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UK Rules For The Disposal Of The Dead

Frideswide

Frideswide

Fortea Morgana :) PeteByrdie certificated Princess
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Does anyone have good sources on the legal/customary framework for disposing of corpses?

It'll vary through time and also in the different UK legislatures.

I'm interested in the common and usual because that is how the uncommon and unusual is known - criminals, the unbaptised, non-christians, witches, the poor, the rich, the multitude when systems are overwhelmed in times of war, pestilence and disaster.
 
Frideswide said:
Does anyone have good sources on the legal/customary framework for disposing of corpses?

It'll vary through time and also in the different UK legislatures.

I'm interested in the common and usual because that is how the uncommon and unusual is known - criminals, the unbaptised, non-christians, witches, the poor, the rich, the multitude when systems are overwhelmed in times of war, pestilence and disaster.
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Double bag them and drop them in an asbestos skip, nobody will ever find them again.
 
Frideswide said:
Does anyone have good sources on the legal/customary framework for disposing of corpses?

It'll vary through time and also in the different UK legislatures.

I'm interested in the common and usual because that is how the uncommon and unusual is known - criminals, the unbaptised, non-christians, witches, the poor, the rich, the multitude when systems are overwhelmed in times of war, pestilence and disaster.
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Chuck them over the neighbour's fence.
 
Try these for a good overview:

https://www.lawandreligionuk.com/2016/07/29/public-health-funerals-and-direct-cremation/

https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/do-it-all-yourself/ (about DIY funerals)

What I think I already know:

  • There is no requirement in law to have a funeral ceremony, or use a funeral director at all. As long as there are no infection concerns or police investigations then it can be done entirely by next-of-kin (apart from the actual cremation or grave-digging, unless one has a mini digger or a decent spade)
  • There is no requirement to have a coffin, a shroud will suffice. I seem to remember a requirement that a body must be 'decently covered'.
  • Open cremations are normally not possible due to air pollution regulations (which is a shame for those wanting a Hindu or Viking send-off).
  • Burial in a private garden/land is possible providing the body will not contaminate groundwater.
But I may be entirely wrong! @titch is the person who may have the answers - if I remember correctly s/he works in a cemetery!
 
Do you work for the council or gas/electricity board, they be good at digging holes, maybe you can show them how to restore them to former glory :D

I think the one about burying in the gardens is ok, you have to make sure they are deep enough and make sure you are not dribbling in a water table, also you must inform anyone who buys your house
 
Had a recent discussion about the disposal of human ashes with an undertaker, in particular their status as both human remains and rubbish.

So you can dispose of human ashes in the bin or put them in a plant pot and grow a tree on them or strew them on open ground with the landowner's permission, but scattering in any other public place is littering and you could be fined.
 
escargot said:
Had a recent discussion about the disposal of human ashes with an undertaker, in particular their status as both human remains and rubbish.

So you can dispose of human ashes in the bin or put them in a plant pot and grow a tree on them or strew them on open ground with the landowner's permission, but scattering in any other public place is littering and you could be fined.
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So, sneaky mode on if someone wants them throwing in a particular place?
 
Oh dear... what I'm after are summative sources which trace changes over time in what is considered "normal" disposal of the dead, in the UK, preferab;y ones that don't assume that what happens in England is what happens elsewhere.

Say from 1000 onwards?

I am not looking to dispose of something covertly! Although there are mountain places here which are not frequented by people, and bodies of water which are deserted for much of the year.


Anyway, I'd just feed "it" to Nessie! :ness: or more likely :mattack:
 
I know of someone who has his parents and grandparents buried in his garden and will be planted there himself when the time comes. It's all above board though!
 
Shady said:
So, sneaky mode on if someone wants them throwing in a particular place?
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Yup, exactly. An adult produces quite a lot of ashes so you'd have to hope you're not spotted. The mineral composition of some rural beauty spots has been changed by all the ashes scattered on them. It's quite a problem.

A recent R4 comedy show joked about mourners respectfully scattering the ashes of a Great Escape veteran by shaking the down their trouser legs!
 
Potter Crewe.jpg
I think this is from the 1920s, trying to find out for sure.
Crewe was a pioneering town in many ways. It embraced cremation quite early. There was also a plan to introduce promession a few years ago but nothing's come of it.

Edit - I'm told the Potter company were known locally in 1913 and through the First World War.
 
escargot said:
... There was also a plan to introduce promession a few years ago but nothing's come of it. ...
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To the best of my knowledge the promession process exists only as a theoretical possibility. There were controversies circa a decade ago concerning its feasibility. I recall reading that the company established by the Swedish inventor went defunct some few years ago without any working proof of concept facility ever being built or demonstrated.
 
Frideswide said:
yes! more! more! :oldm:
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I know of a cemetery that had it's own railway line and station - The London Necropolis Railway dedicated to serving Brookwood cemetery. there were two stations at Brookwood, one for CofE burials and one for non-conformists. Interesting stuff and I think falling down a few of the link-holes should give you a bit more of what you're after?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Necropolis_Railway
 
I worked with a fellow whose grandparents left their remains to med schools. After serving the students (hopefully respectfully), the family got a nice cardboard box of cremated remains. All for free. I want this--go back to school, then go way to the back yard with the cats.
 
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