question about burials in England

[jeffrey.bean]

I received a photo of my GGGGrandmother's MI in Liverpool. My question is, is the stone put there after the plot is full? Dorothy was one of the last to die, 4 of her young children are buried with her, they all died before her. Or would the stone have been purchased for her, well in advance

I hope I'm making myself clear enough.

Heres the MI http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/swbean/Spencer%20Genealogy/DorothyMI2.jpg

Thanks,
Jeff

[ChristineR]

From looking at the photograph, I would say that the stone was put there after Dorothy died. All the writing looks to be the same workmanship and age.

There are no rules about headstones, they are erected as the family sees fit, or can afford to do so. Many graves have no stone at all. Sometimes the cemetery might keep a record of when monumental work was carried out.

Usually you can tell by the wording if it was erected after the death of the first burial. It will say Dorothy the beloved wife of etc etc. Sometimes even 'erected by her loving husband' Then later, after that person has died, their name will be added by the stonemason.

I have one grandparent who buried his wife, and paid for the headstone. But his death details were never added to the stone after he was buried with her. His family may have overlooked this because his name is already on the stone as her loving husband.

Christine :)

[Mark]

From looking at the photograph, I would say that the stone was put there after Dorothy died.

Christine :)

I would hope so ...

Looks like her husband or some other family members paid for the memorial stone for her, and used it to record the pre-deceased children. Of course that may mean that the children aren't actually buried there.

But as Christine said, often the stone is put up initially by the surviving spouse, and then the wording is added to over time as other people are buried in the grave, usually by removal of the stone back to the mason's and it being re-worked then re-erected.

But it all depends on money and there being someone left to get it done. (taking emigration into account as well as death).

Mark

[jeffrey.bean]

Thanks for the input, I was just curious. In the states, the children usually have small stones around the parent headstone