applied to Public Cemeteries. 293 



not be less than 6 ft. below the surface ; that, when more than one coffin was 

 to be contained in the same grave, each coffin should be separated from the 

 other by a layer of earth not less than 6 ft. in thickness ; that all burying in 

 vaults and catacombs be discontinued; and that no new burial-grounds be 

 formed in London within two miles of St. Paul's, nor in country towns within 

 half a mile of their suburbs. Such a law would at once prevent interments 

 from being made in most of the London burial-grounds, while it would admit 

 of all the unoccupied ground, whether in London or out of it, being used ; and 

 thus no injustice would be committed towards those who have recently en- 

 larged their burying-ground ; it would, at the same time, check the disgusting 

 and dangerous practice of burying ten or twelve bodies close upon one another 

 in one grave, now practised both in the old churchyards and in the new 

 cemeteries. 



A law to attain these objects, combined with regulations to prevent graves 

 from being reopened within sixty years if in the country, or not at all if 

 in a town, would, if strictly enforced, probably be found sufficient for every 

 purpose, as far as health is concerned. Under the influence of such a law 

 there seems to be no objection to every sect having its separate cemetery 

 or cemeteries ; to individuals forming cemeteries as commercial speculations ; 

 or to different trades or professions having their separate cemeteries. The 

 greater the number of present cemeteries, the greater the number of future 

 public gardens. 



The law should be modified with reference to Jews and Quakers, since it is a 

 part of the religion of the former that no grave is ever opened a second time ; 

 and the latter adopt the same practice, though not, perhaps, from religious 

 principle, but from a general regard to decency and propriety. It would be 

 sufficient to enact that the burying-grounds of these religious bodies, in 

 common with others, when once filled, should be shut up for ever, if in 

 towns, and that the new cemeteries opened by them should always be in the 

 country. 



All burial-grounds whatever within the precincts of towns, when once 

 filled, that is, when the whole ground has been buried in, even if with only 

 one body in a grave, should be shut up as burying-grounds, and a few years 

 afterwards opened as public walks or gardens ; the grave-stones and all 

 architectural or sculptural ornaments being kept in repair at the expense of 

 the town or village ; such trees, shrubs, or plants being planted among the 

 graves as the town council, or, if a village, the parish vestry, may determine. 



The distance from a town at which a cemetery ought to be placed will 

 depend a good deal on the elevation of the site, the nature of the soil, and the 

 sources from v/hich the town obtains its water. If there are pervious strata 

 lying on impervious strata, immediately under the surface of the ground 

 intended as a cemetery, and these strata traverse ground without the cemetery 

 in which wells are likely to be dug, and have a descent towards it, the mois- 

 ture of decomposition will be carried by the rains along the strata to the wells, 

 and to all artificial depositories, or natural outlets for the water. An elevated 

 situation, with a soil of gravel, sand, or chalk, to a great depth, is evidently pre- 

 ferable to all others, because the moisture generated will be carried perpen- 

 dicularly down by the rains, and the gases evolved will be carried off by the 

 winds. No human dwellings ought to be made within a cemetery, unless we 

 except the entrance lodge, which might, if desirable, always be made outside 

 the gates, or so as not to have all its windows looking directly on the graves. 

 It would frequently be advantageous to have a space outside the cemetery 

 fence, of 50 or 60 feet in width, to be planted with trees, varying in height 

 according to the nature of the situation and soil ; the object being to disguise 

 the view of the graves from the nearest houses, without producing too much 

 shelter to impede the action of the sun and winds on the surface of the 

 cemetery. 



Such a law as we contemplate should prohibit interment in churches or 

 public buildings ; whether in vaults, catacombs, or in the floor of the church 



