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Reverberation
Chambers
Reverberation
Chambers
Theory and Applications
to EMC and Antenna
Measurements

Stephen J. Boyes
Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, Fort Halstead, UK

Yi Huang
The University of Liverpool, UK
This edition first published 2016 © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission
to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com.

The right of the authors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the
UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be
available in electronic books.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and
product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing
this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents
of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is
sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher
nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required,
the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Boyes, Stephen J., author.
Reverberation chambers : theory and applications to EMC and antenna measurements / Stephen J. Boyes, Yi Huang.
  pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-90624-8 (cloth)
1. Antennas (Electronics)–Design and construction–Technique. 2. Electromagnetic measurements.
3. Radio frequency oscillators. 4. Electromagnetic compatibility. I. Huang, Yi, (Electrical engineer),
author. II. Title.
TK7871.6.B69 2016
621.382′4–dc23
2015033560
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Set in 10.5/13pt Times by SPi Global, Pondicherry, India

1 2016
Contents

About the Authors viii

Acknowledgementsx

1 Introduction1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 This Book 3
References5

2 Reverberation Chamber Cavity Theory 7

2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 Cavity Modes and Electromagnetic Fields 8
2.3 Mode Stirring Techniques 17
2.4 Plane Wave Angle of Arrival 21
2.5 Average Mode Bandwidths 24
2.6 Chamber Quality (Q) Factor 26
2.7 Statistical Forms 30
2.8 Line of Sight Elements 44
2.9 Reverberation Chamber as a Radio Propagation Channel 52
References56

3 Mechanical Stirrer Designs and Chamber Performance Evaluation 58

3.1 Introduction 58
3.2 Paddle Design Methodology 61
3.3 Numerical Analysis 63
vi Contents

3.4 Comments on Practical Validation 78

3.5 Measurement Parameters for Validation 80
3.6 Measurement Results 81
3.7 Summary 92
References92

4 EMC Measurements inside Reverberation Chambers 94

4.1 Introduction to EMC 95
4.2 EMC Standards 98
4.3 EMC Measurements and Tests 101
4.4 EMC Measurements Inside Reverberation Chambers 103
4.5 Comparison of Reverberation Chamber and Other
Measurement Facilities for EMC Measurements 123
4.6 Conclusions 127
Acknowledgements127
References127

5 Single Port Antenna Measurements 129

5.1 Introduction 130
5.2 Definitions and Proof: Antenna Efficiency 131
5.3 Definitions: Textile Antennas 134
5.4 Measurement Procedures 134
5.5 Free Space Measurement Investigation 138
5.6 On‐Body Antenna Measurements 145
5.7 Theoretical and Simulated Evidence 161
5.8 Measurement Uncertainty 163
5.9 Summary 166
References167

6 Multiport and Array Antennas 169

6.1 Introduction 169
6.2 Multi‐port Antennas for MIMO Applications 171
6.3 Measurement Parameters 174
6.4 Diversity Gain from Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDF) 175
6.5 Diversity from Correlation 180
6.6 Channel Capacity 185
6.7 Embedded Element Efficiency 186
6.8 Definitions: Conventional Array Antenna Measurements 191
6.9 Measurement Parameters 192
6.10 Deduction of Characterisation Equation 194
Contents vii

6.11 Measurement Results 196

6.12 Measurement Uncertainty 200
6.13 Summary 200
References201

7 Further Applications and Developments 203

7.1 Shielding Effectiveness Measurements 203
7.2 Antenna Radiation Efficiency Measurements without
a Reference Antenna 209
7.3 Antenna Diversity Gain Measurements without
a Reference Antenna 213
7.4 Wireless Device and System Evaluation 214
7.5 Other Reverberation Chambers and the Future 216
7.6 Summary 218
References218

Appendix A: Deduction of Independent Samples 220

Appendix B: Multivariate Normality Test for SIMO Channels 225
Appendix C: Surface Current Nature 230
Appendix D: BS EN 61000‐4‐21 Standard Deviation Results 235

Index240
About the Authors

Dr. Stephen J. Boyes received his BEng (Hons) in electronics

and communications engineering, MSc (Eng) in microelec-
tronic systems and telecommunications and PhD in antennas/
electromagnetics, all from the University of Liverpool, United
Kingdom.
His academic research activities and PhD at the University
of Liverpool was centred on reverberation chambers, with an
emphasis on a wide variety of antennas and antenna meas-
urements for communication applications. His academic
research work covered novel textile antennas, multiple input
multiple output (MIMO) antennas and novel antenna arrays.
In addition to work in academia, Dr. Boyes has also held various posts throughout
10 years of his working in the industry. In 2013, Dr. Boyes joined the Defence Science
& Technology Laboratory where he is now a senior RF Research Scientist leading all
antennas and electromagnetics research activities within his group. His present research
interests and activities are associated with novel a­ ntennas for military applications
which include body-worn and vehicle-borne types. He also leads research into novel
frequency-selective surfaces and holds numerous patents in both these areas. Dr. Boyes
has published many papers in leading international journals and conferences and is
also a reviewer for leading academic journals. He also participates and sits on major
international committees on behalf of the United Kingdom.
About the Authors ix

Prof. Yi Huang received his BSc in Physics (Wuhan, China),

MSc (Eng) in Microwave Engineering (Nanjing, China) and
DPhil in Communications from the University of Oxford,
United Kingdom, in 1994. He has been conducting research in
the areas of radio communications, applied electromagnetics,
radar and antennas since 1986. He has been interested in
reverberation chamber theory and applications since 1991.
His experience includes 3 years spent with NRIET (China) as
a Radar Engineer and various periods with the Universities of
Birmingham, Oxford and Essex as a member of research staff.
He worked as a Research Fellow at British Telecom Labs in
1994 and then joined the Department of Electrical Engineering & Electronics, University
of Liverpool, as a Lecturer in 1995, where he is now the Chair in Wireless Engineering,
the Head of High Frequency Engineering Group and the Deputy Head of the Department.
Dr. Huang has published over 250 refereed research papers in leading international
journals and conference proceedings and is the principal author of the popular book
Antennas: From Theory to Practice (John Wiley & Sons, 1st edition, 2008; 2nd edi-
tion, 2016). He has received many research grants from research councils, government
agencies, charity, EU and industry; acted as a consultant to various companies; served
on a number of national and international technical committees (such as the UK
Location & Timing KTN, IET, EPSRC and European ACE); and has been an Editor,
Associate Editor or Guest Editor of four international journals. He has been a keynote/
invited speaker and organiser of many conferences and workshops (e.g. IEEE iWAT,
WiCom and Oxford International Engineering Programmes). He is at present the
Editor‐in‐Chief of Wireless Engineering and Technology (ISSN 2152‐2294/2152‐2308),
Leader of Focus Area D of European COST‐IC0603 (Antennas and Sensors), Executive
Committee Member of the IET Electromagnetics PN, UK national representative to
the Management Committee of European COST Action IC1102 (VISTA), a Senior
Member of IEEE and a Fellow of IET.
Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following people who have either directly or
­indirectly helped with the production of this book. Their time and efforts have been
greatly appreciated.

Qian Xu – The University of Liverpool, UK

Dr. Y. David Zhang – The University of Manchester, UK
Dr. Ping Jack Soh – K. U. Leuven, Belgium (now Universiti Malaysia Perlis)
Professor Anthony Brown – The University of Manchester, UK
Professor Guy A. E. Vandenbosch – K. U. Leuven, Belgium
Professor David J. Edwards – The University of Oxford, UK
Professor Per-Simon Kildal – Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Sandra Grayson – Wiley, UK
Victoria Taylor – Wiley, UK
Teresa Netzler – Wiley, UK
Liz Wingett – Wiley, UK
Sandeep Kumar – SPi Global, India
1
Introduction

1.1 Background
The concept of the Reverberation Chamber (RC) was first proposed by H. A. Mendes
in 1968 as a novel means for electromagnetic field strength measurements [1]. The RC
can be characterised as an electrically large shielded metallic enclosure with a metallic
stirrer to change the field inside the chamber that is designed to work in an ‘over‐
mode’ condition (i.e. many modes). It has taken some time for the facility to gain
universal acceptance, but by the 1990s, their use for performing Electromagnetic
Compatibility (EMC) and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) measurements was well
established and various aspects were studied [2–11]. An international standard on using
the RC for conducting EMC testing and measurements was published in 2003 [12]. The
RC is now used for radiated emission measurements and radiated immunity tests, as
well as for shielding effectiveness measurements. It was in this role that the facility
was known for a long time and in part still continues to be [13, 14]. More recently the
RC has been employed for antenna measurements due to the rapid development of
wireless communications.
It is clear that the role and function of wireless technology in everyday life
have reached unprecedented levels as compared to 20–30 years ago. For this change to
take place, it has meant that antenna designs and their characterisation have had to
evolve also. A question exists as to how the RC has risen to prominence to be proposed

Reverberation Chambers: Theory and Applications to EMC and Antenna Measurements, First Edition.
Stephen J. Boyes and Yi Huang.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2 Reverberation Chambers

and also to be used for antenna measurements, which represents a brand new capability
for the chamber that diverges from its initial intended use. To answer this question, we
must partly examine the nature of antenna designs and their operational use.
Traditionally, antennas have always been orientated, and their communication chan­
nels configured in a Line of Sight (LoS) manner. For example, we have terrestrial
antennas mounted on roof tops, and other directive types of antenna that are employed
in satellite communications. The characterisation of these types of antenna for use in
LoS communications are widely defined by the application of an equivalent free space
reflection‐free environment, which is typified by the Anechoic Chamber (AC). In a real
application environment, reflection, scattering and diffraction effects may still exist to
a certain extent, which brings about the creation of additional wave paths within the
communication channel. However, the AC is still the preferred environment to char­
acterise these types of antennas as their radiation patterns (and other subsequent
parameters of interest) are of prime importance to the LoS scenario.
When we consider the modern mobile terminals (such as the mobile/cell phone),
they do not operate under the premise of an LoS scenario. The antennas inside mobile
phones might seldom ‘see’ the base station and they are expected to work perfectly in
Non‐Line of Sight (NLoS) environments. This type of environment will readily give
rise to signals that will be exposed to reflections caused by large smooth objects, dif­
fraction effects caused by the edges of sharp objects and scattering effects caused by
small or irregular objects. When these effects occur, they will cause the creation of
additional wave paths which will eventually add at the receiving side. These wave
contributions have independent complex amplitudes (i.e. magnitude and phase infor­
mation), such that at recombination, they may add constructively or destructively or
anything in between these extremes. The wave paths and their complex amplitudes are
also subject to rapid changes with time, with the terminal moving or parts of the envi­
ronment (communication channel) changing. This brings about variations in the signal
at the receiver and is commonly referred to as fading. The largest variations occur
when there is a complete block on the LoS, which is more accurately referred to
as small‐ scale fading, as opposed to large‐scale fading, which is usually applied to
variations only in the distance from the transmitter or due to part shadowing [15].
As it is important to characterise any antenna in a manner befitting its operational
scenario or intended use to accurately reflect the performance merits, another measure­
ment facility is required that can emulate this type of fading environment – this is
where the RC comes in. The antenna measurement inside an RC can be closer to a
real‐world scenario than inside an AC. Furthermore, some measurements, such as the
antenna radiation efficiency measurement, may be more efficient and accurate if
preformed in an RC than in an AC as we will see later in the book.
When the regulations of the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
released the unlicensed use of the Ultra Wide‐Band (UWB) frequency domain between
3.1 and 10.6 GHz in 2002 [16], a vast amount of interest and industrial/academic
Introduction 3

research followed. The RC offers little restriction concerning large operational frequencies
while also allowing for a vast range of device types and sizes.
Financial implications have also played a part in the subsequent rise to prominence
of the RC. With the construction and operation of an AC (here we will only specifically
compare with far field ACs), large amounts of anechoic absorber must be purchased to
line the walls in order to suppress reflections, and this can be expensive. The RC
requires no such absorber, leaving the walls purely metallic to actively encourage
reflections – a trait which allows for a cost saving. Furthermore, if one was to compare
the relative size of each facility against the lowest frequency of operation, it is possi­
ble to conclude that the RC can be constructed smaller in size than its far field anechoic
counterpart – again offering a potential cost saving.
The RC is a unique, stand‐alone facility, in the sense that it will allow a user full
control over the time frame and uncertainty inherent in a given measurement; this
distinguishes itself from any other facility. The operational principles for the RC allows
for the measurement resolution to be clearly defined which in turn controls the overall
measurement time. Mathematical procedures can be defined which link the expected
uncertainty to the resolution and thus the time frame. Therefore, before a measurement
commences all the parameters can be defined accordingly.
Perhaps one of the more important factors that led to the increasing popularity of the
RC concerns the ease of measurement. Due to its unique operation of multiple reflected
waves, the angle of arrival of these waves reaching any receiving antenna or device is
uniformly distributed over three‐dimensional space [17]. What this effectively means
is that the angle of arrival and wave polarisation is equally probable which can simplify
the characterisation of any device, as in such an environment, their performance is then
insensitive to their orientation – this aspect is particularly acute for EMC and antenna
measurements.

1.2 This Book

The RC is a very powerful tool for EMC and antenna measurements and has many
advantages to offer. There have been many journal articles published over the years on
the subject which signifies its increasing popularity; however, few published reference
books exist. The most relevant ones are probably references [18] and [19]. They have
provided an excellent and comprehensive coverage on the electromagnetic theory on
cavities and RCs, and a very good introduction to EMC tests and measurements using
an RC. But very limited information is on the RC design and its application to antenna
measurements. There are still some important issues on how to use the RC for EMC
and antenna measurements in practice.
This book is different from other works on RCs. It is designed to encompass both
EMC and antenna measurements together which is important as there are subtleties
4 Reverberation Chambers

between how the RC facility is used with respect to these different domains – it
is crucial therefore to understand what these are and how to apply the operational
principles of the chamber for the benefit of the intended measurement.
The book is also designed to take a reader from the very basic theory of the chamber
to a more complicated stirrer design and measurements. It is written to include both
detailed theory and practical measurements so a reader can appreciate and understand
not only what the theory means, but also how to apply and configure it in a practical
manner to complete a desired measurement. With all this information in one place, this
book aims to ensure that the reader has a comprehensive yet compact reference source
so that the RC can be studied and understood without needing to access a number of
different sources which may not be well correlated.
The material covered in this book is underpinned by accepted theory on the RC that
is published worldwide along with our own detailed research which covers many of the
very latest and cutting‐edge trends. The information in the book is also used as part of
the Antennas (antenna measurements section) and EMC modules for students at the
University of Liverpool. This subsequently is also where all of the measurement work
for the book has been wholly conducted. A major feature of this book is to apply the
theory to practice.
The book is organised as follows:
Chapter 2: Reverberation Chamber Cavity Theory. This chapter details all the
important theoretical concepts that uphold and support the use of the RC as a measure­
ment facility. In this chapter, all the theories are explained, all equations detailed and
these are supplemented with practically measured quantities from the RC at the
University of Liverpool, to illustrate the magnitude of the quantities derived.
Chapter 3: Mechanical Stirrer Designs and Chamber Performance Evaluation. This
chapter presents a general method that can be employed to go through the process of
designing mechanical stirring paddles for use in the chamber. New mechanical stirring
paddles are designed and presented in this chapter. Also detailed are the complete
equations and practical procedures of how the performance of any given chamber may
be assessed in an accurate and robust manner.
Chapter 4: EMC Measurements Inside Reverberation Chambers. This chapter
focuses specifically on EMC tests in RCs. The relevant standards for EMC tests in RCs
are discussed, after which immunity and emission tests are introduced. Practical pro­
cedures of how to conduct EMC tests are explained which is followed by practical
tests. A comparison between RCs and ACs for EMC radiated emissions is also
­presented to benchmark both facilities.
Chapter 5: Single Port Antenna Measurements. This chapter is dedicated solely to
single port antenna measurements in RCs. The measurements are based around some
of the very latest trends in the antenna field with the use of textile antenna which is
selected as an example to demonstrate measurement procedures. This chapter not only
shows how to measure single port antenna quantities in free space conditions, but also
Introduction 5

shows how body worn antennas can be measured that include the use of live human
beings in the chamber. The radiation efficiency is the major concern of the measure­
ment. This chapter also includes some of the subtle measurement issues that should be
avoided when conducting such measurement work in addition to a comprehensive
uncertainty assessment, including both procedures and equations.
Chapter 6: Multiport and Array Antennas. This chapter discusses how multiport and
array antennas can be measured using the RC. The multiport section includes all meas­
urement procedures and equations for quantities such as diversity gain, correlation and
channel capacity and details the performance merits of a new multiport (diversity)
antenna for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) applications. The array section
shows how the efficiency of large‐scale arrays can be measured using the chamber and
develops a new equation to allow this characterisation to take place.
Chapter 7: Further Applications and Developments. This chapter presents and dis­
cusses some of the very latest research in RCs that includes how to measure antenna
performance parameters without reference antennas. Also included is the use of the
RCs for emulating different ‘channel’ characteristics which is important for many
over‐ the‐air measurements.

References
[1] H. A. Mendes, ‘A New Approach to Electromagnetic Field‐Strength Measurements in Shielded
Enclosures’, Wescon Tech. Papers, Wescon Electronic Show and Convention, Los Angeles, August 1968.
[2] P. Corona, G. Latmiral, E. Paolini and L. Piccioli, ‘Use of reverberating enclosure for measurements
of radiated power in the microwave range’, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility,
vol. 18, pp. 54–59, 1976.
[3] P. F. Wilson and M. T. Ma, ‘Techniques for measuring the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of
materials. II. Near‐field source simulation’, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility,
vol. 30, pp. 251–259, 1988.
[4] Y. Huang and D. J. Edwards, ‘A novel reverberating chamber: the source‐stirred chamber’, Eighth
International Conference on Electromagnetic Compatibility, 1992, IET, 21–24 September 1992,
Edinburgh, pp. 120–124.
[5] J. Page, ‘Stirred mode reverberation chambers for EMC emission measurements and radio type
approvals or organised chaos’, Ninth International Conference on Electromagnetic Compatibility,
1994, IET, 5–7 September 1994, Manchester, pp. 313–320.
[6] D. A. Hill, ‘Spatial correlation function for fields in a reverberation chamber’, IEEE Transactions on
Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 37, p. 138, 1995.
[7] T. H. Lehman, G. J. Freyer, M. L. Crawford and M. O. Hatfield, ‘Recent developments relevant to
implementation of a hybrid TEM cell/reverberation chamber HIRF test facility’, 16th Digital Avionics
Systems Conference, 1997, AIAA/IEEE, vol. 1, pp. 4.2‐26–4.2‐30, 1997.
[8] M. O. Hatfield, M. B. Slocum, E. A. Godfrey and G. J. Freyer, ‘Investigations to extend the lower
frequency limit of reverberation chambers’, IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic
Compatibility, vol. 1, pp. 20–23, 1998.
[9] L. Scott, ‘Mode‐stir measurement techniques for EMC theory and operation’, IEE Colloquium on
Antenna Measurements, vol. 254, pp. 8/1–8/7, 1998.
6 Reverberation Chambers

[10] G. H. Koepke and J. M. Ladbury, ‘New electric field expressions for EMC testing in a reverberation
chamber’, Proceedings of the 17th Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 1998, The AIAA/IEEE/
SAE, vol. 1, IEEE, 31 October–7 November 1998, Bellevue, WA, pp. D53/1–D53/6.
[11] Y. Huang, ‘Triangular screened chambers for EMC tests’, Measurement Science and Technology,
vol. 10, pp. 121–124, 1999.
[12] IEC 61000‐4‐21: ‘Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Part 4‐21: Testing and measurement
techniques – Reverberation chamber test methods’, ed, 2003.
[13] L. R. Arnaut, ‘Time‐domain measurement and analysis of mechanical step transitions on mode‐tuned
reverberation chamber: characterisation of instantaneous field’, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic
Compatibility, vol. 49, pp. 772–784, 2007.
[14] V. Rajamani, C. F. Bunting and J. C. West, ‘Stirred‐mode operation of reverberation chamber for
EMC testing’, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 61, pp. 2759–2764, 2012.
[15] P. S. Kildal, Foundations of Antennas: A Unified Approach, Lund: Studentlitteratur, 2000.
[16] F. C. Commission, ‘Revision of Part 15 of the Commission’s Rules regarding Ultra‐Wideband Trans­
mission Systems, First Report and Order’, ET Docket 98‐153, FCC 02‐48, 1–118, February 14, 2002.
[17] K. Rosengren and P. S. Kildal, ‘Study of distributions of modes and plane waves in reverberation
chambers for the characterization of antennas in a multipath environment’, Microwave and Optical
Technology Letters, vol. 30, pp. 386–391, 2001.
[18] D. A. Hill, Electromagnetic Fields in Cavities, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009.
[19] P. Besnier and B. D’Amoulin, Electromagnetic Reverberation Chambers, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 2011.
2
Reverberation Chamber
Cavity Theory

2.1 Introduction
A grounding in the theoretical principles concerning Reverberation Chambers (RCs) is
important and essential for any practical undertaking to be completed accurately. The
overall field of electromagnetics that contains the foundations of RC cavity theory is a
well studied and classical area, and we owe much to authors such as Harrington [1],
Balanis [2], Jackson [3], Kraus [4] and more recently Hill [5] for their excellent work
in this area. We should also not forget the contribution made by James Clark Maxwell
who provided the unified theory and equations that made work in the entire field pos-
sible, and Henrich Hertz who practically validated Maxwell’s theorems by demonstrat-
ing the existence of electromagnetic radiation.
The purpose of this chapter is to present a review and discuss the important theoreti-
cal concepts that uphold and support the RCs’ use as a measurement facility. We will
firstly present a review of the concept of resonant modes and show how these can be
used to calculate the electromagnetic fields in an RC. Next, we will show how RCs
uniquely deal with the nature of the fields inside the facility and discuss the main prin-
ciples of operation. The concepts of angle of arrival of plane waves, mode bandwidths
and chamber quality (Q) factors will then be introduced and explained, which will be
backed up with practically measured data.

Reverberation Chambers: Theory and Applications to EMC and Antenna Measurements, First Edition.
Stephen J. Boyes and Yi Huang.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
8 Reverberation Chambers

A discussion on the statistical forms will be also included in this chapter and a
­practical way of deducing the statistical forms will be illustrated. At all stages, where
appropriate, figures depicting any measurement set‐ups and measurement details will
be provided to clearly show how all quantities are practically acquired. By the end of
this chapter, the reader will have a firm grasp of the important theoretical concepts and
be able to appreciate how they impact upon practical measurements.

2.2 Cavity Modes and Electromagnetic Fields

Since most RCs are rectangular in shape, this discussion will be centred solely on
­rectangular‐shaped cavities. It is well known that a metallic rectangular‐shaped
­cavity is resonant when its dimensions satisfy the condition
2 2 2
2 m n p
kmnp (2.1)
a b d

where kmnp is an eigenvalue to be determined; m, n and p are integer numbers and a, b

and d are the chamber width, height and length in metres, respectively.
For convenience (2.1) can also be expressed as:

2
kmnp k x2 k y2 kz2 (2.2)

where

m n p
kx , ky , kz (2.3)
a b d

It is stated that the simplest method to construct the resonant modes for a rectangular
cavity is to derive modes that are Transverse Electric (TE) or Transverse Magnetic (TM)
to one of the three axes [5]. The standard convention in this sense is normally chosen
to be the z axis with respect to Figure 2.1.
The TE modes are referred to as magnetic modes as the EZ field component is
zero. Similarly, the TM modes are referred to as electric modes because the HZ field
component is also zero [5]. The corresponding fields in a rectangular cavity can
be given as follows, beginning first with the TM components. Please note that the
equations presented at this stage do not take any current source into account.

TM m n p
Ezmnp EO sin x sin y cos z (2.4)
a b d
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disease, was thrown open to ventilate the chamber, when the fresh air revived the supposed corpse, and restored her to her
family; this circumstance occasioned in the father so powerful a dread of living interment, that he directed by will that his
body should be burnt, and enjoined on his children the performance of this wish as a sacred duty. We can also imagine, that
women after the exhaustion consequent on severe and protracted labours may lie for some time in a state so like that of
death, as to deceive the by-standers; a very extraordinary case of this kind is related in the Journal de Savans, Janvier 1749.
Dr. Gordon Smith, in his work on Forensic Medicine, has observed, that in cases of precipitancy or confusion, as in times of
public sickness, the living have not unfrequently been mingled with the dead, and that in warm climates, where speedy
interment is more necessary than in temperate and cold countries, persons have been entombed alive. We feel no hesitation
in believing that such an event may be possible; but the very case with which the author illustrates his position is sufficient
to convince us that its occurrence would be highly culpable, and could only arise from the most unpardonable inattention: “I
was,” says Dr. Smith, “an eye witness of an instance in a celebrated city on the continent, where a poor woman, yet alive,
was solemnly ushered to the margin of the grave in broad day, and whose interment would have deliberately taken place,
but for the interposition of the by-standers.” If the casual observer was thus able to detect the signs of animation, the case is
hardly one that should have been adduced to show the difficulty of deciding between real and apparent death.
Although the chances may be as millions to one against such a horrible occurrence, yet the existence of
the painful feeling of the possibility of such an event, even if the apprehended possibility were utterly
unreal, is as valid ground for the adoption of measures to prevent and alleviate the painful feeling, as if
the danger were real and frequent. A large proportion of the population, especially in Scotland, are
deeply impressed with the horror of being buried alive. Amongst the working-classes the feeling is
sometimes manifested in a dying request that they may not be “hurried at once to the grave.”
One consequence of abandoning the rite of burial, as a trade and source of emolument to persons
without instruction or qualification, who employ for important ministrations agents of the lowest class, §
51, is, that only the superficial, ceremonial, and profitable portions of the service are usually attended
to, and that important private and public securities are lost. One of the proper ministrations after death,
a purification or ablution of the body, is generally omitted. On inquiring, as to the effects produced
amongst the lower class of Irish by the retention of the body amidst the survivors under circumstances
of imminent danger, a comparative immunity has been ascribed to the practice which they maintain of
washing the corpse immediately after death. Amongst the lower class of the English and Scotch
population of the towns, this important sanitary rite is extensively neglected, and the corpse is generally
kept (except the face) with the sordes of disease upon it. The occurrence of such cases as have already
been mentioned, § 31 and § 40, of the propagation by contact of diseases of a malignant character,
may probably be sometimes ascribed to this neglect. The ablution, whether with tepid or cold water, as
a general practice, is a protection against cases of protracted syncope or suspended animation. Besides
these cases, there are others of a judicial nature which cannot be termed extraordinary amidst a
population where deaths from accidents or one description of violence or other, a large proportion of
them involving criminality, amount in England and Wales alone to between 11,000 and 12,000 per
annum. Cases have occurred of violent deaths discovered on exhumation, and on judicial examination
where marks of violence have been covered by the shroud, and where the coffin has been closed on
primâ facie evidence of murder.
Between the every-day dangers arising from the undue retention of the dead amidst the living, and all
real dangers and painful apprehensions, a course of proceeding has been taken at Franckfort, and
several cities in Germany, which has hitherto been perfectly successful as a sanitary measure, and
highly satisfactory to the population.
§ 95. A case is stated to have occurred at Franckfort, where, on taking to the grave a child which had
died immediately after its mother, who had been just interred, on opening her coffin the eye of the
supposed corpse moved, and she was taken out and recovered. She stated that she retained sensation,
but had utterly lost all power of volition, even when the coffin was closed, and she heard the earth fall
upon it.
§ 96. This case, and some others which have undoubtedly occurred in Germany, led to the
establishment of houses at Franckfort and Munich for the reception and care of the dead until their
interment; and similar establishments have now been attached to a large proportion of the German
cities, under regulations substantially the same. The State regulations of interments at Munich
(translations of which, and of those at Franckfort, together with plans showing the construction of the
houses of reception, I have given in the Appendix) have this recital:—
“Whereas it is of importance to all men to be perfectly assured that the beings who were dear to them
in life are not torn from them so long as any, the remotest, hope exists of preserving them,—so death
itself becomes less dreadful in its shape when one is convinced of its actual occurrence, and that a
danger no longer exists of premature interment.
“To afford this satisfaction to mankind, and to preclude the possibility of any one being treated as dead
who is not actually so; to prevent the spread of infectious disorders as much as possible; to suppress
the quackeries so highly injurious to the health of the people; to discover murders committed by secret
violence; and to deliver the perpetrators over to the hands of justice;—is the imperative duty of every
wise government; and in order to accomplish these objects, every one of which is of the greatest
importance, recourse must be had to the safety, that is to say the medical police, as the most efficient
means, by a strict medical examination into the deaths occurring, and by a conformable inspection of
the body.”
The regulations provide that, on the occurrence of the death, immediate notice shall be given to the
authorities, who shall cause the body to be removed to the house of reception provided (which at
Munich is a chapel where prayers are said) for its respectful care. At the edifice of the institution at
Franckfort, an appropriate apparatus is provided for the requisite ablutions with warm or tepid water:
the body is received, if it be of a female, by properly appointed nurses, who perform, under superior
medical superintendence, the requisite duties. The spirit of the regulations of these institutions (vide
Appendix) may be commended to attention; for if it be a high public duty, which is not questioned, to
treat the remains of the dead with respect and reverence, it follows that public means should be taken
in every stage of proceeding, to protect individuals against the violation of that duty; where private
individuals are, as they almost always are and must be, especially in populous districts, compelled to
call in the aid of strangers for the performance of such ministrations as those of purifying and
enshrouding the corpse, such securities as are exemplified in these regulations should be taken that
those duties are confided to hands invested with responsibilities, and having a character of
respectability, if not of sanctity. At Munich, they are intrusted to a religious order of Nuns. At Franckfort
a private room is appropriated for the reception of each corpse, where regular warmth and due
ventilation and light, night and day, are maintained. Here it may be visited by the relations or friends
properly entitled. On a finger of each corpse is placed a ring, attached to which is the end of a string of
a bell,[25] which on the slightest motion will give an alarm to one of the watchmen in nightly and daily
attendance, by whom the resident physician will be called. Each body is daily inspected by the
responsible physician, by whom a certificate of unequivocal symptoms of death must be given before
any interment is allowed to take place. The legislative provisions of the institution of the house of
reception at Franckfort are thus stated:—
The following are the regulations regarding the use of the house for the reception and care of the dead, which are here
made known for every one’s observance.
(1.) The object of this institution is—
a. To give perfect security against the danger of premature interment.
b. To offer a respectable place for the reception of the dead, in order to remove the corpse from the confined dwellings of
the survivors.
(2.) The use of the reception-house is quite voluntary, yet, in case the physician may consider it necessary for the safety of
the survivors that the dead be removed, a notification to this effect must be forwarded to the Younger Burgermeister to
obtain the necessary order.
(3.) Even in case the house of reception is not used the dead cannot be interred, until after the lapse of three nights, without
the proper certificate of the physician that the signs of decomposition have commenced. In order to prevent the indecency
which has formerly occurred, of preparing too early the certificate of the death, the physician shall in future sign a
preliminary announcement of the occurrence of death, for the sake of the previous arrangements necessary for an
interment, but the certificate of death is only to be prepared when the corpse shows unequivocal signs of decomposition
having commenced. For the dead which it is wished to place in the house of reception, the physician prepares a certificate of
removal. This certificate of removal can only be given after the lapse of the different periods, of six hours; in sudden death,
of twelve hours; and in other cases, twenty-four hours.
§ 97. A German merchant, now resident in London, who took great interest in the institution, informs
me that he visited it in company with his friend, one of the inspecting physicians of this house of
reception. His attention was there attracted by the corpse of a beautiful child:—that child turned out not
to be dead, and he himself saw it alive and recovered. No such event is known to have occurred at
Munich.
This gentleman, and Mr. Koch, our consul at Franckfort, who obtained for this Report the plans of the
house of reception and the regulations for interment in that city, both attest from extensive knowledge
of its population, that the effect of this institution, of which all classes avail themselves, is, on the part
of the poorest and most susceptible classes, to allay all feelings of reluctance to part with the remains,
and to create, on the contrary, a general desire for their removal from the private house early after
death, that they may be placed under the care of skilful and responsible officers. The aggravation and
extension of disease to the living is thus prevented; the protraction of the pain of the weaker and more
susceptible of the survivors, arising from the undue retention of the remains, and the demoralizing
effect of familiarity with them on the parts of the younger, and those of the least susceptible of the
survivors, are equally avoided.
The following is an extract from an official report made for this inquiry through the English Ambassador,
on the operation of similar regulations at Munich:—
“The arrangements made for the speedy removal of the body after death are considered highly
beneficial in a sanative point of view, as tending to check the spread of contagious and unclean
disorders, more particularly in the crowded parts of the town.
“At the same time the great care and attention paid to the bodies in the place where they are
deposited, the precautions taken in cases of re-animation, and the ascertaining beyond a doubt the
actual occurrence of death, are sufficiently satisfactory to the surviving relations.
“The examinations also which take place immediately after death have been found equally useful in
detecting the employment of violent or improper means in causing death, as well as in discovering the
existence of any contagious disease against which it is of importance to guard.
“There is only one burial ground for the whole city of Munich, on a scale sufficiently large for the
population, and open to Protestants as well as Catholics, without distinction.”
§ 98. The practical means for the accomplishment of such an alteration of custom in the mode of
keeping the remains of the deceased, preparatory to interment, in the towns of England, may be further
considered in connexion with the remedial measures, for the reduction of the great and unnecessary
expense of funerals.
Mr. Hewitt states the practical need of some such accommodation of survivors for the temporary
reception of the dead in the crowded districts, independently of the high considerations on which the
intermediate houses of reception at Franckfort and Munich and other parts of Germany were
established.
The house in which my foreman lives is seldom unoccupied by a corpse. During the last week there were three at one time.
The poor people speak of the inconvenience of having the corpse in their house, where they have only one room for their
family. It is customary for me to say, “Very well, then, you may be accommodated; the body may be brought to our house,
and kept until the time of the funeral, when you and your friends may come to the house and put on your fittings and follow
the body to the ground.” This is done: men and women come to the house, put on hoods, scarves, coats, and hatbands, and
follow the body to the ground. The body is sometimes removed under these circumstances from the room of the private
house where the death has taken place, but it is most frequently done when the death of a poor person has occurred in an
hospital, a workhouse, or a prison, and it is wished to bury them respectably, but where it would be inconvenient to remove
them to the only room which the family have to live in. I believe that all the undertakers receive deceased persons in their
houses and keep them for burial.
Judging from the particular instances coming within your own experience, do you believe that if arrangements of a superior
order were made for the reception of bodies and keeping them under medical care previous to interment, the
accommodation would be deemed a boon?—Yes; it would be a boon to a great many classes, especially the poorest. It would
be a great accommodation also to many persons of the middle classes—shopkeepers, who only keep the under part of their
houses and let off the upper parts. On the occurrence of a death these classes are as much inconvenienced by the presence
of a corpse as are persons of the labouring classes. And yet there are few who like to have a burial take place in less time
than a week. To such persons as these it would certainly be a very great accommodation to have an intermediate house of
reception for the due care of the body until the proper time of interment.
Mr. Thomas Tagg, jun., an undertaker of extensive business in the city of London, states, that “besides
the poorest classes who die at hospitals and are buried by their friends, and are sometimes taken to the
undertaker’s premises, when more convenient to the relatives of the deceased than to be removed to
their own houses, that respectable persons also from the country, who die at an hotel or inn, or in
apartments, are occasionally removed to the undertaker’s until the coffins are made, and they can be
conveyed to the residence of their family, or their vaults in the country.”
§ 99. Mr. Wild gives other examples of the practice; and states that instances sometimes occur of
persons of respectable condition in life who cannot bear the painful impressions produced by the long
continued presence of the corpse in the house, and who quit it, and return to attend the funeral.
§ 100. Mr. P. H. Holland, surgeon and registrar of Chorlton-on-Medlock, in Manchester, states an
instance where a mother who had lost two of her children from small-pox (as she conceived, from the
retention in the house of the corpse of a child belonging to another woman which had also died of the
small-pox) stated that it would be a great boon to the poorer classes to provide proper places to receive
bodies until the convenient time of interment. The extent of benefit which such a provision would
confer, and which is attested by other witnesses of extensive experience, will indeed be sufficiently
manifest on consideration of the circumstances under which they are placed.
§ 101. It is only submitted that suitable accommodation should be provided for the removal and care of
bodies, and given, as it would be, as a boon. Confident statements are frequently made that the
removal of the deceased from private houses to any public place of reception would be resisted; but it
appears on an examination of the cases in which resistance was made, that in most of them the
arrangements were really offensive, coarse-minded, and vulgar, and such as to prove that the feelings
of the relations and survivors were little cared for by those who ought to have understood and
consulted them. In some cases of the lowest paupers the retention of the body has been proved to
have arisen from a desire to raise money, on the pretext of applying it to defray the expenses of the
funeral long after it had been provided for; but the objection of the respectable portions of the
labouring classes are objections not to the removal itself, but to the mode and sort of place in which it is
commonly performed on the occurrence of a death from contagious disease, in a bare parish shell, by
pauper bearers, to the “bone-house” or other customary receptacle for suicides, deserted or
relationless, or, as they are sometimes termed, “God-forsaken people.” On the occurrence of the cholera
little difficulty was interposed by any class to the immediate removal of the dead. The success of such a
measure would depend entirely on the mode in which it is conducted.
§ 102. In reference to all such alterations, it may here be premised that very serious practical errors are
frequently created by taking particular manifestations of feeling or prejudice, and assuming those
prejudices to be impregnable, and assuming, moreover, that any or every prejudice pervades the entire
population.
Not only does the extent of the prejudices which are supposed to stand in the way of regulations of the
practice of interments, but the difficulties of overcoming them, appear, from an examination of the
evidence, to be commonly much exaggerated; but it appears that the nature of the objections
themselves is much mistaken: it appears, for example, that the prejudice against dissection often arises
less from a desire to preserve the remains in their living form than to preserve them from profanation
and disrespect. In no part of the country has a more intense feeling been manifested to preserve the
remains of the dead from dissection than in Scotland, where the expense of safes made of iron bars,
strongly riveted down, and of a watchman to watch it, forms a prominent item of the funeral charges.
Yet when the studies of the schools of anatomy were allowed to depend chiefly on the supplies of
subjects stolen from the graves, it is stated by practitioners who, whilst students, were themselves
driven to that mode of procuring subjects, that their labours were frequently frustrated by the
precautions the survivors had taken to render the use of the remains for dissection impossible, by
putting quick lime into the coffin to destroy them. The same precaution has been known to have been
sometimes taken for the same purpose in London; and yet by proper care and attention to the feelings
of the survivors, the practice of post-mortem examinations has been extended, and the consent to the
use of the remains even for dissection in the schools has been frequently obtained from the survivors. A
witness of peculiar and extensive opportunities of experience in several thousand cases was asked on
this point—
Have you had any reason to believe, that by careful and kind treatment of the labouring classes, their prejudices may be
extensively overcome?—Yes, certainly. There was no prejudice stronger or more general than that to post-mortem
examinations, or to any dissection; yet by care, and by the inducement of the allowance of a better funeral, that prejudice
has been extensively overcome. The teachers of the medical schools, after dissection of a body, and its use for the
advancement of medical knowledge, have made a liberal allowance for the interment of the remains; such sums as three or
four pounds have been allowed for that service. When the relations of the poorest classes have expressed the common
aversion to a pauper funeral, and their pain at having to submit to it on account of their necessity, I have told them if they
would allow the remains to be taken to a medical school, and be examined, the teachers would allow them such a
respectable funeral as they wish; I have sometimes added, “It is for the advancement of science; persons of the highest rank
and condition in society have directed their remains to be examined, and I do not see what sound objection there can be to
any of the poorest classes doing so.” Whenever I have made the offer under such circumstances it has generally been
accepted.
Of course after the examination at the schools, the remains were properly and respectfully interred?—Yes they were,
wherever the parties requested, whether in or out of the parish.—They frequently chose places of interment out of the
parish, and in some instances places two or three miles distant, and almost always out of the town.
Why was the burial mostly chosen out of the parish?—Generally from a dislike to the places and mode in which paupers were
buried; to their being put into a hole, where, perhaps, fifty others were, instead of having a separate grave. They frequently
made it a main condition, that the remains should be buried out of the parish.
The means to ensure voluntary compliance with all salutary regulations for the better ordering of
interments, are those which ensure real respect to the remains of the interred, and thus to the feelings
of the survivors. The widows’ and the mothers’ feelings of reluctance to part with the corpse would,
from such measures, receive appropriate alleviation.
 Proposed Remedies by means of separate Parochial Establishments in
Suburban Districts.
§ 103. A set of remedies, as proposed in the Committee of the House of Commons, and agreed to, has
been before the public, and the chief part of them embodied in a bill proposed to the House at the close
of the Session of Parliament of 1842. All the evidence of disinterested persons which I have met with,
all paid and experienced officers connected with parishes, whose interests would perhaps be the least
disturbed by parochial establishments, concur in the conclusion that the measures proposed for creating
such establishments would not diminish, but would rather diffuse, and might even aggravate the evils
intended to be remedied.
By the first clause it was proposed to enact—
That the rector, vicar, or incumbent, and the church-wardens of every parish, township, or place in every such city, town,
borough, or place respectively, shall form a parochial committee of health for every such parish, township, or place.
§ 104. The first observation which occurs on this proposal is, that it involves the formation of “a
committee of health,” for the execution of a sanitary measure, requiring the application of a very high
degree of the science applicable to the protection of the public health, and omits all provision of
services of the nature of those which would be required from a well-qualified medical officer. A provision
on a parochial scale would indeed preclude the regular application of such service, except at a
disproportionate expense. As a remedy against undue charges on the smaller parishes, a power of
forming unions for the purpose is provided by the clause.
Or it shall be lawful for the rectors, vicars, or incumbents and church-wardens of any two or more parishes, townships, or
places therein, to form such parishes, townships, or places into a Union for the purposes of this Act; and in such cases the
rectors, vicars, or incumbents, and church-wardens of each parish, township, or place so united, shall form a parochial
committee of health for such Union; and all the powers hereinafter given to any such committee may be executed by the
majority of the members of any such committee at any meeting.
It is agreed by the most experienced public officers, that even a compulsory power to form unions of
two parishes, but leaving the union beyond that number optional, would be equivalent to a provision,
that two and no more shall unite; but that a merely permissive power to unite would be nugatory,
except perhaps in the case of the smallest parishes: in other words, since there are in the district to
which the enactment would apply, in the metropolis, upwards of 170 parishes, it would imply the
establishment of upwards of 100 places of burial in such places as the following clauses would enable
the parishes to provide.
And be it enacted, that every such committee may provide a convenient site of land for the burial of the dead of the district
for which such committee shall be formed, which land shall not be in or within the distance of two miles from the precincts
or boundaries of the city of London or Westminster, or the borough of Southwark, or in or within one mile of any other city,
town, borough, or place; and no land which shall be purchased for such purpose shall be within 300 yards of any house of
the annual value of 50l., or having a plantation or ornamental garden or pleasure-ground occupied therewith (except with
the consent in writing of the owner, lessee, and occupier of such house).
An undertaker who has an extensive business, states that he has for some time been desirous of
purchasing a piece of ground for interments in the suburbs of the metropolis, as a private speculation of
his own, and that he had been three years in looking out for a plot that was suitable and purchasable,
but has hitherto been unable to procure one. Other witnesses, on similar grounds, doubt the
practicability of parishes procuring land, unless at enormous prices.
Supposing it were possible to procure separate plots for all the parishes which will require them in the
suburbs, there are preliminary objections to the plan which relate to the suburbs themselves.
§ 105. The suburbs, it may be submitted, not only require careful protection on their own account, but
on account of the population of the crowded districts of the metropolis, which are relieved by the
growth of the suburbs. The progress of the new increments to towns is, therefore, as a sanitary
measure, entitled to favourable protection. But the appropriation of vacant places, without reference to
any general plan, must create very frequent impediments to the regular or systematic growth of the
suburbs, and can scarcely fail ultimately to deteriorate them. And by the proposed measure the place of
interments being removed, not only without any securities for the adoption of new measures of
precaution, such as will be shown to be requisite in the formation, and also in the management, of
places of burial for a large population, and the proposed machinery being such as to render it very
nearly certain that no improved arrangements can be executed in such burial-grounds, the measure
would simply effect the transference of common grave-yards from the old to the midst of new suburbs;
and this transference must be accompanied by the creation of a new and apparently economical, but
really extravagantly expensive and permanently inferior, agency, for the management of the new
ground.
§ 106. These results admit of proof derived from the actual trial of a system of parochial interments
apparently differing in no essential point, and especially in the nature of the agency and the scale of
establishments, from the plan proposed.
In the parishes of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, St. George, Hanover-square, St. James, Westminster, and St.
Martin’s-in-the-Fields, over-crowding of the burial grounds within the parish, between forty and fifty
years ago, led the parish officers to obtain local acts for the establishment of burial grounds in the
suburbs. The spaces then obtained were apart from any buildings. They are all now closely surrounded
by them. The burial grounds of the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields having been the subject of an
investigation before the Committee of the House of Commons, I have not made any inquiries with
relation to them. In the suburban burial ground which belongs to the parish of St. George, Hanover-
square, which consists of two acres of land, the interments have been for many years at the rate of
about 1000 corpses per annum. It is now in the centre of a dense town population. It has become the
subject of complaints similar to those made in respect to burial grounds in the ancient parts of the
metropolis; and it appears that there are equally good grounds for the discontinuance of the practice of
interment there, and for the selection of a burial place at a greater distance, notwithstanding that the
payments from individuals produce to the collective funds of that parish a surplus beyond the
expenditure of the management of the ground.
§ 107. The arrangements for burial in the parishes of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, which has a population of
25,000, and of St. James, Westminster, which has a population of 37,000, where the suburban burial
grounds have not been crowded to the same extent, may be adduced as a high class of examples of a
change of practice to extra-mural or suburban burials, and of management by a parochial machinery. In
the parish of St. James, Westminster—
The gross expenditure of the chapel and ground between the years 1789 and 1835 (46 years) amounted to £73,879 1s.
11d., and it is estimated that the cost of maintaining the chapel and ground during that period over and above the receipts
was not less than £50,000, the whole of which was drawn from the churchwardens under authority of the Act of Parliament.
But the chapel attached to the burial ground of this parish has been converted into a chapel of ease, for
the accommodation of the inhabitants of the parish where it is situate. The vestry clerk of the parish
states—
The pew rents, which formerly averaged only £150, now amount to upwards of £500 per annum, while the burial fees have
decreased, and are still decreasing in amount.
The interments of the middle class and more wealthy among the inhabitants of the parish of St. James, which do not take
place either in the vaults or grounds of or belonging to the parish, are presumed to be made in the neighbouring cemeteries,
while the labouring class resort chiefly, as I am informed, to the burial ground in Spa Fields, where the fees are less by 2s.
9d. than at the Hampstead Road ground, the undertaker’s charges being the same for each.
Is the church to be considered part of the burial ground?—Yes; it is. The Act apparently contemplated only a place for the
performance of a service over the dead, not for services to regular congregations. The minister has a house on the ground,
and derives a portion of his emoluments from pew rents, derived from persons who attend the chapel from the immediate
neighbourhood—parishioners of St. Pancras parish; very few, if any, of the parishioners of St. James, have pews there. The
minister, Dr. Stebbing, has a moiety of the pew rents, which now amount to nearly £500 per annum. His proportion of the
burial fees may be about £70 per annum.
Since the commencement, has the income defrayed the expenses of the burial ground?—Since Dr. Stebbing has been the
minister it has only just paid the expenses; but I am apprehensive that it will not continue to do so. By the Act for the
regulation of the chapel, any deficiency in the expenditure is directed to be made good out of the moneys in the
churchwardens’ hands. Since the establishment of the chapel it has been a drag on the funds: a very severe one.
When the chapel was established were there any houses round it?—Not any.
What is its condition in that respect now?—It is now in the midst of houses which are increasing in numbers.
When asked, what was the condition of the burial ground, notwithstanding the expenditure made upon
it, he states that—
The ground, consisting of four acres, is in a very watery condition, but is considered capable of being effectually drained, the
expense being the only obstacle.
Is it considered that the ground will hold more than it does?—Many more; and a much larger amount of burials for a number
of years.
What are the objections to the ground?—One objection among the higher classes, and a very serious one, is that it is very
wet. After a grave has been dug, the water in it has risen, and the coffin is lowered into the water.
Has there been any expenditure upon it for rendering it attractive by planting or ornamenting it?—In former years it was
planted with trees or shrubs; but as compared with the cemeteries it cannot pretend to any attractions.
Is there anything in the circumstances of the establishment of the burial ground and chapel for St. James which do not
render it a fair example of any similar measure for an equivalent population in these times?—There appear to be no
circumstances to prevent it being considered a fair example.
§ 108. The following is the account of the St. Martin’s suburban burial ground, given by Mr. Le Breton,
the clerk to the guardians of the parish:—
What is the provision made for the burial of the poorer classes in the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields?—The burial ground in
Drury-lane in 1804 was considered to be full, when four acres of ground, situate at Camden-town, were purchased and used
as a cemetery. The plot was then in what was considered the country: the distance of the spot is rather more than two miles
from the workhouse. Since its institution it has been completely surrounded by houses, and they are now building close
against the wall of the burial ground. Originally it was designed as a better sort of burial ground, but since loss has been
incurred by it and it has not been found to be attractive; two hundred pounds have recently been expended upon it in
planting it. Formerly it was so wet that when persons went to funerals there they often found that the coffin was let down
several feet in water or mire. This created an unpleasant sensation, and the ground was drained at a great expense into the
Fleet-ditch. The objection as to the wetness of the ground does not now exist.
What have been the expenses, and the numbers of interments and charges of the burial ground?—(The following statement
was given in answer to this question.)

The original cost of forming ground, &c., was about £2,000

£100 =
The price is a perpetual rent-charge of, for the 4 acres, per annum
£3,000
Establishment Charges:—
Chaplain’s salary per annum £60
Sexton’s salary per annum £50
Keeping up ground by gardener £20
Paving rate per annum £30
Compensation to St. Pancras £5
The chaplain and sexton have houses to dwell in, which are kept in repair, insured, and
£30
the taxes paid by the parish at a considerable expense
A private Act of Parliament was obtained, but at what cost does not appear.
The burial ground was formed in 1804, and the charges of it to this date have exceeded £10,000 beyond the fees received.

From 20th March, 1806, to 1st December, 1842.

Total number of burials at Camden-town since the formation of the ground 10,982
Of these were non-parishioners 1,987
Of these were paupers 4,624
Of these were buried in the cheapest ground where monuments are not allowed 1,062
All burials for St. Martin in the Fields, 1841 522
 Registered deaths, 1841 589
Beyond the expense of the establishment, have any inconveniences been the subject of complaint by the parishioners?—Yes;
that the hours appointed by the chaplain are not those most suited for interments; that they are often driven off until late in
the evening, and in consequence of the time being limited the service is performed in a hurried manner. In respect to
position, the cemetery appears to be convenient, and no one within the district complains of any offence arising from it. My
own view is that there ought to be a central or some other supervision over cemeteries: if there be not there will only be
abuses and grounds of dissatisfaction.
Do you conceive that the experience of the parish of St. Martin, of a separate parochial cemetery, is applicable as an index to
the general charge upon the rate-payers in the other parishes of the metropolis, resulting from the simple prohibition of
interments in the town, and the permission to any two or more parishes to provide cemeteries for; in other words, to the
transference of burial grounds from the centre of the town to the midst of the suburbs?—Yes, I do consider it applicable:
moreover, that at the present time, it would be still more difficult to obtain sites within a reasonable distance than it was in
1804: the expenses of separate parochial grounds must therefore be much more considerable.
§ 109. The Rev. Wm. Stone, the rector of Spitalfields, whose position, as the minister of a large and
populous parish, possessing one of the best managed places of burial in the metropolis, gives him
peculiar opportunities of judging of the most advantageous administrative arrangements, and entitles
his observations to peculiar weight, concludes his testimony in the following terms:—
1. As the clergyman of a poor and populous parish, I should regret the necessity of imposing any additional rate upon my
parishioners, especially any one which was likely to be regarded as a church rate; and I feel certain, that a rate assessed for
the burial of the dead, and collected under the authority of the rector and churchwardens, would be so regarded. Under our
present system, the burial of the dead is a source of profit; it yields an annual surplus towards defraying the other expenses
of the church; and it thus conspires with other circumstances to make the church-rate fall light upon my parishioners. But in
a population like mine any additional impost would be felt; and confounded, as in such a population it certainly would be,
with church-rate, it might operate mischievously or even fatally against the church establishment of my parish. The same
objection would apply in principle to all poor and populous parishes. As a clergyman, too, I might add more personal
considerations; for, though the incumbent, as the only permanent member of the committee of health, might have some
local prominence and weight, more, perhaps, than might everywhere be satisfactory to dissenters; yet, in imposing
pecuniary charges on his parishioners, and levying penalties for the non-payment of those charges, he would have duties
unpopular enough to outweigh the advantage of any distinction conferred on him.
2. If it is said, that a rate of 1d. in the pound would be too light to be felt; it may be said also that it would be too much so
to answer its purpose. It is commonly calculated, that, in my parish, a rate of 6d. in the pound realizes barely 500l., yet the
population to be provided with interment is above 20,000. And as all the parishes about us are in much the same
circumstances this objection would apply equally to a union of parishes.
3. There is much that is objectionable in the proposed local committees of health.
A local board would be less likely to possess the confidence of the people. Indeed, it would be exposed to the influence of
personal interest and local partialities; and still more so, if the majority of its members were in office for a year or two only. A
board of this kind may be said to exist already in my own parish, where a local Act of Parliament places the burial ground in
the hands of the parish officers. And it is but a few years since my attention was forcibly called to the insecurity of this local
arrangement by one of my parishioners. This parishioner, who was intimately and practically acquainted with the working of
our parochial system, represented to me the necessity of adopting increased precautions for the protection of our burial
ground, “for,” said he, “a partial or interested parish officer might do almost anything he pleased with it;” and he proceeded
to name an individual, who had even intimated his intention to do so as soon as he should come into office. There can be no
doubt, indeed, that any individual might do so. It is impossible to say, to what extent a tradesman so disposed might oblige
his friends and customers, and benefit himself; for as senior officer of the year he would have the sole disposal of the burial
ground, and receive all payments for burials, private graves, vaults, and the erection of monumental tablets, without any
demand upon those receipts, but a limited sum payable to the rector, and without any inspective control over them but that
of a board of auditors chosen from his brother vestrymen. From my own observation, I do not think that parish auditors are
generally very accurate in their investigations. But on a subject like the one in question, they hardly could be so. Even
supposing what is seldom, if ever, the case, that they had a practical knowledge of the subject, and conducted their
investigations with the authorized table of fees before them, they might in many instances be eluded. During the first four
years of my incumbency, the parish officers reported their receipts for burials at the average amount of 215l. a-year, which
sum, after the deduction of 125l. secured to the rector, left an annual surplus of 90l. At that time it was generally held to be
a point of official honour, that the amount of this surplus should be kept secret out of doors. It was kept secret even from
the rector; and it may serve at once to show the impolicy of secrecy, and the extent to which local authorities are distrusted,
that my predecessor always had his misgivings on the subject. Though remarkable for the mildness and amiability of his
disposition, he could never surmise any more innocent misapplication of this surplus, than that it was alienated from the
church for the relief of the poor rate.
A constant change in the majority of a local board would be most unfavourable to uniformity of system, efficiency, and
economy. Upon this ground I believe the church to be a great loser by the office of churchwarden. An individual charged with
raising and expending the ecclesiastical finances of a parish for a year only is little likely to perform those duties as well as if
he had a more permanent authority. To say nothing of his having more temptation to indolence, and to an ostentatious or
interested profusion, he labours under the unavoidable disadvantage of inexperience. By the time that he becomes efficient
in his office, he is called upon to retire from it.
A local board would want many other advantages of a more publicly constituted authority. Supplied with members by the
casualties of parochial office, it could not always command a high order of intelligence. It would necessarily be limited in its
opportunities of observation; and, as it could not make its purchases and regulate its current expenditure to the same
advantage as if it acted on a more extensive scale, it would, of course, prove less economical to the public.
In fact, from all my local observation, I am led to hope that, in removing the interment of the dead from populous towns, the
Legislature will adopt not a parochial but a comprehensive national plan for the purpose.
Mr. Drew, the vestry clerk and superintendent registrar of Bermondsey, makes similar objections to the
proposed machinery; that “the persons nominated to carry out such a measure in parishes would not be
satisfactory to the inhabitants, even if they were disposed to act.”
Mr. Corder, the clerk to the Strand Union, was asked upon this subject—
What do you believe to be the prevailing opinion in your Union on the subject of town interments?—I believe there is a
strong and growing opinion against the practice of interring in London and its immediate environs. I believe that public
feeling generally is opposed to that custom, as being prejudicial to health, and often more distressing to the feelings of the
survivors than interments would be in a more distant and less familiar and frequented spot.
Do you think the parishioners of London parishes would approve of separate and distinct parochial cemeteries?—No, I think
they would prefer having one or more cemeteries on a very extensive scale to having parochial cemeteries which, in the
neighbourhood of the metropolis, would, I think, be found almost impracticable.
Do you think that parishes generally would object to the expense of providing cemeteries?—I think that if separate parochial
cemeteries were established, the expense incurred would be so serious as to induce parishes almost to submit to the evils
resulting from town interments rather than incur so heavy an expenditure. One of the advantages of having one or more
cemeteries on a large scale would be that the expense would be thereby proportionably and very considerably diminished.
George Downing, a mechanic, and secretary to a burial society, it will be found, represents sentiments
extensively prevalent amongst persons of his own class in the metropolis.
Do you conceive that any arrangements for the improvement of interments would be carried on more acceptably to the
labouring classes if they were conducted by officers connected with the parish, or by a larger and superior agency?—The
working people would sell their beds from under them sooner than have any parish funerals: it is heart-rending to them, and
they would prefer any other officers to the parish officers.
Do you find that they are prepared to have interments in the towns prohibited?—Yes, it has been very much debated upon
since the scenes in the churchyards are made known, and they wish the bill to be carried. I am confident that every man in
our club would petition to have the bill carried, so that such scenes may be put a stop to. I find the opinion of the working
men on the subject is quite universal about it. They expect that Government will provide the grounds and some means of
conveyance.
Mr. Dix was asked—
Is it the expectation of the labouring and poorer classes that large public cemeteries will be provided?—Yes, that I think is
the general opinion.
Do you conceive that large cemeteries, on a national scale, will be more acceptable to the labouring classes than parochial
burial grounds, whether in the present grounds or in burial grounds in the suburbs of the metropolis?—I think the national
cemeteries will be much more popular.
If the burials of the working population could be performed in the more ornamented and attractive cemeteries, such as those
at Highgate and Kensal Green, at the same expense as in any of the grounds within the town, would there be any who
would not be buried there?—I think very few.
Unequivocal proof is given of the dispositions of the labouring classes in this respect by the fact that the
number of interments of persons of those classes in cemeteries is increasing, even under increased
charges. For example, on examining the mortuary registries of the Westminster cemetery, to see what
were the class of persons interred, it appeared that the majority of the persons interred in that, which is
the cemetery most heavily charged with burial fees, was of the labouring classes from St. George’s,
Hanover-square. The fees for interment, in the suburban burial ground in the Bayswater-road,
belonging to their own parish, were 15s.; and interments in the trading burial grounds might have been
obtained at lower rates: but the fees paid for interment at the more distant cemetery are 30s. for each
burial. The registries contained similar evidence in an increasing number of interments of the labouring
classes from immediately adjacent suburban parishes, such as Chelsea, Brompton, and Kensington, of a
disposition to make sacrifices, to obtain interments in places that are more free from offensive
associations to them than those which attach to the parochial burial grounds.
Mr. Wild was asked—
So far as your experience goes, does the practice of interment in cemeteries result from motives of economy or from choice
of situation?—From choice of situation, or from dislike of the parochial burial-grounds; in nine cases out of ten from
preference of the situation and mode of interment in cemeteries; the choice would indeed be general, if it were not for the
increased charges made by undertakers. The undertakers have generally increased the funeral charges at the cemeteries
above one-third. The number of men taken out, whose whole day is occupied, make up the increased charge.
You state, that but for the increased charge, the custom of interment in cemeteries would be general; has the strength of
the attachments to the parochial churchyards diminished?—Yes, under the recent inquiries and exposures of the state of the
churchyards they have almost vanished. But at no time was the attachment to the parochial churchyards in town so strong
as in the country. In the country, even the poorer classes will pay the sexton a fee of from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d., for “keeping up
the grave.” This cannot be the case in the towns for want of space; parties who appoint their places of burial, generally
select a place on account of its quiet.
Do you believe that the wish to be buried where kindred are buried, is, or would continue to be stronger, than a desire to be
buried in well-provided cemeteries?—No; this is shewn by the increasing frequency with which parties who have family
vaults, desire to be buried in the cemeteries. Very recently I performed the funeral of a lady belonging to a family who had a
vault in a church at Westminster—her husband had been buried in it. By her will she desired to be buried at Kensal Green,
and she had requested that if the churchyard at Westminster was closed, her husband’s remains might be brought and
placed next to hers in the cemetery. There were other members of the family besides her husband buried in the family vault.
Such instances are now becoming very frequent.
Inasmuch as interments in cemeteries have generally increased the charges of interment, is it not to be apprehended that
unless some regulations on a larger scale than of small localities be adopted, the inconvenience arising in towns will increase
the charges of these calamities to the poorest of the middle classes and to the working classes, not to speak of the charges
on the poor’s rates, for the interments of paupers will also be increased by districts?—Yes; it has occurred to me that it will
be so.
He expresses his conviction, however, that so strong is the feeling at present against parochial
interments, that if there should be no legislative provision or interference for the public protection, the
parochial burial places being left open to the competition of private and trading burial grounds, in a very
short time not one-third of the present number of burials would take place in the parochial grounds.
§ 110. The expense to the rate-payers of parishes for the transference of the interments to the suburbs
would be necessarily very high; the expense of numerous separate parochial establishments, if only on
the scale of the establishments for the performance of the funeral ceremony, and for such imperfect
care of the ground as that given in those described would be, at the least, between 25 and 30,000l. per
annum. The proposed regulation of the distance of cemeteries from human habitations—that they shall
in every case be two miles, not from houses, but from the metes and bounds of London and
Westminster, and “of any other city, town, or borough,” as defined by the Municipal Act, and “which
shall contain more than 500 houses, the occupiers of which shall be rated to the relief of the poor more
than 10l. or upwards,” appear to be made without any local examination, or reference to proper
observations or experience.—Vide post, §§ 162, 163, and 164. The metes and bounds of several towns
and places include common lands and sites, sufficiently distant from any collections of houses, to be the
most eligible sites, and suitable soils for cemeteries, which according to the best ascertained rule,
should be at distances proportioned to the numbers of inhabitants and probable burials, varying
according to these numbers, from 150 to 500 paces. All unnecessary increase of distance must be
attended with proportionately increased charges of interment to the poorer classes: arrangements for
preventing an increase of the expense of conveyance of the remains to distant places of interment,
though practicable under general regulations for large national cemeteries, would be impracticable on
the plan of numerous places of interment with small separate establishments. Mr. Jeffryes, an
undertaker, who chiefly inters the poorest classes in the Whitechapel district, where the parochial
interments are generally diminishing, was more particularly questioned on this topic.
What has been your experience in respect to the interment of people of the working classes at cemeteries, and at a distance
from their residence, as compared with burials near their residence? At what cemeteries have you interred persons?—At Mr.
Barber Beaumont’s cemetery, which is about a mile and a half from Whitechapel; and also at the cemetery which is at the
Cambridge Heath, Cambridge Road. I have attended, but not on my own account, funerals at all the other cemeteries—
Highgate, Kensal Green, and others.
Supposing that interments within towns be prohibited for all classes, and that funerals for the future must be performed
beyond the gas lamps or the pavements; judging from the cases you have already had, what must be the effect on the
funerals of the labouring classes;—supposing that no other arrangements are made than that of allowing parishes, or any
two of them, to provide cemeteries at a distance from town?—It will certainly increase the expenses to the labouring classes,
and increase the expenses to the parishes generally. I perform funerals for the working classes at one-third less than most
others; yet I find that the extra expense of a funeral only a mile or a mile and a quarter distance, is about one pound per
funeral extra; this consists chiefly of the extra expense of conveyance.
Have you seen carriage conveyances or hearses for the conveyance of bodies to the cemeteries without the use of bearers?
—Yes, I have: but to get a coffin out of the house, which sometimes has to be got down stairs, and is very heavy, four men
at the least will be required, and then four men will be required to take it from the hearse at the cemetery, so that men’s
labour cannot be much less, even if they provide bearers at the cemeteries, which is talked of: there will still be the extra
expense of the carriage, whatever that is.
§ 111. From the practical evidence already cited, §§ 87, 88, it will be perceived, that notwithstanding
this increase of expense, the chaplain or curate, if unaided, cannot be expected to perform the service
in a manner that will be more satisfactory to the survivors than in those parochial grounds which are
now the subject of complaint. The numerous successive services that may be expected to arrive on the
Sunday must often unavoidably have the appearance of being hurried over, and without assistance and
appropriate superintendence will sometimes really be so, whilst the funeral of the person of better
condition which takes place separately, and at an appointed time, has its separate attention under
circumstances, giving rise to the appearance and creating the feeling of an undue “acceptation of
persons,” which it is said ought not to be, and which the examination of practical examples will show,
need not be. Inasmuch as, in the present mode, the clergyman’s attention must be absorbed with his
own clerical duties, the grave-yard and the material offices connected with it must be left to be
managed, as it is now, by a sexton and common gravedigger. No multiplication of the numbers of such
poor men in numerous extra-mural and parochial establishments will give them education, or elevate
their minds to act without superintendence, up to the solemnity and delicacy of the duties to be
performed in any proposed alteration of custom. In such hands the institution and service for the
reception and care of the dead, (which, with all its appliances, is one of the most elevated that can
adorn the civic economy of a large and civilized community,) would be impracticable, or would become a
common “dead-house,” or a revolting charnel. It may be confidently affirmed, that to accomplish what is
needed to satisfy the feelings of the population, on the points on which they are so painfully
susceptible, and to gain the public confidence requisite to carry out all the sanitary appliances and
improvements that are requisite in connexion with the practice of interment, would task the zeal and
ability, and unremitting attention of any, the best staff of educated medical men that could be procured
for such a service. The improvements which appear to be practicable, may be perceived on a
consideration of the information hereafter submitted, as to what is already gained under arrangements
of a comprehensive character.
§ 112. The chief conclusions in respect to the proposed suburban parochial interments deducible from
the present experience appear then to be,
1. That the change of the practice of interments on the plan of suburban parochial or establishments of
separate unions of parishes, while it gave immediate relief to the centre of the town, would create
impediments to the regular growth of the suburbs, and, ultimately, as the interments increase, diminish
the salubrity of the suburbs. §§ 107, 108.
2. That it would not ultimately diminish any injurious effects arising from the practice of interments
amidst the abodes of the living; and that its chief effect would be to transfer such evils from the districts
where they now prevail to the midst of the population of other districts. §§ 105, 110.
3. That these results would only be obtained at a considerable expense to the rate-payers of the
parishes from whence the practice of interments is transferred. §§ 107, 108.
4. That if burial in parochial grounds were transferred to such a distance as not to interfere with the
growth of the suburbs, the increased distance of interments would occasion a proportionate increase of
the expense of interments to the labouring classes of the community. § 110.
5. That inasmuch as the difficulty of obtaining the means of defraying the expense of such classes of
interments is frequently a powerful means of increasing the evil of the long delay of the interments, the
measures proposed would tend to increase the most extensive and direct source of injury to the health
and morals of the survivors of the labouring classes—the long retention of the corpse in their crowded
and ill-ventilated places of abode. §§ 43, 44.
6. That interment by a parochial agency would aggravate or leave untouched the other objections to the
present practice of interments in the metropolis. §§ 98, 99, 111.
Practicability of ensuring for the Public superior Interments at reduced
Expenses.
The subject which may next be presented for consideration is how far the pecuniary burthens may be
reduced consistently with the sentiments expressed by Jeremy Taylor, who deems it “a great act of
piety, and honourable, to inter our friends and relatives according to the proportions of their condition,
and so to give testimony of our hope of their resurrection. So far is piety; beyond, it may be the
ostentation and bragging of grief to serve worse ends. In this, as in everything else, as our piety must
not pass into superstition or vain expense, so neither must the excess be turned into parsimony, and
chastised by negligence and impiety to the memory of their dead.”
§ 113. It appears, from detailed inquiries, made of tradesmen of experience and respectability, who
have answered explicitly the questions put to them, that the expense of the materials at present
supplied for funerals admit of a reduction under general arrangements of, at the least, 50 per cent. The
practical experience of these witnesses would justify a dependence on their testimony as to the possible
reduction of expenses, especially in case the public feeling should be gained to change from the practice
of having processions through the town to the practice of processions nearer to the cemeteries, by
which the expenses of conveyance included in Mr. Wild’s estimate would be diminished. It is stated by
the latter that the disposition evinced by the higher classes, is to reduce expensive trappings. He states:
—
Is it not an occurrence of increasing frequency amongst the respectable classes to express in their wills a wish to be buried
plainly, and at moderate expense?—Yes, it is; and they sometimes fix sums. They fix such a sum as £150, where it has been
usual to expend such sums as £400 or £500. Parties of respectability now begin to object to wearing cloaks and long
hatbands. They are also beginning to object to the use of feathers, and to the general display. The system of performing
funerals by written contract is also becoming very prevalent. It is so frequent with me that I must have some printed forms.
Mr. J. Browning of Manchester, member of the large society alluded to, as comprehending 150,000
members, states that they have evinced similar tendencies.
I have belonged to the Odd Fellows’ Society and to the Foresters’ Society, and have served office in both in this town,
Manchester. I have belonged to them about 13 years.
Do you find any alteration in the dispositions of the members of those societies in respect to the ceremonies observed and
the array at funerals?—Yes, a very great alteration.
In what respect?—In Manchester and Liverpool it used to be the practice, when a member of either society died, that the
members and the officers attended decorated with their regalia, and followed the corpse in procession. They used to
assemble in bodies, as many as two or three hundred, and there was a great deal of drinking. Now these sort of processions
are put a stop to by members, and there is no regalia or processions used. Only a few members attend the deceased
member, and they attend only with black scarfs, white gloves, and a black silk hatband, which is considered respectful. But in
some of the country places they still follow the practice, and they will have the processions.
But the general tendency is to render the ceremony more simple?—Yes, and there is much less drinking in the towns.
§ 114. These manifestations are ascribable to a consciousness of the incompatibility of funereal displays
through the crowded streets of populous districts, and are consistent with the desire to obtain proper
respect for the deceased, shown in the objections to brief, meagre, and hurried services, and in the
selection of secluded and decorated places of burial; it is shown, indeed, by the removal of the
meretricious trappings, which have lost their effect, and the preference of a more quiet simplicity which,
under such circumstances, forms a better means of ensuring that respect.
§ 115. Assuming the practicability of the accomplishment in this country of administrative arrangements
such as have been accomplished, and are in habitual execution, abroad, to the great satisfaction of
every class of society, a primary regulation, which would be practicable, would be to obtain for the
public the opportunity of obtaining, at various scales, supplies of goods and services for funerals. To Mr.
Wild the following questions were put:—
Do you believe it to be practicable, by proper regulations, greatly to reduce the existing charges of interments?—Yes, a very
great reduction indeed may be made—at least 50 per cent.
May it be confidently stated that under such reductions, whatever of respectability in exterior is now attached to the
trapping, or to the mode of the ceremony, might be preserved?—Oh, yes; I should say it might, and that they could scarcely
fail to be increased.
Might not the expenses of the funerals of the labouring classes be greatly reduced without any reduction of the solemnity, or
display of proper and satisfactory respect?—Very considerable reductions may be made, and attention to propriety very
greatly increased. One large item of expense is the expense of bearers: they cost, for a walking funeral of an adult, 12s.
Nine shillings of this expense would be dispensed with if the burial were at a cemetery. This would go towards the expense
of conveyance, and contribute to the compensation: besides, it would avoid for the mourners the inconvenience and
annoyance of walking through the crowded streets, often in wet weather. One circumstance attending burial in cemeteries
would be, a diminution of the number of mourners: this would occasion a diminution of the expense of funeral fittings.
What is the lowest price for which a coffin is made?—The lowest priced coffin at this time, is the adult pauper’s coffin, with a
shroud, but with no cloth or nails, or name-plate or handles, and costs 3s. 6d.; the contract is usually for deal, inch thick, but
they never are; if they were, they could not be supplied under 4s.; they often break when taken to the grave.
What would be the price of a coffin deemed respectable by the labouring classes, with name-plate and appropriate fittings
complete, if manufactured for an extensive supply?—The average price of such coffins is now about 35s.; but the same
quality of coffin might be supplied on a large scale for about 17s.
What would be the price of coffins for persons of the middle class, if supplied on a similar scale?—The prices vary with them
from 3l. to 10l.; they have frequently double coffins; the same coffins might be supplied from 30s. to 5l., or 50 per cent.
less.
§ 116. Mr. Hewitt, whose testimony has already been referred to, states, that under general
arrangements, it would be practicable to alleviate the evil of the expense to an extent which would
appear incredible. He says—
I have so far carefully considered the subject, that I should be ready to take a contract for the performance of burials at the
following rates:—For a labouring man, 1l. 10s. without burial fees; for a labourer’s child, 15s., for a tradesman, 2l. 2s.; for a
tradesman’s child, 1l. 1s.; for a gentleman, 6l. 7s. 6d.; for a gentleman’s child, 3l. 10s. These expenses are for “walking
funerals;” the expenses of hearses and carriages would depend on the distance, and would make from one to two guineas
each carriage extra.
All these, with the same descriptions of coffins, and with the same respectability of attendance?—Yes, on the scale of about
half the existing burials in the metropolis; if it were for the whole, it might be done much better, and in some instances
perhaps at a greater rate of reduction.
§ 117. Mr. Wild gives, on similar grounds, the following estimate of the practicable rates of expenses of
interment with all decent appliances:—
Tradespeople. Mechanics.
Adults. Children. Adults. Children.
From. To. From. To. From. To. From. To.
£. s. £. s. £. s. £. s. £. s. £. s. £. s. £. s.
Coffin 1 5 4 4 0 15 1 10 0 17 1 5 0 10 0 15
Fittings, &c. 0 15 2 0 0 10 1 0 0 10 0 15 0 5 0 10
Sundries
Conveyance 1 1 4 4 1 1 2 2 0 17 1 1 0 10 1 1
Totals 3 1 10 8 2 6 4 12 2 4 3 1 1 5 2 6
§ 118. Next to the arrangements practicable for the regulation of the supplies of goods, the most
important practicable arrangements for reduction of expense are those which may regulate the services
necessary for interments. The item set forth in the above estimate of the charge for conveyance is on
the supposition of separate conveyance in the present mode to the distant cemetery. With reference to
the charge for the poorer classes, Mr. Wild was asked—
Might not several sets of mourners be carried in one conveyance?—Yes; that has often occurred to me, and it would tend to
reduce the expense materially. When two or three children have died in one street, and they have had to be buried in the
same cemetery, I have asked the parents whether, as they had to go to the same place, they objected to go in the same
conveyance, and they have frequently stated that they had no objections. These were of the more respectable classes of
mechanics.
In the fittings up of the coffins, is it considered that these would be as good as those now used?—Quite as good.
§ 119. One large item in the expense of funerals in the metropolis and populous districts is the expense
of hearers, § 115, who are provided for each separate funeral. This expense is about 12s. for a set of
bearers for the funeral of an adult of the working classes. Formerly common bearers were provided by
the several parishes in the metropolis. Any arrangements of a national character would include the
provision of a better regulated class of bearers at a greatly reduced expense. In the course of the
examination of Mr. Dix, the following information was elicited:—
It has been suggested that, if the hearse were always used, the expense of bearers would be dispensed with in walking
funerals. What do you conceive would be the case?—I conceive that that would not be the case, inasmuch as it would
require bearers to remove the body from the house to the hearse, and from the hearse to the grave. But this difficulty might,
I would suggest, be, to a great extent, obviated by the establishment of public bearers, who should have the exclusive right
of removing all corpses, and whose rate of payment should be fixed.
What is the present rate of payment of bearers to the grave for the labouring classes?—It is 2s. 6d. each.
If public bearers were appointed, what might be the expense?—Much less than one-half.
Do you think that this principle of management would be satisfactory to the working classes?—It is in fact an old method.
Formerly there were bearers in all parishes, appointed by the churchwardens. In the parish of St. Margaret’s, Westminster,
and in most of the city parishes, the practice continues to this day. In the form of bills of the various parish dues the charge
for bearers remains to the present day.
Were these parish bearers less expensive than others?—No; they were not.
Why were they discontinued?—In consequence of these bearers often becoming undertakers themselves, which created a
jealousy amongst the trade, who refused to employ them, and the parishes had no power to compel their employment. Also
in consequence of the men being elected by the churchwardens; they were seldom elected until they became of an age that
rendered them incapable of performing the duties properly. They were not properly dressed, and were under no control. In
recommending public bearers, I presume they would be under a different control than a parochial one or than the
churchwardens. I would add, however, that as one set of bearers cannot carry a corpse more than a mile, I would only
propose them in aid of the hearses.
§ 120. Mr. Wild, who had previously volunteered the suggestion as to the means of reducing the
expenses of conveyance, by arrangements on an extensive scale, observes, further, in reference to the
bearers—
“My first view as to the possible economy of funerals, was derived from seeing that parish bearers were often made use of.
The present charge for bearers for mechanics is 12s. for the adults, or 3s. per bearer. I was asking one of the parish bearers
what he was allowed, as the charge was included in the burial dues, which were 1l. 5s. 6d. He told me they were paid 6d.
per bearer, or 2s. the set. He told me that they had borne six to the grave that morning, and he had earned 3s. himself. This
at the usual charge would have been 3l. 12s.; but properly provided bearers at the cemetery might reduce the charges still
further, perhaps to 3d. each case.”
§ 121. Before submitting for consideration any detailed arrangements for securing, in a manner
satisfactory to the people, better funerals at less oppressive charges, it is necessary to premise, that
there appear to be no grounds to expect the extensive spontaneous adoption of improved regulations
by the labouring classes without aid ab extra. The labour of communicating information to them, to be
attended to at the time it is wanted, would be immense. Their sources of information on the occurrence
of such events are either poor neighbours, as ignorant as themselves, or persons who are interested in
misleading them and profiting by their ignorance, to continue expensive and mischievous practices. As
against such an evil as the undue retention of the bodies amidst the living the usual mode of effecting a
change would be simply by a prohibitory ordinance, § 91, of which information would be conveyed
practically by the enforcement of penalties for disobedience of the law, which it is assumed they know.
The appointment of a responsible agency, which would be respected, to convey the information of what
may be deemed requisite for the protection of the living and exercise influence to initiate a change of
practice, appears to all the practical witnesses examined, § 102, to be a preferable course, as being the
most suitable to the temper of the people, and as being the least expensive, as well as the most
efficient. The very desolate and unprotected condition of the survivors of the poorest classes, on the
occurrence of a death in large towns, appears to render some intervention for their guidance and
protection at that moment peculiarly requisite, as a simple act of beneficence. Mr. Wild was asked—
Amongst the poorer classes, is not the widow often made ill during the protracted delay of the burial?—Yes, very often. They
have come to me in tears, and begged for accommodation, which I have given them. On observing to them, you seem very
ill; a common reply is, “Yes, I feel very ill. I am very much harassed, and I have no one to assist me.” I infer from such
expressions that the mental anxiety occasioned by the expense, and want of means to obtain the money, is the frequent
cause of their illness. My opinion is, that unless the undertaker gave two-thirds of them time or accommodation for payment,
they would not be able to bury the dead at all.
You state that they have no persons to assist them; do they frequently, or ever, on such occasions, see any persons of
education, or of influence, from whom they might receive aid or advice?—I never hear of such persons unless they happen
to be connected with some local association, when the survivors are visited and get advice, and sometimes relief.
If any gentleman were to visit them as a public officer, as the officer of a board of health, would his recommendations have
influence with them?—Very great: the doctor now has the greatest influence with them, but he does not attend them after
the death.
John Downing, a mechanic, the secretary of a Burial Society, whose duty it was to visit the remains of
the deceased members, was asked—
After the death of the party have you ever, in visiting the deceased, met any professional person or any gentleman attending
to give advice or consolation to the widow?—No. Never to my knowledge.
Then on what advice will the widow act on the occurrence of a death?—On the advice of the poor people in the
neighbourhood, or of any friends or relatives that may chance to call upon them; but I never knew either medical man or
minister attend professionally to give advice or consolation.
Is any notice of the death sent to the minister?—The working-classes never think of that; the first thing and the only thing
thought of by them is to scrape together the money for the funeral.
Do you think that a medical officer, an officer of public health, attending gratuitously to inspect the body and register the
cause of death, and to give advice as to the proper means of conducting the funeral, and the steps to be taken for the health
of the living would be respectfully received and have influence?—I am very confident that he would have a very hearty
welcome. I think a deal of benefit would be derived from it to the feelings as well as the health of the parties.
§ 122. The curate of a populous district mentioned to me, as illustrative of the practice in the crowded
neighbourhoods in the metropolis, that he had for a time lived in a house let off in lodgings to
respectable persons in the middle ranks of life, and though his profession was known in the house, yet
three deaths had taken place in it of which he had no notice whatever, and only knew of them at the
time of the funeral. All the witnesses who have had experience amongst the labouring classes, concur in
the expression of confidence that the visits and intervention of a public officer would at such a time be
well received by the poorest classes.
Mr. Hewitt was asked—
Do you conceive that respectable officers visiting the house of all classes of the deceased immediately after the death, as
medical officers and officers of public health, to inquire as to the causes of death and register them, would long fail to
acquire powerful influence in the suggestion of voluntary and beneficial sanitary arrangements?—I think that an officer
appointed from the first class of physicians would be better received than a local medical man—as an officer of the public
health, whose opinions would be more prized, and consequently would be sure to be received by all most respectfully. Such
an officer is calculated to do more good than can easily be conceived, and would be able to execute such duties over an
extensive district.
Would they have that sort of faith in a physician that they would not have in any local medical officer?—They would receive
well any gentleman, and would act upon his advice.
On the occurrence of a death, is there any one person of education, or of superior condition in life, who comes near the
working classes?—Not one that I am aware; no one attends for such a purpose; if any such person comes it must be
accidental.
It may perhaps be presumed that it is rare that any death occurs without some medical man or medical officer having
attended the case?—Very few, and in those cases inquests are usually held.
In the majority of cases, therefore, the labouring classes, on the occurrence of a death, are left either to the advice of any
interested person who may come amongst them, or to the influence of their equally uninformed neighbours?—Yes, certainly,
that is the case.
§ 123. The principle of the measure proposed, i. e. a certificate of the fact, and the cause of death,
given on view of the body, and the non-interment without such certificate, has been in operation
perhaps during two centuries. In the year 1595, orders were issued by the Privy Council to the justices,
enjoining them, that wherever the plague appeared, they would see that the ministers of the church, or
three or four substantial householders, appointed persons to view the bodies of all who died, before
they were suffered to be buried. They were to certify to the minister or the churchwarden, of what
disease it was probable each individual had died. The minister or the churchwarden was to make a
weekly return of the numbers in his parish that were infected, or had died, and the diseases of which it
was probable they had died. These returns were to be made to the neighbouring justices, and by them
to the clerk of the peace, who was to enter them in a book to be kept for the purpose. The justices,
who assembled every three weeks, were to forward the results to the Lords of the Privy Council. It is
supposed that this scheme of registration gave rise to the bills of mortality, which have been preserved
without interruption from the year 1603 until the present period. It is conjectured also, that the
appointment of “searchers” originated at the same time. The alarm of the plague having subsided, the
office of searcher was, until the recent appointments of registrars under the new Registration Act, given
by the parish officers to two old women in each parish, frequently pew-openers, who, having viewed
the body, demanded a fee of two shillings, in addition to which they expected to be supplied with some
liquor, and gave a certificate of the fact and cause of death as they were informed of it, and this
certificate was received by the minister as a warrant for the interment.
§ 124. The Rev. Mr. Stone observes on this topic—
It would be well if the burial of the dead could be expedited by some agency created for the purpose; something, for
instance, like the obsolete office of searcher. I never heard but one person make an objection even to those inferior
functionaries, and that one was an educated person, who would probably have withdrawn the objection, had the agency
been one of a more refined, intelligent, and conciliatory character. It might be a more delicate matter to secure the removal
of the corpse to be deposited elsewhere for any considerable time before the burial; though, judging from one practice,
which has fallen under my observation, I feel justified in supposing, that even this would not be met with universal
repugnance. A similar thing is now often done spontaneously from a pecuniary motive, and for the purpose of evading burial
dues. In my parish ground, and, I believe, in others, the fees for the burial of a non-parishioner, or person dying out of the
parish, are double those payable for a parishioner. But, if the undertaker employed is a parishioner, this extra payment is
easily evaded, by his accommodating the corpse on his own premises. It is brought there some time before the burial, and
frequently from a considerable distance; it then becomes a resident parishioner, and forthwith claims the privilege of a
parishioner. It claims to be admitted into our burial ground at single fees; and, of course, the claim so made cannot easily be
disallowed. Indeed, by a little management, this smuggling of dead bodies may be effected so that my clerk and sexton, the
only officers in my preventive service, may themselves know nothing about it. It is probable, however, that such sanitary
arrangements as those adverted to would be best facilitated, and it is certain that much mischief would be entirely
prevented, by a reduction in the amount of burial expenses. Indeed these expenses ought, if possible, to be reduced for the
sake of all classes, whether they arise from too high a rate of burial fees, from the prejudices of the people, or from the
advantage that may be taken of those prejudices or other circumstances by a class so directly and deeply interested as the
undertakers.
§ 125. Several physicians of eminence in the metropolis, who are conversant with the state and feelings
of families of the middle and higher classes on the occurrence of a death, have expressed their
confidence, that the most respectable families, who are stunned by the blow, and are ignorant of the
detail of the steps to be taken when a death has occurred, would gladly pay for the attendance of any
respectable and responsible person, on whose information they might, under such circumstances, rely.
As already stated, the physician takes no cognizance of the arrangements for interments, and knowing
the feelings that commonly arise when the undertaker’s bill is presented, carefully avoids giving advice,
or doing anything that may implicate him with the arrangements for the interment.
§ 126. In opening the consideration of remedial measures, it appears incumbent to represent that there
are many who, viewing what has been accomplished abroad, and the inconvenience experienced in the
metropolis in respect to the oldest private trading burial grounds, object on principle to the
abandonment of acknowledged public functions and services, and to leaving the necessities of the
public as sources of profit to private, and (practically for every-day purposes) irresponsible associations.
They submit, that if the steps in this direction cannot be retraced, the public have claims that at all
events they shall be stayed. Such opinions may, perhaps, be the best represented in the following
portion of the communication from the Rev. Wm. Stone.
It may be thought that, in alluding to these private burial grounds, I have expressed myself strongly, and indeed I am not
anxious to disavow having done so. The subject seems to me to justify such a tone of expression. In all ages and nations,
the burial of the dead has been invested with peculiar sanctity. As the office that closes the visible scene of human existence,
it concentrates in itself the most touching exercise of our affections towards objects endeared to us in this life, and the most
intense and stirring anxieties that we can feel respecting an invisible state. And, appealing thus to common sympathies of
our nature, it has been universally marked by observances intended to give it importance or impressiveness. The faith and
usage of Christians have given remarkable prominence to this duty. The ecclesiastical institutes of our own country indicate a
jealous solicitude for the safe and religious custody of the receptacles of the dead; and there are few of us, perhaps, to
whom those receptacles are not hallowed by thoughts and recollections of the deepest personal interest. It is reasonable,
then, that the reverential impressions thus accumulated within us should shrink from the contact of more selfish and vulgar
associations. And one may be excused for thinking and speaking strongly in reprobation of a system which degrades the
burial of the dead into a trade. Throughout the whole scheme and working of this system, there is an exclusive spirit of
money-getting, which is revoltingly heartless; and in some of its details there is an indecency which I have felt myself
compelled to allude to in the tone of strong condemnation.
It is surely desirable that a state of things so vulgar and demoralizing, should be put an end to, but at present there seems
no prospect of it. Of course, during the continuance of a competition such as I have described, our parishioners will never
return to our parish burial grounds, and I have already remarked, that if they did, they might not get interment there,
inasmuch as it would, perhaps, be found impossible to make our parochial system meet the wants of any crowded
population. There is little better chance of the present offensive system of burial being superseded by the joint stock
cemeteries; for to the mass of our population these cemeteries hold out hardly any advantages which are not possessed by
the private burial grounds, while they have to compete with those grounds under disadvantages greater, in some instances,
than those which our churchyards have to contend with.
Indeed, even if it were practicable, I should be sorry to see our people handed over for burial to a joint stock company. I am
very far from saying this out of any sympathy with the popular, and often indiscriminate and unreasonable jealousy felt
towards all joint stock companies. Nay, I see obvious reasons why the cemeteries of such companies should be a great
improvement upon the present system of private speculation in burial grounds. And it may be thought that, as a clergyman
and an interested party, I may naturally prefer these cemeteries, because their proprietors, unlike the private speculators,
are required to indemnify the clergy for loss of fees by some amount of pecuniary compensation. But I do sympathize with
the common repugnance to consign to joint stock companies the solemnities of Christian burial; and I believe that this
repugnance is not more common than it is strong. “And so,” said a highly intelligent gentleman, pointing to a cemetery of
this class, “the time is come when Christian burial is made an article of traffic.” And since the legislature has been reported to
be contemplating the removal of burials from populous places, it has been commonly suspected of having been led to
entertain the measure through the influence of joint stock cemetery proprietors. In fact the repugnance in question is no
more than what I have already adverted to. It is the state of feeling which shrinks from associating the touching and
impressive solemnities of burial with the profits of trade. So far as the trading principle is involved, the joint stock company is
no better than the private speculator. However disinterested may have been the motives which have induced some to
become shareholders in these companies, and I have been assured upon authority which I respect, that many have done so
without any expectation or hope of profit upon their shares, yet the primary and effective character of these associations is
undeniably that of trading associations, and they cannot be rescued from that character by even numerous individual
exceptions. Their managers, like the proprietors of the private grounds, are assiduous in soliciting attention to their lists of
prices; and affiches, painted in large letters, and placed at various outlets of the metropolis, with genuine mercantile
officiousness, direct the public, as in a case close by my own parish, “To the E. L. Cemetery, only one mile and a-half.” Surely
we may say, that this system also involves much that is inconsistent with reverential impressions of the sanctity of burial,
much that must either offend or deteriorate the better feeling of our population. Then again, as regards burial services, and
other details in the working of the system, with what security can we consign these to the tender mercies of a trading
company? Why should not the money-getting principle eventually come to operate upon these points also, and, as in the
private burial grounds, tempt shareholders to sanction indecent and mischievous condescensions to the interests, habits,
tastes, and caprices of the people? What security, at least, is there equal to that which is afforded by a clergy and parochial
establishments, responsible to the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the country, or which would be afforded by what, for
reasons before mentioned, I should think still preferable, a national plan of burial, placed under a departmental control of
Government?
The remedial measures hereafter submitted for consideration have been deduced directly from the
actual necessities experienced within the field of inquiry, and such only are submitted as clearly
suggested themselves without reference to any external experience. The following preliminary view of
the experience of other nations is presented for consideration on account of the confirmatory evidence
which it contains, as well as the instances to be avoided.
 Examples of successful Legislation for the Improvement of the
Practice of Interment.
§ 127. It appears that the evil of the expensive interments consequent on the monopoly which the
nature of the event, and the feelings of survivors, gives to the person nearest at hand for the
performance of the undertaker’s service, is checked by special arrangements in America. In Boston, and
most of the large towns in America, there is a Board of Health which nominates a superintendent of
burial grounds, who is invariably a person of special qualifications, and generally a medical man. All
undertakers are licensed by the Board of Health, by whom the licence may at any time be revoked. The
sexton of the church which the deceased attended is usually the undertaker. The bills of the undertaker
are made out on a blank form, furnished by the public superintendent of interment, to whom all bills are
submitted, and by whom they are audited and allowed, before they are presented for payment to the
relations or friends of the deceased. Previous to interment, the undertaker must obtain from the
physician who last attended the deceased, a certificate specifying the profession, age, time of illness,
and cause of death of the deceased. This certificate is presented to the superintendent of funerals. An
abstract of these certificates, signed by the superintendent of funerals, is printed every week in the
public journals of the city. The cost of a funeral for a person in the position of life of the highest class of
tradesmen in Boston, is about fifty dollars, or 10l. English, exclusive of the cost of the tomb. The price
of a good mahogany coffin would be fifteen dollars, or 3l. 5s. The price of a most elegant mahogany
coffin would be perhaps double that price. The price of a pine coffin, such as are used for the persons
of the labouring classes, would be about four dollars. There is a peculiarity in the coffins made in the
United States,—that a portion of the lid, about a foot from the upper end, opens upon a hinge. This,
when opened, exposes to view the face of the deceased, which is covered with glass. The survivors are
thus enabled at the last moment to take a view of the deceased, without the danger of infection. In
Germany, the coffins are nailed down, every blow of the hammer frequently drawing a scream from the
female survivors.
§ 128. In the chief German states it is adopted as a principle, that provision shall be made, and it is
made successfully, for meeting the necessities of the population in respect to the undertakers’ supplies
of service and materials; and that on the occurrence of a death, those necessities shall not be given up
as the subject of common trading profits to whatsoever irresponsible person may obtain the monopoly
of them. At Franckfort provision is made for these services and supplies of material at the lowest cost to
the public as part of a series of arrangements comprehending the verification of the fact of death on
view of the body, the edifice for the reception and care of the dead previous to interment, and the
public cemeteries, all under the superintendence of superior and responsible medical officers. The
expenses of the supplies of materials are reduced so low under these arrangements, that they no longer
enter into serious consideration as a burthen to be met on such occasions.
§ 129. At Berlin, a contract is made by the Government with one person to secure funeral materials and
services for the public at certain fixed scales of prices. The materials and services are stated to be of a
perfectly satisfactory character; and yet the undertaker’s charge for a funeral such as would here cost
for an artisan 4l. and upwards, is not more than 15s. English money; the charge for a middle class
funeral is about 2l., and for a funeral of the opulent class of citizens is about, 10l. And yet I am assured
that the contractors’ profits on the extensive supplies required are deemed too high, and that the
Government will, on the renewal of the contract, find it necessary to protect the poorer classes by a
contract at a lower rate.
§ 130. At Paris, interments are made the subject of a fisc; but a contract is made with one head to
secure services and supplies to the private individual at reduced rates, and so far the system works
advantageously to the public.
§ 131. The whole of the interments are there performed, and the various burial and religious dues
collected and paid under one contract, by joint contractors for the public service at regulated prices,
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