[239] In a tomb or walled grave, the coffin should be enclosed in an air-tight case, by means of a stone cemented down which must never again be moved; or concrete may be used. It is a good plan to put some charcoal with the coffin to absorb any gases of decomposition in case of the vault opening accidentally at any future time, and in order to guard against such an occurrence it is better to leave at least 2 feet of earth on the top of the grave below the surface of the ground in walled graves.
[240] “No body shall be buried in any vault under any chapel of the cemetery or within 15 feet of the outer wall of any such chapel.” (Vide s. 39, Cemetery Clauses Act 1847.)
[241] In a beautiful out-of-the-way valley in Wales, there is a pretty village with a quiet churchyard far from the “busy haunts of man,” yet here it is found necessary to disinter all the bodies, as this churchyard will soon be 30 feet under the surface of the water of an immense reservoir now being constructed to supply the living with drinking water, and it would not be right to leave the bodies there.
[242] The body of Lord Balcarres was (as is now history) removed from the mausoleum in his own grounds, and only recovered after a most painful interval; this desecration could not have happened had his body been cremated and the ashes suitably secured.
[243] I believe it was Lord Shaftesbury whose remark on this point was, “What would have become of the blessed martyrs, if destruction by fire was to annul their chances of resurrection?”
[244] The metropolis alone has in addition to the numerous burying grounds near its parish churches, &c. (many of which have been, however, dug up and destroyed), the average of which it would be difficult to determine, the following cemeteries, which may be called extra mural:
| Woking Cemetery | 500 | acres |
| Ilford and Leytonstone Cemetery | 168 | „ |
| Norwood and Nunhead Cemetery | 40 | „ |
| Highgate Cemetery | 40 | „ |
| West London at Brompton | 40 | „ |
| Abney Park Cemetery | 32 | „ |
| Kensal Green Cemetery | 18 | „ |
| Victoria Cemetery | —— | |
| Tower Hamlets Cemetery | —— | |
| Colney Hatch Cemetery | —— | |
CHAPTER XXXI.
MORTUARIES.
As the Public Health Act 1875 contains several clauses bearing upon mortuaries, a few words upon this subject will not be altogether inappropriate.