_Churchyards--Epitaphs._--Up to the time of the Norman Conquest,
churchyards appear to have been considered almost as sacred as churches;
but soon after that period, though regarded as places of sanctuary, they
were often used for profane purposes. I recollect reading of fairs and
rustic sports being held in them as early as John's reign, but
unfortunately I have not been an observer of your motto, and know not now
where to refer for such instances. I shall therefore feel obliged to any of
your readers who will specify a few instances of the profanation of
churchyards at different periods, or refer me to works where such may be
found. Churchyards appear to have been used in special cases for sepulture
from the year 750, but not commonly so used till the end of the fourteenth
century. Are there any instances of sepulchral monuments, between the above
dates, now existing in churchyards?
Stone crosses, evidently of Saxon or very early Roman structure, are found
in churchyards, but I am not aware of any sepulchral monuments detached
from the church of the same date. I shall be glad of any notices of early
monuments or remarkable epitaphs in churchyards. When did churchyards cease
to be places of sanctuary? What is the exact meaning of the word "yard?"
and was not "God's acre" applied to Christian cemeteries before sepulture
was admitted in churches or churchyards?