NEWGEN-L Archives

From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: Fw: Tidbits re English Law .. How one thing can lead to another .. 1667. Burials in woolen shrouds introduced by law
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 03:29:24 -0700

from The Manchester Genealogist, Vol 37, No 1 2001

How one thing can lead to another ..

1667. Burials in woolen shrouds introduced by law, enabled that
corpses should be buried in wool, intended to support and boost wool trade.
Although our wool fleeces were the finest quality in the world and our prime
export; after processing, finished goods were being imported at high prices.
Also as this trade had fallen off during the wars with France and Flanders,
it was decided encouragement of local manufacturing would be the best
solution; leading to spinning and weaving being done as ‘homework’ by
cottages for a small payment by clothiers who distributed the raw materiel
and collected the finished cloth.

1678 Act stated that ‘no corpse of any person (except those who
shall die of the plague) shall be buried in any shirt, shift sheet or shroud
in anything whatsoever made or mingled with flax, hemp, silk, hair, gold or
solver or on any stuff or thing other than which is made of sheeps wool only
A relative of the deceased was required to swear an affidavit before a
magistrate (recorded by the register) within eight (8) days of the event
that a woolen burial of the deceased had taken place otherwise a fine of
5pounds was levied not only on the estate of the deceased, but on anyone
connected with the burial.

1680 Affidavit from Minister sufficed. These Acts were repealed
during the Regency (1814) y which time they had fallen into disuse.

1684.A tax was levied for the war on France on registrations of
baptisms, marriages and burials In addition all births, as distinct from
christenings were to be notified to the parish incumbent for a fee of 6d.


Sally Rolls Pavia
Sun City, AZ

“We have not inherited the world from our forefathers .. we have borrowed it
from our children.”
….. Kashmiri Proverb
List Owner:
Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES
"All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

This thread:

• Fw: Tidbits re English Law .. How one thing can lead to another .. 1667. Burials in woolen shrouds introduced by law by "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>