A Glossary of Cemetery Phrases

• ABERDEEN GRANITE - Traditionally bluish grey or silver grey colours, many public buildings in London are faced with the stone. Where iron oxides were present, a distinct brownish red almost salmon flesh colour stone occurs, known as Corrennie after the quarry.
• ALL SOULS DAY - In early November when prayers are said for “all people” a practice developed when parishioners attended churchyards and cemeteries to tidy graves of their relatives, friends and neighbours. Children were often sent around to sweep up leaves and generally tidy up and it was very much a community spirit.
• ALTAR TOMB - A grave with a solid rectangular raised tomb resembling the typical classical altar used in Hebrew-Christian worship.
• AURACARIA [MONKEY PUZZLE TREE] - Originally imported from Chile. A coniferous evergreen tree with a series of intricate ramifying branches covered with overlapping leathery prickle-tipped leaves which deters animals from climbing the tree. It is believed that a similar species existed in Britain some thousands of years ago and the fossilised remains was the source of jet which became popular in Victorian times as jewellery as a symbol of mourning.
  - Traditionally used in cemeteries and graveyards as the dark evergreen contrasts with the white headstones. There is as with many trees associated with graveyards a myth in that the devil lurking behind a grave awaiting a burial saw a monkey climb the tree and was so mesmerised trying to work out where his tail was located in amongst the branches that the distraction allowed the burial to be completed in peace.
• BATH STONE - Famously used in building Georgian Bath and Weston Super Mare with its rich gold colour, it meets with mixed success in cemeteries as it can weather badly. It is capable of being cut without emphasis on the ‘grain’.
• BASALT - Originated as molten lava, 90% of Iceland is of that rock. Sometimes used on memorials and referred to as ‘black granite’ but it is not true granite.
• BEVEL MARKER - A rectangular grave marker with straight sides [usually quite low in height] with the top surface at a slight inclined angle displaying the inscription.
• BLACK FLEMISH HORSES - In Victorian times there was a constant demand for the hearse to be drawn by black horses often displaying black ostrich plumes. They were from a Belgium breed; many were bred in Britain but from the original Flemish stock. With the introduction of motor hearses, the demand quickly fell but the First World War brought problems of supply. Both requisitions by the allies to use as transport in the battlegrounds and the inability to supply their customers in Britain brought a shortage in supply. A few undertakers kept a stock of horses and during the Second World War they were regularly used as petrol rationing meant the big thirsty hearses were not viable. After the Second World War, families were less inclined to go for the ‘showy’ turnouts at cemeteries as practised by the Edwardians and the Victorians and apart from a few brewers’ drays, most trades were using motor vehicles.
  - In the late 20th century, a family would occasionally request a horse drawn hearse and to satisfy that minority trade a handful of undertakers formed a link with the Pinewood Film Studio in Buckinghamshire as a few were kept in stables nearby usually for horror or historical films. The word began to spread and the demand increased and Pinewood suggested that the funeral trade should start to breed from new stock. Two undertakers took a trip over to Belgium to try to search out a breeding stock. They persuaded a breeder to sell three of his black horses and the increasingly popular turnout of horse drawn hearses used today come from those three ‘imports’.
• BLACK RAILINGS AND GATES IN VICTORIAN CEMETERIES - There is a myth that on the death of Prince Albert that the Queen demanded that all cemeteries in future should have railings and gates painted in black. No not possible as the Victorians used lead paint and it was not possible to find a black pigment stable enough to take the lead oxide. In fact the Victorians favoured a deep plum colour or Brunswick green. The fashion for black railings probably started about 1946/47 way outside the Victorian era.
• BOLSTER GRAVE - This type of grave was fashionable in the Edwardian era and beyond, where a cylinder shaped stonework usually about 2 feet in diameter rests at the foot of the grave resembling a pillow or bolster.
• BURIAL AXIS or ORIENTATION - The direction the body is positioned within the grave. Christian burials [and by tradition used also on non-consecrated ground] lay east to west, Hebrew graves north to south.
• BURIAL RIGHTS OWNER - The person [or company] that either purchased the plot or had the rights transferred from the estate of the deceased. BRO’s are obliged to notify the cemetery owner of any change in their address but in practice this is often overlooked making it impossible to get in touch if the grave becomes damaged or dangerous. Graves that are damaged or in an over grown state technically need the written consent of the BRO before any remedial work is carried out. Local authorities and cemetery owners have the power to deal with graves in a dangerous condition or likely to become so. The Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977 prescribes under Article 18 [1] d “No person shall wilfully interfere with any grave, vault or tombstone or other memorial or any plants or flowers on any such matter”. This leaves conservation groups [and conservation friendly cemetery managers] under threat of prosecution or alternatively a Burial Rights Owner appearing on the scene after a repair could sue the conservation group in a County Court under civil law for ‘criminal damage’. Whilst it is widely held that a court would not regard a professionally supervised restoration as ‘damage’ nevertheless the threat of some action remains which could involve a group in legal costs. Approaches have been made to the Department of Justice [formed from Department of Constitutional Affairs and the Home Office] that in the current review of Burial Law a clause should be inserted to allow recognised conservation groups to be allowed to ‘rescue’ graves apparently abandoned and be exempt from legal action.
  - The local authorities that own cemeteries take varying approaches as the situation stands currently varying from instigating repairs to detached kerbs or loose headstones under a sensible health and safety approach to others who claim even the cutting back of knotweed or bramble comes under the Article 18 [1] d definition of interfering with “any plants or flowers on any such matter”.
• BURIAL CLUB GRAVES - Run on similar lines to a Friendly Society the burial club would erect a stone with a list of the names of the deceased over a common multi-occupied grave. The poor living in workhouses or passing in and out of such institutions regarded it as the final humiliation to be buried in a pauper’s grave with no mark of their previous existence in life. Whilst they accepted the ‘poor’ tag throughout life [and the surviving family would continue to seek workhouse or charitable support] the notion that a fellow would lie under an anonymous piece of turf caused them concern. The burial clubs were more prominent in the north of England. There are examples in Birmingham and Leeds of stones with a list of names in the multi-occupied grave. For many years one guinea was the cost of a share in a club grave and although the cost gradually increased with inflation, the guinea grave term stuck with the public.
• CARYATID - A draped female figure usually of white marble as a supporting column.
• CELTIC STONE - A hard wearing limestone of a blue/grey colour quarried in the southern Ireland. It has a bluish grey colour but when dressed, the stone has a more predominant blue.
• CEMETERY ARCHITECTURAL STYLES - Just prior to Queen Victoria’s reign there had been a revival of the classic Greek style so many of the cemeteries from 1820 to 40 had a slant towards Greek temples, buildings and tombs with pillars and pedimented roofs. Then from about 1840 to 1880 the [Tudor] Gothic Revival style was in fashion. Typically with a ‘castle’ like feel of an imposing and dominating look, the roofs were very angular going to steep apexes, pinnacles and verandas and often with stained class windows. There had been a great interest in Egyptology at the end of the 18th century coinciding with Napoleon’s fascination and the expansion of his empire. In the Victorian era that interest in the style again revived and the cemetery was an ideal ‘show ground’ for obelisks and mausoleums. So an intermix began to build as a character in British cemeteries [and often these fashions spreading to America and Australia]. Designers also were keen to use revivals of other styles such as Romanesque [Norman arches but with filled in spaces as supporting walls] and the ‘English’ style. often the cemetery main gateway was Gothic then to vary the appeal a chapel could be say Romanesque or the more simple Early/Mid English style. Some cemeteries, such as Glasgow Necropolis and Arnos Vale were predominantly in the Classic Greek style and lesser of a Gothic influence.
• CENOTAPH - A memorial erected in a cemetery or elsewhere to commemorate a major incident such as a war, shipwreck or natural disaster often in the home town or place associated with the victims. A cenotaph does not contain any bodies and is often situated in a location far away from the place where the deaths occurred. Generally the term is now identified with those lost in a war or battle.
• CENTREPIECE - Usually a large cross, emblem or sculpture placed in a prominent part of the cemetery [often with a lawn or flower bed] to emphasise its significance. Typically as the “Cross of Sacrifice” the emblem of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission [which see] or a natural eye catcher such as a tree or large rock.
• CHILMARK STONE - The stone is a creamy-grey and was famously used in the building of Salisbury Cathedral. The quarry was requisitioned by the RAF in WW2 for storage of bombs and has recently returned to supplying stone.
• COLUMBARIUM - The word comes from the Latin “Columba” for dovecote and is used for a building or partly enclosed shelter where cremated remains are stored.
• COMMON GRAVE - A multi-occupancy grave typically for poor residents of a town or village or in other cases used to cope with a major epidemic [such as cholera] or a major incident such as a bombing or natural disaster. The burial rights remain with the cemetery owner [usually the local authority]. Often the grave was worked over a period of a few weeks and typically used in a series of deaths were from a local hospital [such as babies and stillborns].
• COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES - The ‘milestone’ shaped headstones have a slightly curved top to prevent rain from settling. For many years Portland stone was used but weathering began to show particularly in the intricate designs of some of the regimental crests. Now a very white Botticino marble limestone is used in preference. The name, rank and service number is displayed, the regimental crest or RN / Merchant Navy /RAF emblem and an optional religious symbol [Christian Cross, Star of David etc] and at the lower section an optional motto, phrase or biblical quotation can be displayed. The New Zealand government decided not to use the latter facility so graves of servicemen from that nation are always without a personalised phrase. There was one example where the father of a man who had been tried for desertion was asked by the CWGC to choose a personalised phrase for his war grave. It was government policy at the time of the First World War not to publicly acknowledge those tried for desertion and executed. The father of the deceased selected “Shot at Dawn” for the inscription on the marker but measures were put in place to prevent that phrase being used again in the future.
  - The stones are currently manufactured in France and the team of masons employed by the CWG to cover all UK cemeteries are based at Leamington Spa. Many families elected to commemorate the loss of a family member on a family grave but where those have been vandalised or damaged, the family can request that an ‘official’ marker is also placed on the grave. Each November the Royal British Legion Poppy Cross is placed on each grave either by Legion members, relatives or Friends of Cemeteries groups. It has become a tradition when visiting a cemetery with these war graves for visitors to lay a poppy tribute at one selected grave before departing.
  - There are slight variations in the design of the stones; small cut outs at the top shoulders for example show that the deceased was a German prisoner of war being held in Britain. Graves marking unidentified servicemen killed in action have the phrase “Known unto God”.
• CONSECRATED GROUND - Land designated by the Bishop and blessed at a public service as suitable for burials of Church of England believers. The formal C of E service of burial could only be used for members of the community who had been baptised into the faith. Church law and in particular the grant of a Faculty restricts the erection or repair of graves in a churchyard and also in public cemeteries. For example a local authority proposing to test graves on the consecrated part of a cemetery [and possibly then intending to lay the headstones down] would require a Faculty. Church law has equal standing with statute approved by Parliament.
• COPED EDGING - The practice of using an over hang edging on large tombs even in some cases a pronounced roof effect. Apart from pleasing the eye it sheltered the stonework from the weather.
• CORNISH GRANITE - Sought after, often used to contrast grey or dark granites or marble. The Cornish stone varied from white [with quartz crystals often giving a sparkle effect] to creamy grey and a more distinct grey.
• CORNISH SLATE - Quarried at Delabole and many smaller quarries, grave headstones in Devon and Cornwall were predominantly of slate and often the inscriptions are still readable from the 17th century.
• CREMATION - Whilst the burning of bodies had been practised for centuries in several eastern religions there was a lot of opposition to it in Britain. The Cremation Society of England was formed in 1874. The Home Secretary opposed the idea as it was thought that there would be an increase of poisoning in the general population and infanticide in poorer families. There was a case of a Dorset landowner who had his wife and daughter cremated and was cremated himself when he died a year later but the authorities took no action. In 1883 the eccentric Druid priest Dr William Price fathered a child when he was 83 years in age. The child Jesus Christ Price died aged 5 months and Price began to cremate the body in a field. Angry crowds intervened and the police were called. Price was arrested but a judge ruled that cremation was not illegal. Price sued the police authority for the grief caused when they interrupted the cremation and was awarded one farthing in damages. [One quarter of a penny, 2.4 ‘old’ pence=1 pence in decimal currency GBP]
  - The Cemetery Society had purchased land at Woking from the London Necropolis Company based at nearby Brookwood Cemetery. The residents of Woking opposed the placing of the crematorium in their town but the completion of the building and the grounds went ahead.
  - Probably the aftermath of war when resources were going into rebuilding housing, factories and shops plus changes in social attitudes but cremations by 1947 were replacing burials in popularity.
  - Cremations grew over the succeeding years with many other towns building their own facilities. New environmental controls were introduced particularly after we became members of the EEC. Many crematoriums had to be modernised to meet new controls and a few were closed down by council environmental services. Such an example was Arnos Vale at Bristol and with that loss of regular income the owner claimed the running of the cemetery was now virtually impossible.
  - A particular problem of our modern times is that the ovens were not designed for our obese society and ovens installed even 30 years ago cannot cope with the oversize coffins. Consequently many provincial towns are transporting coffins to Finchley, North London and other venues which have larger capacity ovens. Families of course have to meet the increased costs of transporting the coffin to other locations.
  - Some families in the belief that they are helping the environment are using coffins of compressed fibre or cardboard or wicker basket weave. These cremations take considerably longer to complete as the conventional wood coffin creates added heat in the combustion process but the cardboard type coffins flare up but do not sustain a burning process.
• CROWN STONE - [see Nabresina]
• CROWNED GRAVE - Building either on top of other masonry or directly placed into the foundation a raised area or platform. The most common are the three steps below the Christian cross representing the Holy Trinity.
• CRYPT - The traditional cellar beneath a church were coffins containing bodies were stored either on stone shelves or niches or buried into the floor. There are several horrific descriptions of ladies being taken out of the church to be given ‘the vapours’ after reacting to the stench permeating in the church during a service. Others tell of children attending Sunday School being plagued by slow moving black flies associated with coffins.
• DELAMINATION - The process where by water seepage with frost expansion and contraction the upper layers of stonework start to creep away allowing further water to penetrate lifting the surface away. Particularly on softer sandstones and stonework such as serpentine.
• DISSENTERS - Those practising other than the Church of England faith. Technically Methodists were not ‘Dissenters’ as Wesley regarded his movement as an arm of the established church and Methodists in their early development attended C of E services a couple times a year such as the Easter service or for weddings. However in practice the term included Quakers, Roman Catholics, Jews, Methodists, Baptists and non-practitioners of the Anglican faith.
• DISUSED BURIAL GROUNDS [AMENDMENT] ACT 1981 - Amending the 1884 law, the clauses set out what is required of local authorities and cemetery owners including the removal of headstones and the contents of graves.
• DRESSED STONE - Stonework that has had the surfaced smoothed either by hand or mechanical means.
• ELM PARK BATH STONE - Probably the most durable Bath stone available from Wessex Dimensional Stone.
• EMERGING STONE - When done to a high standard has an appealing style but in many cases looks too artificial. A gravestone where part has been carved and the remainder [often the base] has been left in the natural state giving the overall impression that the work is still in progress but was interrupted [a symbolic view of life and death].
• ERIC GILL - [Arthur Eric Rowton Gill 1882-1940] Produced a style of font popular with printers, sign writers and stonemasons. Gill is buried at Brighton Cemetery but his font is evident in many other British cemeteries including Kensal Green.
• EXEDRA - A grave feature based on a semi-crescent shaping usually with a centrepiece bench in the stonework typically with columns each end of the feature
• FINIALS - The end of upright posts, columns etc sometimes as a plain capping but often as a decorative eye catcher. In parts of the US it was a practice to alert grave diggers that the deceased in a particular grave had died of yellow fever by having cork screw finials on each corner of the grave.
• GRANITE STONE - A very hard and long lasting stone which is difficult to inscribe. The colours are very varied and nowadays it is very popular in kitchen makeovers as work surfaces usually imported from India and China. A good granite supplier is probably now able to offer a range of 20 to 30 colours although there are several hundred variations. The stone became fashionable for cemeteries after Alexander MacDonald of Aberdeen invented a process to cut and polish the granite stone and it became even more popular in the 20th century after the introduction of steam generated pneumatic cutters were introduced [c1890] and as machine cutting and polishing developed, it rivalled marble as a ‘quality’ finish. The stone can achieve a high polish and sometimes the graining can be very similar to marble but marble remains less shiny [even when polished and reflects light differently to give a ‘waxed’ appearance]. Cemetery craftsmen favoured the white, creamy Cornish or the dark slate grey from Aberdeen or Peterhead pink, often using a pink in contrasts on upright column supports. Nowadays computer etched pictures and symbols have become popular. It is difficult to carve and the use of computer controlled bits now used undermines the skills of Victorian craftsmen often working outside in exposed and cramped conditions. To aid the modern craftsman grit blasting is used, carefully shielding the adjoining areas of the stone.
• GREY GRANITE - Whilst self explanatory a grey colour limestone from quarries such as Ricklow in the Peak District were polished and confusingly referred to as “grey granite Ricklow grey” [limestone]
• GRIM REAPER - The personification of death often portrayed when a major epidemic hits an area or a country. Occasionally it is seen on older graves as an emblem of death.
• HOPTON WOOD STONE - A quarry on Brassington Moor near Matlock, Derbyshire still produces this creamy grey stone which was often used by craftsmen for pillars or features on graves. This limestone weathers well and does not appear to encourage algae or lichen growth as is the case with many of the sandstones.
• HURDCOTT STONE - A quarry near to Chilmark in Wiltshire that produces a distinct greyish-dark green stone which weathers well. Both Chilmark stone and Hurdcott have been used on Salisbury Cathedral.
• IRON GRAVE MARKERS - Used during the Victorian era, many are now rusted and the inscriptions are mainly unreadable. An interesting website of cast iron grave markers [still under development and never completed as the owner died in 2006] was maintained by Peter Fairweather. The invitation to submit additional data, it is presumed, to be no longer appropriate, but the site itself is of great interest. click here
• LAKELAND SLATE - From the English Lake District the grey slate sometimes had a greenish hue.
• LARVIKITE GRANITE - Shipped from Norway to Great Britain some of the stone had rich blue veins giving a very distinctive colour.
• LEDGER STONE OR PLATE - In many modern cemeteries it is now normal to have a flat stone or bronze type stone or plate as the mowing of grass is difficult when kerbs and delicately carved grave bases are in place. In keeping with the modern trait to use modest and uniform tributes to the dead.
• LICHGATE or LYCHGATE - Traditional gateway with an over hanging roof sometimes thatched, tiled or slated. Now sometimes introduced for architectural enhancement at cemeteries. Originally the sexton would place a trestle there and pall bearers and the mourners would gather at that point awaiting the arrival of the priest. A dead body was only supposed to enter into consecrated land [including a church] if led by the priest sprinkling holy water.
• LIME MORTAR - The Victorians used a mix of sand and lime mortar [calcium oxide] and this enabled joints to release moisture. Long exposure to rain weakens the mortar and over the years builders have used cement in many cases as a replacement. Fortunately conservationists now realise that cement sealing moisture into old stonework causes frost damage when this moisture expands and contracts. In many cases the cement is “too strong” and does not permit the natural expansion experienced in brickwork and stonework. The lime mortar however causes severe irritation and burning of the skin on the hands and masons found when working away from their workshop the best first aid was [best left to the imagination] a splash of urine.
• LIMESTONE MARKERS - The most popular member of the limestones was Portland from the Isle of Purbeck. Many of the British limestones had deposits of minute shells and marine residues so it became fashionable to go further away to get a smoother grain stone such as Nabresina from Italy. In areas of acid rainfall the stone erodes.
• LOWER PRESLEY GRANITE - A light grey with a blue tint
• KEMNAY GRANITE - Another famous quarry from the east coast of Scotland. The stone is still being quarried and was used for facing the new Scottish Assembly Buildings. It is a light silver grey with smatterings of black speckles in small groups.
• MacDONALD - Variously Alexander MacDonald [1820-39], MacDonald & Leslie [1839-63], MacDonald, Field & Co [1863-83], A. MacDonald & Co [1884-1906] and Alexander MacDonald & Co [1906-1941]. The firm probably had more influence on how styles of monuments developed than any other. Alexander MacDonald invented a cutting and polishing process, took time out to visit Egypt to study the classical styles of mausoleums and tombs and visited many museums and galleries studying the Greek styles. In consequence his designs and workmanship for tombs, obelisks, sarcophagi and large public monuments were much in demand.
  - The firm was commissioned to do the 70 feet obelisk in Peterhead pink to Sir James McGrigor, Wellington’s Surgeon-General and a 20 ton memorial to George, 5th Duke of Gordon and over the years won several gold medals at international exhibitions. After completing the sarcophagus for Prince Albert, Letters Patent were issued to allow the firm to display the royal crest.
  - By the turn of the 20th century the firm employed 100 men and had branches in London and Glasgow. There are fine examples of MacDonald’s work across Scotland and in cemeteries such as Kensal Green, Southampton Old Cemetery, Hampstead and Brompton’
• MARBLE - Started to become popular as a headstone material in the early 19th century and by 1820 imports were regularly arriving especially from Sicily. It has a great colour range although the favoured colour was a white base such as Bianco Carrara. Heavy rainfall and in particular cemeteries near to industrial areas, the acidic water badly affected the inscription and weakened the stone. The hands and wings of angels appear to be weak spots and vandals have delighted in breaking off many fine pieces of sculpture. In Britain between the 1970/80’s a light brown marble became popular and complaints that the inscription became unreadable in less than three years caused many vicars to ban future use of it in their churchyards. When marble ages it looks much different and less attractive and if cleaned chemically, it can lose its attractive waxy sheen and develop a ‘sugar’ surface. James Stevens Curl in The Victorian Celebration of Death sums up marble headstones and grave markers often mounted with figures as ‘to create those bleak, glaring, wildernesses of repellent sentimental angels and unwholesome smirking cherubs that disfigured so many urban burial grounds.’
• MORTSAFE - Originally a name patented in 1818, the name became a generic term for graves with railings or a metal cage built around the grave. Many were quite elaborate with padlocks and hasps. Such was the problem of body snatching especially in the towns associated with universities and medical colleges that both the church authorities and individuals took extraordinary efforts to keep the newly buried bodies away from the lecture theatres and mortuaries of the hospitals and universities. Some families persuade the undertakers to soak the body in vinegar or ammonia to make it unacceptable for research and many insisted the body should face the ground to make it more difficult to recover. Churchyards often had watch huts or even stone built houses where a man would spend long hours as a deterrent. In many areas the families of the deceased formed ‘protection clubs’ and took in turn on rotas to visit graveyards during the night.
  - In 1832 the situation turned dramatically as the government passed The Anatomy Act. This permitted workhouses and prisons to sell unclaimed bodies to approved medical research establishments for set sums. The poor law unions welcomed this source of revenue and the researchers established links bringing in a regular supply of research material that had not been contaminated with soil or damaged during the hurried recovery usually in the dead of night.
• MOURNING RITUALS - The various practices associated with the Victorian death culture have been well researched and recorded over the years.
  - Ladies of the middle and upper classes wore dresses of crape [from the French crepe] a silk fabric having a crisp feel to it. Ladies of the poorer classes dyed everyday clothes black [or gratefully received some hand-me-downs]. Veils and black hats or bonnets, black gloves and even we are told black underwear was used as accessories. The clock was stopped usually in the room the death had occurred in at home, the blinds were closed and all mirrors were draped off so that a widow could not see her reflection. The icon of Queen Victoria in deep mourning was to influence society in general. Victoria had the male servants wearing black arm bands for years after the death of Albert, each night his bed at Osborne House was turned down and the blinds closed and then each morning a shaving bowl would be filled with hot water and placed on the marble table top next to his bed. Astonishingly two groups of society paid their own tributes to Albert’s death and only ceased using the rituals a few years ago.
  - There were the barge men’s wives on the canal boats who wore black bonnets and a black shoulder drape and the tram and bus conductors of Glasgow who had black arm bands sewn into their uniform jackets.
  - Military funerals apart from the traditional volley of gunfire at the graveside, accompanying soldiers [or those lining the route] would reverse rifles and officers wore black crape shoulder capes and had their swords ‘subdued’.
  - During the period of deep mourning [the first year] the widows had to avoid lace, satin, colourful precious stones and gold jewellery.
  - Jet jewellery [we still use the term jet black as a descriptive adjective] mainly from Whitby was very fashionable but a softer version was introduced from Spain, a glass based French version [much cheaper] became fashionable and in the latter period of the era, Vulcanite rubber. Natural jet can always be recognised as such as it is naturally warm to the touch. In the second year, the widow was allowed to wear Bombazine a more glossy finish variation of crape. Children did not normally use mourning dress except young girls would wear a black hat when attending church services on the anniversary of the death. Children often carried small books around especially Who Killed Cock Robin? with appropriate drawings of a funeral hearse as an appropriate way of explaining to others that their loved one had died.
  - As the second year progressed small changes were introduced including for some wearing a locket perhaps displaying some strands of the deceased person’s hair or a photograph and gradually grey and mauve was introduced to the colour scheme for clothing.
  - In Regent Street in London two large funeral attire warehouses, Jay’s and Peter Robinson’s traded. There were similar shops in provincial towns. Few families would take the chance of storing mourning clothes for future use as it was felt that to do so was a marker on the house for the ‘angel of death’ so the funeral dress suppliers had to meet a constant demand as families would need supplies of new black clothing on a regular basis.
  - The staff from these suppliers travelled with samples throughout Britain to visit well to do families who would order clothes for themselves and their servants. In many cases a stock of regular sizes was held to expedite speedy delivery to the families. By the 1880’s the formal periods of mourning meant ladies were going into the less severe clothing earlier and the stores began to introduce more fashionable clothes as well as the mourning attire. Thus big shopping emporiums such as Peter Robinson began to offer ready made clothes ‘off the peg.’
• NABRESINA STONE - Also known as Crown Stone has been quarried since Roman times. It is pleasing to work with when freshly quarried it is a gentle creamy colour but with occasional light brown/orange patches in contrast.
• NIMBUS - A circular halo inscribed on a headstone around the head of Christ or an angel.
• NON CONFORMISTS - Protestant faiths outside of the state religion [Church of England / Anglican] such as Baptists, Congregationalists, Salvation Army and Methodists etc The term generally replaced the slightly harder sounding ‘dissenters’ [and which also included Jews and Catholics]. Some cemeteries such as Key Hill, Birmingham were set up as non-denominational grounds but were particularly favoured by NC’s causing followers of the established church to develop other cemeteries with a preference for C of E burials in consecrated ground. Normally non conformist chapels in a cemetery are plain and simple in style and this taste reflects in the style of the headstones.
• NON PRE-PURCHASE POLICY - Aware that certain ethnic groups were ‘reserving’ several adjoining plots and transferring the burial rights to favoured supporting families [usually plots in their designated religious areas with enhanced scenic or access preferences] some local authorities have barred the practice. Additionally some adjoining plots were being purchased but with no intention of using them for burials to promote an aura of exclusiveness for the wealthy families. Local councils who practice equality were concerned that burial space already in short supply was being bought up for social and landscaping choices.
• OBELISK - A monument with a square base and a long column sharpening at the top to a pointed shape sometimes signifying the wealth or importance of the deceased.
• OGEE - also known as a CYMA REVERSA - A concave arc flows into a convex arc, the lower level on stonework often protruding to act as a weather shield to panels below.
• OMNIPOTENT EYE OF GOD [Eye of Providence] - The all seeing eye of God watching over human frailty used on a marker by the ancient Order of Foresters, a Friendly Society. Originally a symbol used by the ancient Egyptians on their tombs.
• OUTPLACEMENTS or OUTLYERS - A grave intentionally detached from adjoining plots usually for a person in a minority religious sect or a suicide, or in Catholic sections of a cemetery somebody who had been excommunicated from the church. In a few cases during World War II soldiers of negro descent were buried at a distance from their white colleagues. Often suicides were buried late in the evening.
• PATINA - The term is used in furniture, stone, bronze, copper, antiques etc; the formation of dust, atmospherics such as air passing the surface even the breath of animals or humans and touch from use on the surface. Antique dealers and auction houses normally advise customers that the patina is part of the treasure but many people in spite of that want things bright, pristine and brand new. Particularly on stone, the removal of grime leaves the ‘new’ surface vulnerable to acid rain attacks and may well start a process of regular re-cleaning over the nest few years. In addition some processes of cleaning leave chemicals that start or encourage existing exfoliation processes. When you visit some helpline websites with questions like ‘How do I lift the patina off a bronze statue on my husband’s grave?’ or ‘Can I use household bleach to clean a headstone’ can send shudders down the spine. Basically distilled or deionised water we use in car batteries and electric irons with soft haired nylon [not animal hair] brushes in general, do not cause any major harm. Household bleach nowadays is made to make our toilets smell of lavender, lemon or ‘ocean spray’ which is certainly bad for headstones. ‘Pure’ bleach contains sulphates and when they form salts in reacting with the stone and then dry out they start a process of lifting the visible layer of the stone [exfoliation]. If you tap a stone and it sounds somewhat hollow, this process is already starting and any cleaning at this stage particularly with any chemical is harmful. In some cases to slow down the erosion of stone, specialists paint on a lime wash or similar sacrificial layer so that takes the brunt of the attack from weather or the acid rain. Lichen and moss roots react with the stone and can leave a residual acid that chemically attacks the stone. Certain waters contain a high element of iron and this will discolour marble in particular. Professionals usually after using an acidic cleaner then use a neutralising fluid to try to prevent the acid forming the latent salts. Washing-up liquid by the way contains salt [some people even put it into the screen wash of their cars and wonder why the wiper blades and rubber screen mounts perish so quickly]. The War Memorial Trust particularly does not advocate certain chemicals and may withhold a grant if the cleaning agent is used against their advice. Please remember in Britain that [1] lichens may be protected and removal could possibly get you into trouble [2] COSHH [Control of Substances Hazardous to Health] may either require you to register the use of a chemical and gain approval to store and use it [you may find that the local authority or cemetery owner is already licensed and in that case you may prefer to ask them to undertake the work] [3] you should be aware of any environmental issues such as wildlife or dogs in the cemetery. Remember the 10 year rule - if you clean a stone with any chemical frequently you are causing irreversible damage, never more frequently than a 10 year gap.
• PAUPER’S GRAVE - A grave funded by the workhouse usually for a workhouse resident or other member of the community receiving benefit under the poor law. Paupers were not allowed to be identified as such to protect their families from any indignity but in cemeteries often housing considerable number [e.g. lunatic asylum, workhouse etc] sometimes metal plaques with a serial number was placed at the foot of the plot.
• PEDESTAL GRAVE - A grave on a series of steps or plinths.
• PERISTYLE - A colonnade following the outline of its ‘parent’ building or mausoleum or a row of columns supporting a beam [an entablature] of stone often in the neo-classical style of architecture as a lead in for the eye either to a building or towards an open space.
• PORTLAND STONE - Most of the public buildings in Britain including Whitehall and Buckingham Palace used Portland Stone from the Isle of Purbeck and it was often used in memorials. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission for many years used it as the standard stone for their war graves but in the passage of time the crests and regimental badges were weathering and becoming less distinct so the Commission began to use Botticino marble limestone as a substitute.
• POULTICING - A practice in that when cleaning headstones, the residue of any surface dirt would remain in suspension on the very wet stone sometimes taken a day or so for the stone to dry out and thereby seeping the grime into the inners of the stone. By using soft clay such as kaolin and using towelling or absorbent cloth or face tissue paper [Kleenex etc] tied to the stone [in theory] the surface moisture would be absorbed into the cloth or paper rather than drying into the stone.
• PURBECK MARBLE - A typical coast marble rich in fossilised marine life.
• QUAKER BURIAL GROUND - Quakers in many cases preferred a meadow or quiet location away from buildings. All stones were of the same plain design and small in height and no ornamentation was incorporated.
• RAMADA - A roof over a grave with supporting pillars often in neo-classical Greek style
• RUBISLAW GRANITE - Named after the quarry in Aberdeenshire and often shipped to stone masons for obelisks and imposing plinths. It has a blue shaded grey colour.
• SERENA STONE - A blue colour stone used for buildings in towns such as Florence. Has a crisp sharp character and takes engravings which last well into the future.
• SLATE MARKERS - A weather resistant stone which holds inscriptions exceptionally well.
• STANDARD RECOMMENDATION FOR HEADSTONES - The Churchyards Handbook recommends that the headstone should not exceed 4 feet [1200mm] in height, 3 feet [900mm] wide and the stone up to a maximum of 6 inches [75 mm] in thickness. For slate memorials the minimum thickness is 38 mm. Local authorities often set their own dimensions and local stonemasons will be familiar with any variations.
• TELAMONE - A stone column supporting a roof or arch in the form of a male figure, traditionally in the clothing of the ancient Greeks but adapted in some cases. The grave of General Sir William Casement [1780-1844] at Kensal Green has four telamones in the dress of servants of the Indian Raj.
• [THE] REGISTER OF PARKS AND GARDENS OF SPECIAL HISTORIC INTEREST IN ENGLAND - In 2002 English Heritage in partnership with English Nature set up a register. This register was set up following a Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into Cemeteries in 2001. The main purpose is to identify and record sites and to ensure that the features and qualities are taken into account during the management and maintenance and to increase public awareness of these historic assets. English Heritage has also published Paradise Preserved, an essential read for all those supporting cemetery conservation.
• RIPPLING - The effect left by a hand chisel on the back of a display stone where layers of stone were taken off to gain a uniform thickness.
• SANDSTONE - The standard stone used in many early British cemeteries and churchyards, the types varied subject to the locality of quarries. Many have retained their lettering but often they are subject to erosion. Often the surface of the stone begins to lift as frost and water get into the material and patches begin to come away from the rest of the stone. The colours vary from a light gold to grey.
• SARCOPHAGUS - The term varies from a Mummy style enclosure to the more usual chest style tomb often placed in an elevated position above other stonework. Some pitch directly onto the ground but often ornate feet support it. In nearly all cases the actual coffin is below ground and the chest acts as a representation of the burial casket but in a few cases the coffin may be within the stonework.
• SERPENTINE STONE - From the Lizard peninsular sometimes referred to as ‘green granite’ but is slightly different and is a softer stone. Now used for jewellery and sculptures and often on roads when the grit type crushed rock [chippings] is sprinkled onto hot tar. It was used in the 19th century to face buildings but is rather soft and suffers from ‘delamination’ where the surface is undermined with frost damage. Sometimes used on headstones but these nowadays are normally in a deteriorating condition.
• STEENED GRAVE - Graves with a brick or slate lining which gave better support for any stonework above ground, often used if subsequent burials were likely to occur in the same plot. Traditionally the Victorians used lime and sand as mortar and over the years water penetration caused the mortar to gradually wash out causing the walls to move or collapse.
• TERRAZZO - An artificial mix of silica, dyes, glass and limestone used extensively as chippings on graves. Traditionally they were bottle green or white but tastes change over the years and now there is a range of colours including vivid violet, brilliant blue and outstanding orange. Many cemetery managers now discourage loose chippings especially on un-curbed graves as the stones fly everywhere when the nearby grass is being strimmed.
• TREE GRAVE - A grave marker resembling a branch or log with bark effect or in some cases a tree such as silver birch with even ‘roots’ showing through the level surface at the base. More so in the USA and Canada, markers were made in the form of tree stumps with detail such as bark on the sides and wood graining rings across the top.
• UNDERLAYERING - Occasionally part of the artistic design but more generally where the stonemason made a mistake in the spelling or was given an incorrect name or date and has gone into the stone at a deeper incision. One example at Minstead Church in the New Forest however was to remove the word ‘beloved’ from ‘the beloved husband of’ when later the widow had reason to question her late husband’s behaviour prior to his death.
• WELSH SLATE - Characteristically grey often with a purple hue that intensified when the slate was very wet.
• YORK STONE MARKERS - A silica member of the sandstone family usually a bluish grey but the shades vary. Typically used either as paving slab floor base or as side panels for inscriptions on a memorial. In most cases harder than and longer lasting than limestone.