|
BURIAL GROUNDS WITHIN THE CITY |
| |
| PURSUANT to the Resolution of the Health Committee of the 20th
February, 1896, the Town Clerk has to report as follows : - |
| 1 - The Burial Act, 1853 (16 and 17 Vict, c 134),
provides that in case it appears to Her Majesty in Council upon the
representation of one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State,
that for the protection of the public health the opening of any new
burial ground in any city or town within any other limits, save with the
previous approval of one of such Secretaries of State, should be
prohibited, or that burials within any city or town or within any other
limits, or in any burial grounds, or places of burial, should be wholly
discontinued, or should be discontinued subject to any exception or
qualification, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by, and with the
advice of Her Privy Council, to order that no new burial ground shall be
opened in such city or town, within such limits, without such previous
approval, or (as the case may require), that after a time mentioned in
the order, burials in such city or town, or within such limits, or in
such burial grounds, or places of burial, shall be discontinued, wholly
or subject to any exceptions or qualifications mentioned in such order,
or so from time to time as circumstances may require. Provided always
that notice of such representation and of the time when it shall please
Her Majesty to order the same to be taken into consideration by the
Privy Council, shall be published in the London Gazette, and shall be
affixed on the doors of the Churches or Chapels of or on some other
conspicuous places within the parishes affected by such representation,
one month before such representation is so considered. Provided also
that no such representation shall be made in relation to the burial
ground of any parish, until ten days previous notice of the intention to
make such representation shall have been given to the incumbent and the
vestry clerk or churchwardens of such parish." |
| By Section 5 of this Act it is provided that
the provisions of the Act shall not extend to authorise the
discontinuance of burials or to prevent the burial of the body of any
person in any cemetery established under the authority of any Act of
Parliament or in any burial ground or cemetery to be hereafter provided
with the approval of one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State
as herein mentioned. |
| 2 - The Disused Burial
Grounds Act, 1884 (47 and 48 Vic, c 72), provides that it shall
not be lawful to erect any buildings upon any disused burial ground (ie,
a burial ground in respect of which an Order in Council has been made
for the discontinuance of burials therein under the above-mentioned
Act), except for the purpose of enlarging a Church or Chapel
Meeting-house or other places of worship. |
| 3 - The Metropolitan Open Spaces
Act, 1877 (40 and 41 Vict, c 35), and The Metropolitan Open Spaces Act,
1881 (44 and 45 Vict, Cap 34), provide that the owner of any
churchyard, cemetery or burial ground situate with the metropolis, and
closed for burials, either under an Order of Her Majesty the Queen in
Council or otherwise, may convey the soil of such churchyard, cemetery
or burial ground, or grant any term of years or other limited interest
therein to, or enter into any agreement with the Metropolitan Board or
the Vestry or District Board of the parish or district in which such
churchyard, cemetery or burial ground, or any part thereof, is situate
for the purpose pf giving the public access to the said churchyard,
cemetery or burial ground, and preserving the same as an open space
accessible to the public and under the control of such board or vestry,
and for the purpose of improving and laying out the same. |
| The Open Spaces Act, 1877,
provides that the provisions of the Metropolitan Open Spaces Acts,
should extend and be applicable to and in respect of any and every Urban
Sanitary District and any and every Rural Sanitary District, in respect
of which the Sanitary Authority should have been invested by an order of
the Local Government Board with the powers of that Act, and to the open
spaces and burial grounds in such districts respectively, and the
provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly. This Act amends the
Metropolitan Open Spaces Act (inter alia), in the following
respect, viz : - It prohibits the playing of any games or sports in any
Church Yard, Cemetery or Burial Ground, in or over which control is
acquired under this Act, unless the Bishop by license or faculty, in the
case of consecrated ground and the body from whom the ground is
acquired, if the ground is unconsecrated, expressly sanction the use of
the ground for such purposes. The Act also contains special provisions
as to the removal of tombstones and monuments. |
| 4 - The Burial Act, 1857 (20
and 21 Vic, c 81, Sec XXV), provides that, "except in the cases
where a body is removed from one consecrated burial" to another by
faculty, granted by the Ordinary for that purpose, it shall not be
lawful to remove any body or the remains of any body which may have been
interred in any place of burial without license under the hand of one of
Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, and with such precautions
as such Secretary of State may prescribe as the conditions of such
license, and any person show shall remove any such body or remains
contrary to this enactment, or who shall neglect to observe the
precautions prescribed as the condition of the license for removal,
shall, on summary conviction, before any two Justices of the Peace,
forfeit and pay for every such offence a sum not exceeding ten pounds. |
| 5 - It will thus be observed that, in order
to give effect to the Medical Officer's recommendation as to the
discontinuance of burials in certain of the burial grounds within the
City, it will be necessary as regards those burial grounds which were
not established by Act of Parliament, to obtain in each case an Order in
Council under the provisions of the Burial Act, 1853, authorising the
closing of the same, and as regards those burial grounds, which were
established by Act of Parliament, it will be necessary to obtain an Act
of Parliament authorising the same to be closed. |
| It should be noted that the sacred character
of consecrated ground is in no way affected by an Order in Council
closing it as a Burial Ground, consequently it cannot, after it has been
closed, be devoted to secular purposes without express authority. |
| It should also be noted that such an Order
of Council does not disturb the rights of ownership in the burial ground
affected. |
|
An important exception to
the rule, that disused Burial Grounds cannot be devoted to secular
purposes, is created by the Open Spaces Act, 1877, above referred to,
which enables the owners of such disused Burial Grounds to convey the
same to local authorities, who have been invested with powers under the
Act, to be laid out and preserved as spaces open to the public, and it
will be noted, that acting under the provisions of this Statute, the
surface of the ground may, subject to the observance of the provisions
of the Act and in the case of Church property with the aid of a faculty
to be obtained from the Bishop, be laid out as an ornamental ground and
open space without interfering with the bodies interred therein. It will
be observed that this Act merely enables and does not compel the owners
of disused Burial Grounds to convey such Burial Grounds to Local
Authorities for the purposes aforesaid. |
| Where it is desired to remove the bodies
interred in a Burial Ground, it will be necessary to obtain a license
from the Secretary of State, or in the case of Church property, a
faculty from the Bishop authorising such removal. |
| In cases where it is necessary to proceed by
Act of Parliament, provisions may be inserted in the Act respecting the
purposes to which the Burial Ground is to be devoted after it has been
closed. |
| In the case of a disused Burial Ground
attached to a Parish Church or other place of worship under the control
of the Authorities of the Church of England, where all parties concerned
agree, the Bishop may by faculty authorise the same to be laid out as an
open space or ornamental ground. |
| The Burial Grounds
situated within the City in which burials are still permitted are the
following : - |
| St James' Cemetery, |
St James' Road, |
| Ancient Chapel of Toxteth Burial Ground, |
Park Road, |
| St Mary's Cemetery, |
Walton Road, |
| Necropolis, |
West Derby Road, |
| St George's Churchyard, |
Heyworth Street, |
| St Mary's Churchyard, |
Edge Hill, |
| St Anne's Cemetery, |
Overbury Street, |
| Jewish Cemetery, |
Deane Road, |
| Unitarian Chapel Burial Ground, |
Renshaw Street, |
| St Michael's Churchyard, |
Upper Pitt Street, |
| St James' Churchyard, |
St James' Place, |
|
| A plan showing the position and dimensions
of each Burial Ground is submitted herewith. |
| The Town Clerk has to submit the following
particulars in reference to the several Burial Grounds.
|
|
ST JAMES'S CEMETERY. |
| This Burial Ground was established pursuant
to the Act 7, Geo IV, cap lii. |
| It is vested in Trustees appointed pursuant
to the Act. |
| The present Trustees are the Rector of
Liverpool, Mr Alderman Grindley, Mr Alderman Cookson, Herbert Campbell,
Esq, J G Livingston, Esq. |
| The other persons interested in the Burial
Ground are the following : - |
| Rev Canon Stewart as the owner of the
Advowson. |
| The Minister of the Chapel, who is entitled
to a stipend of �100 per annum. |
| The Rector of Liverpool, who is entitled to
receive certain fees and perquisites mentioned in the Act. |
| The Clerk, Sexton, and other officers
appointed under the Act, who might be entitled to compensation for
loss of office. |
| The persons who have purchased catacombs, vaults
and graves in the Burial Ground. |
| The Bishop, Patron and Rectors of the Parish
of Liverpool, under the reservation of their rights contained in their
Act. |
| The amount of Stock issued to shareholders
is �25,902. |
| The Trustees object to the closing of the
Burial Ground. |
| The Accounts of the Burial Ground are kept
by the Corporation Controller and Auditor of Accounts, who acts as
Secretary to the Trustees. |
|
ANCIENT CHAPEL OF TOXTETH |
| This Burial Ground consists of the original Burial Ground, which was
established in 1827, and the present Burial Ground, acquired in 1861. |
| The Burial Ground is vested in Trustees. |
| The objects and trusts for and upon which
the Burial Ground is held are defined by a Deed of Trust, dated 13th
February, 1861. |
| The interments in this Burial Ground are,
comparatively speaking, few in number, the average during the last ten
years being, it is stated, only 7.5. The use of the Burial Ground, it is
stated, is confined to Members of the Congregation of the Ancient Chapel
of Toxteth, Renshaw Street Chapel and Hope Street Church. |
| The Trustees object to the closing of the
Burial ground. |
| The Trustees are represented by Messrs
Thornely & Cameron, Solicitors, Liverpool. |
|
ST MARY'S CEMETERY, WALTON ROAD |
| This Burial Ground was established in 1837,
and is vested in certain Trustees appointed, pursuant to a Deed of
Settlement, dated 11th February, 1837. |
| The Trustees hold the Cemetery for certain
proprietors, whose names are subscribed to the Deed. |
| The Burial Ground is managed by a Committee,
appointed pursuant to the said Deed, and is subject to the regulations
and provisions contained in the said Deed. |
| The Committee have stated they are
favourable to the proposal to close the Burial Ground on suitable
compensation being made to the proprietors for the transference of their
rights, but deprecate the proposal to remove the memorial stones. |
| The Institution is represented by Messrs
Oliver Jones, Billson and Co, Solicitors, Liverpool. |
|
NECROPOLIS, OR LOW HILL GENERAL CEMETERY |
| This Burial Ground was established in 1825. |
| It is vested in a Body described as the
Committee of the Proprietors of the Low Hill General Cemetery. |
| The Trusts upon which the Burial Ground is
held are defined by a Deed dated 9th March, 1825. |
| The last Annual Report and Statement of
Affairs of the Committee appears in the appendix. |
| The Committee have offered no observation
respecting the proposal to close the Burial Ground.
|
| The Committee are represented by their
Registrar, Mr Theo Van Gelder, 26, North John Street, Liverpool. |
|
ST GEORGE'S CHURCHYARD |
| This Burial Ground is attached to St
George's Church, and is consequently vested in the Vicar and
Churchwardens. |
| The Church Authorities have no objection to
the proposal closing of the Burial Ground, subject to satisfactory terms
being arranged and compensation paid for the loss of emoluments.
|
| The Vicar is Rev Richard Postance. |
|
ST MARY'S CHURCHYARD, EDGE HILL |
| This Burial Ground is attached to St Mary's
Church, which was erected by the late Edward Mason, Esq, in or about the
year 1813. |
| The Churchyard is said to belong, subject to
the claims of the Bishop, Incumbent and Wardens, under the Act of
Consecration, dated 25th September, 1813, to the Trustees of the Will of
Ellen Mason, the Devisee of Edward Mason. |
| The Trustees claim to have power to sell.
|
| They offer no objection to the proposed
closing of the ground, or the conversion thereof into an ornamental
ground accessible to the public, subject to satisfactory terms being
arranged. |
| The Trustees are represented by Messrs
Simpson, North, Harley and Birkett, Solicitors, Liverpool. |
|
ST ANNE'S CEMETERY |
| This Burial Ground is attached to the Roman
Catholic Chapel of St Anne in Overbury Street, and is vested in the
authorities of that Chapel. |
| Funerals rarely take place in the Burial
Ground, and the Rector considers that the proposed closing of the ground
will not appreciably affect him. |
| The Rector is the Rev Thomas B Feeney. |
|
JEWISH CEMETERY |
| This belongs to a body described as the
Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation. |
| The land is Copyhold of the Manor of West
Derby, and is vested in Trustees. |
| According to the rules of the Jewish Ritual
only one body can be buried in each grave, and each body is buried at a
depth of six feet in the case of adults and four feet in the case of
children. |
| Should the Committee decide to proceed with
their proposal to close the Burial Ground, the Trustees desire an
interview with the Committee to discuss the matter. |
| The Trustees are represented by the
President of the Congregation, Mr D Gabrielsen, 5, Chapel Walks,
Liverpool. |
| The Congregation have two other Burial
Grounds which have long since been disused, viz, one in frederick Street
and the other in Oakes Street. |
|
UNITARIAN CHAPEL (RENSHAW STREET) BURIAL GROUND |
| This Burial Ground is attached to the
Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel, and is vested, by virtue of a Deed
dated 13th November, 1820, in Trustees upon the trusts therein
mentioned. In 1858 the Burial Ground was closed for interments, except
as regards certain persons specified in a license of the Home Secretary,
dated 6th April, 1858, and such of their children as should die
unmarried, subject to certain conditions therein provided. |
| The persons now surviving and entitled to
exercise the right reserved by the license are very few. |
| The Trustees do not oppose the closing of
the Burial Ground, but consider it unsuitable, on account of its limited
space and confined position, for conversion into an open space available
for the public. |
| The Trustees are represented by Messrs
Thornely & Cameron, Solicitors, Liverpool. |
|
ST MICHAEL'S CHURCHYARD |
| This Burial Ground is attached to St
Michael's Church, and is vested in the Vicar and Churchwardens. |
| The Church Authorities would be glad to see
it permanently closed for burials. |
| The vicar is the Rev F A Bartlett. |
|
ST JAMES' CHURCHYARD |
| This Burial Ground is attached to St James'
Church, which was established under the Act Anno Decimo Quarto George
III Regis cap XCIV. |
| The Burial Ground is, by Section 25 of the
Act, vested in the Churchwardens appointed under the Act, subject to the
provisions as to management contained in the Act. |
| The Church Authorities state that most of
the graves are now filled up, and they are strongly in favour of having
the ground closed against further interments, and converted into an
ornamental open space. |
| The Incumbent is the Rev W J Cole. |
|
HARCOURT E CLARE, |
|
TOWN CLERK. |
| TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE, |
| LIVERPOOL, |
|
25th November, 1896. |
