(Vol. ii., pp. 93. 253.; Vol. iii., p. 125.)
Your correspondents on this subject have generally taken it as granted,
that the prejudice against burying in this portion of the churchyard is
almost universal. In a former communication (Vol. ii., p. 93.) I stated
that there are at least some exceptions. Since that time I have visited
perhaps a hundred churchyards in the counties of York, Derby, Stafford,
Bucks, Herts, and Oxford, and in nearly half of these burial had evidently
been long since practised on the north side of the several churches. The
parish church of Ashby de la Zouch is built so near the south wall of the
churchyard, that the north must clearly have been designed for sepulture. I
was incumbent of an ancient village church in that neighbourhood, which is
built in the same manner, with scarcely any ground on the south, the north
being large and considerably raised by the numerous interments which have
taken place in it. It has also some old tombs, which ten years ago were
fast falling to decay. The part south of the church contains very few
graves, and all apparently of recent date.
In my former communication I mentioned, that in this churchyard burial has
been chiefly, till of late, on the north side of the church; and, since
that communication, a vault has been made on the south side, which has
convinced us the ground had never before been there broken up. The soil is
chalk; whereas, whenever a grave is made on the north side, human dust and
bones are so {333} abundant, that the chalk soil has almost lost its
nature.
Till more light can be thrown on the subject than what has yet appeared in
"NOTES AND QUERIES," I cannot but retain my original opinion, viz., that
the favourite part of interment, in earlier times, was that nearest the
principal entrance into the church. The original object of burying in
churches and churchyards was the better to insure for the dead the prayers
of the worshippers, as they assembled for public devotion. Hence the
churchyard nearest the entrance into church would be most in request. The
origin of the prejudice for the south side, which I believe to be of recent
date, may, I doubt not, be ascertained from any superstitious cottager who
entertains it. "It would be so cold, sir," said one to me, "to be always
lying where the sun would never shine on me."
If your correspondent on this subject in Vol. iii., p. 125., would ask an
old inhabitant of his parish which is the _backside_ of their church, and
why it is so called? he would probably come at the fact. I would refer him
to Burn's _History of Parish Registers_, page 96., foot-note, where he will
find it stated that "a part of the churchyard was sometimes left
unconsecrated, for the purpose of burying excommunicated persons."