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155
REGULATIONS
Under which Dead Bodies are permitted to be placed in the
Mortuary in the Parish Churchyard, at the rear of the Vestry
Hall.
(Sanitary Act, 1866. Section 27.)
1. Application for permission to deposit a body in the Mortuary shall be made
to the Mortuary Keeper at the Mortuary, Hornton Place, Hornton Street, Kensington,
or at the Offices of the Sanitary Department at the Town Hall, and
such application shall be signed by a relative or friend of the deceased, or by
the undertaker employed in the case, or other applicant. A body in case of
emergency may be deposited at any hour of day or night; but in ordiuary
cases application can be entertained between the hours of eight and twelve in
the morning, and five and nine in the evening, only.
2. A body (except in case of emergency) shall be conveyed to the Mortuary
in a hearse, or otherwise in a decent and proper manner, enclosed in a pitched
shell or coffin, in which the body shall be buried, and it shall be removed therefrom
for burial within five days from the date of death, or when required by
the Medical Officer of Health.
3. No body shall be removed from the Mortuary, except for burial, without
the permission of the Medical Officer of Health, and then only on condition
that it shall have been first enclosed to the satisfaction of the Medical Officer of
Health.
4. When death has arisen from an infectious disease, or when the body is in
an offensive condition from decomposition or other cause, the coffin must be
filled in with an approved disinfecting powder, and properly and securely
fastened, before admission into the Mortuary.
5. In any case coming within the preceding rule (4), the coffin shall not be
re-opened without either the order of the Coroner or the consent, in writing, of
the Medical Officer of Health.
6. A body may be viewed by a friend or relative (except in cases where the
death has occurred from an infectious disease) between the hours of one and
four in the afternoon. A body may be viewed for identification at any reasonable
hour.
7. On the admission of a body into, or its removal from, the Mortuary, no
public procession or large assemblage of persons will be allowed within the
building; the only persons to be then admitted shall consist of the nearest
relatives of the deceased, the undertaker, and the bearers of the body.
8. The Mortuary being intended only for the reception and retention of the
dead, the Vestry does not undertake to send for, nor send away, the bodies.