers
Figure 1 above shows the paths that existed in the churchyard prior to the 1967 reorganisation and Figure 2 shows the areas used for recording burials in the church registers (A to KK), although their use is somewhat sporadic and only apply to interments in the 1940s and 1950s. These areas broadly follow the paths that existed at the time (except for the boundary between areas C and D). There is some uncertainty about the precise boundaries of these areas because their use is in the registers is somewhat vague, but this does not affect the general picture shown above. Areas A and B also had a row and grave numbering system which will be described in more detail here. Area B, for obvious reasons, is sometimes referred to in the registers as “the square” or the “central portion”. The location of area J (if it existed) has not been determined but was possibly in the area at the north of the churchyard.
The area identification continued into the new churchyard, and by 1967 three areas (L to N) had been defined as shown in figure 3. Each has it’s own line and grave numbering that will be described below.
Figure 3. New churchyard grave areas in 1967
The 1967 survey for the old churchyard
Figure 4. Key to 1967 survey plans
As part of the 1967 survey, eight plans were produced that numbered all the grave positions on the old churchyard. A key to these plans is given on figure 4 above. Photographic reproductions of the plans can be accessed from the button below. There are two or three overlapping photographs for each map going from a in the west to c in the east. No attempt has been made to align the photographs for each sheet – the effects of perspective and slight map rotations make this difficult.
An indication of how the graves were numbered is given on figure 5 below. This numbering system does not follow the system used in the registers but is rather based on a somewhat confusing mix of existing paths and sheet boundaries.
Figure 5. 1967 Grave numbering system
The BMSGH Monumental Inscription survey
Figure 7. Grave areas in the Old Churchyard used in the 1984 BMSGH survey
Figure 6 shows the paths in the churchyard at the time of the BMSGH Monumental Inscription survey in 1984– these were laid out in the reorganisation of the late 1960s. This survey also assigned areas that were used to order their description, which are shown in the figure 7. The boundaries of these areas follow the paths that existed at that time.
The BMSGH survey of the new churchyard assigned each monument a number within a row. These rows are shown on figure 8. Again, note that these rows do not follow the system used in the register.
Figure 8 Grave rows in the New Churchyard used in the 1984 survey
Current areas and clusters
Figure 9. Current grave areas and clusters in the Old Churchyard
The current monument locations in the old churchyard have been allocated either to an area if the monuments are, as far as can be judged, still in their original position (upper case A to K) or to a cluster if they have been moved from their original position (lower case a to z) – figure 9. The areas are broadly the same as those used in the registers before the closure of the churchyard, although there have been some slight changes to boundaries to reflect the fact that the topography of the churchyard (particularly the paths) have changed quite significantly since the 1960s. Areas A and B have been combined into a new area AB, and, in keeping with the 1967 situation, area J has not been defined.
Figure 10. Grave areas in the New Churchyard
In the new churchyard the area and numbering system used before the 1967 survey has been further developed to include two further areas, O and P, the latter being still in use, and a cremated remains area, designated here as area Q for consistency – figure 10.
Engineering, history and ecclesiology 