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15
At the Court at Windsor, the 20 th day of March, 1863.
Present: The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.
Where as the Right Honourable Sir George Grey, Bart., one of her Majesty's
Principal Secretaries of State, after giving to the Incumbent and the
Vestry Clerk of the Parishes hereinafter mentioned, ten days' previons
notice of his intention to make such representation, has, under the provisions
of an act, passed in the session of Parliament, held in the fifteenth
and sixteenth years of her Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act to amend
the laws concerning the burial of the dead in The Metropolis," made a
representation stating that, for the protection of the public health, burials
should be discontinued in the undermentioned parishes as follows, viz:—
"FUlhaM.—Forthwith, with the exception of now existing family vaults
and brick graves in the portion of the ancient church-yard lying on the southeast
of the diagonal footpath, and marked A, B, C, D, on the plan which was
transmitted to the Vestry Clerk of the Parish on the 14th of February, one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three; and from and after the first day of
July, 18G4, with the like exceptions, in the remaining portion of the ancient
church-yard marked E on the above-named plan : the family vaults and graves
above exempted to be used on the following conditions—that when required
they be opened without disturbing soil that has already been buried in, that
each coffin be embedded in powdered charcoal and separately entombed in an
air-tight manner, and that the only bodies interred therein be those of the
Husbands, Wives, Parents, unmarried Children, and Brothers,and Sisters of
persons already buried therein. That in the new portion of the church-yard
marked F in the above-mentioned plan, burials be conducted in accordance
with the official regulations for new burial grounds."
"FULHAM CHURCH-YARD.
" Hammer smith,
Dec, 22nd, 1802.
"My dear Sir,
"I am in receipt of yours of the 19th Instant with regard to the
Fuiham Parish Church-yard,and before replying to it I have visited the spot this
day, and had an interview with the Churchwardens, Sexton, &c. It may be well
for me here to state that I have from time to time as Officer of Health inspected
this Grave-yard, cousidering the time not far distant when it might be
necessary to take some steps with reference to its being closed. About four or
five years since I examined some well waters in the immediate locality, (John's
Place,) and found them impregnated by filtration from the soil of the graveyard,
but as these waters did not appear to be used for drinking purposes, and
as no special sickness or mortality prevailed I did not take action. I find
during the last year about 280 bodies have been buried here, a large proportion
of which have been paupers. These interments have been principally confined
to the western side of the ground and to the new portion added some few years
since on the north. The surface of the centre portion of the grave-yard appears
somewhat closely covered, though there are occasional vacant spaces. In this
portion are several old family graves of the Parishioners. I have found to-day
that very recently bodies, apparently of children, have been interred on that
portion of the yard lying south of the Church contiguous to John's Place
before referred to. This I consider objectionable and my opinion is that this
portion of the ground should no longer be used, that interments should be
limited to the new ground as railed in, and to that portion of the original
grave-yard (under the bishop's Fence) west of the pathway running north and
south through the ground.
"I think it would be advisable to prohibit the use of the centre portion to
those families already having burial places there, provided such graves or