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  1. #1
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    Default Claybury Mental Hospital

    Hello!

    I'm new to the forum, so I hope I'm doing this right. I'm trying to find leads on the burial place of one of my ancestors, William Cordell. I know that he was born in 1894 in Harlow, Essex to Francis Cordell and Sarah Cordell (nee Clarke). He served in WWI and was declared insane on his pension card in (I think) 1919. This same card indicates that he was sent for treatment. A 1939 England and Wales Register places him at Claybury Mental Hospital in that same year. According to his probate, he also died there on December 13 1964. I've become quite invested in his story and would ideally like to track down where he was buried. Preliminary searches on Ancestry.com haven't turned anything up. Has anybody had any experience with searching for burial records around mental hospitals or asylums? I'm assuming that his family did not claim his body and he was therefore buried in a nearby cemetery.

    Thanks all!

    Kat

  2. #2
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
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    Welcome to the British-Genealogy forums Kat
    This National Archives link may be of some help to you. Worth enquiring if they have his records?
    https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...ails/c/F230936

    Christina
    Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
    William Burroughs

  3. #3

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    Why do you assume his family didn’t claim him?
    Who was probate granted to?

  4. #4
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    I have gone round in a circle as I googled Claybury and after a while I stumbled across an interesting post
    which turns out to be on Brit Gen! I think it's called "claybury institution" and the first post is from 2010
    " Claybury Asylum". It's more to do with obtaining records and although I appreciate that's a decade ago
    there might be some info that would help you. Peter Goodey contributed! There are some links for photos etc.
    Jill

  5. #5
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    Probate is to Frank Cordell, caretaker. 10 Feb 1965 Ipswich.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by gilian rowland View Post
    I have gone round in a circle as I googled Claybury and after a while I stumbled across an interesting post
    which turns out to be on Brit Gen! I think it's called "claybury institution" and the first post is from 2010
    " Claybury Asylum". It's more to do with obtaining records and although I appreciate that's a decade ago
    there might be some info that would help you. Peter Goodey contributed! There are some links for photos etc.
    Jill
    That was a very good spot, Jill.
    Here's the link to that thread. Do read all of it, and remember that a lot of records are closed for s certain number of years.
    https://www.british-genealogy.com/fo...laybury-Asylum
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

  7. #7
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    I think he would only be buried at public expense if there was no money. But there was! I think it would be Frank Cordell's duty to arrange the funeral. I would look in Frank Cordell's area.

  8. #8

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    I’d also take a look at Frank Cordell’s family connections.

  9. #9
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
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    I think you will find that Frank is William's elder brother.
    1901 census has parents Francis (52) and Sarah (43) with children, Elizabeth (13), Ellen (11), Frank (9), William (7), and Edith (2), living in Harlow. Census reference RG13/1642 folio 50 page 14.

    I thought Frank might be living near to Claybury when William died, but as the probate says 'Ipswich' it's not that near. So it's probable that William would have been buried in a cemetery local to Claybury.

    Pam
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

  10. #10
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
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    I found the same as you Pam for the 1901 census but the probate I found in 1967 (same year as death) gives an address as 7 Buttercross La, Epping. Essex. FReeBMD gives his age as 77 so a birth c1890. Epping reg dist includes Harlow.
    Christina
    Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
    William Burroughs

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