Cemetery records

Various conditions in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century led to the burial of the dead in graveyards being discontinued. Among the reasons for this were: A very sharp rise in the size of the population during the early stages of the industrial revolution. Continued outbreaks of highly infectious diseases in towns and cities due to lack of public hygiene. Many graveyards in cities were located on land enclosed within the city walls. Limits to, and lack of, space in graveyards for new headstones and dead bodies. As a consequence of these reasons, city authorities, national governments and places of worship all changed their regulations for burials. In most places across Europe completely new places of burial were established away from heavily populated areas and outside of old towns and city centres. Many new cemeteries became municipally-owned, and thus independent from churches and their churchyards, however even these were still segregated by the faith of the deceased to be buried there. Thus cemeteries (certainly in their modern landscaped or garden cemetery form), became an alternative place of burial for the deceased. A burial ground was formed in Epworth covering 3 acres, in 1881 and placed in the control of the parish council. Those wishing to find out more about burials in Epworth Cemetery would do well to consult the booklet produced by the Isle of Axholme Family History Society (web address in Useful Links). This lists all burials from 1881 to 2001 alphabetically.