Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum'

Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum'
[ Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum' ]

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Hebburn Cemetery

Posted by Brian on 4/1/2026, 11:14 am

Where did people bury their loved ones before the cemetery opened in 1890. As far as I know there was no churchyard internments so was there anywhere in Hebburn that was designated a burial ground before the cemetery?

Re: Hebburn Cemetery

Posted by Norman Dunn on 4/1/2026, 11:32 am, in reply to "Hebburn Cemetery "

Thats a good question Brian.
Jarrow Cemetery opened for its first burial 1869 ie 21 yrs befor Hebburn Cemetery in 1890 so maybe some Hebburn people were interred there or possibly in Heworth Cemetery. But where were they buried in earlier times? Thats a mystery.

Re: Hebburn Cemetery

Posted by Brian on 4/1/2026, 1:14 pm, in reply to "Re: Hebburn Cemetery "

The reason I ask is I watched a video about a burial ground in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle that is estimated to have 40,000 burials, it was a ballast hill and it was mentioned these were on both sides of the Tyne wherever ships docked, This burial ground wasn't used after the mid 1800s and is now a park with the paths made from the old headstones. There's now a study underway from Newcastle University to discover timeliness, genealogy etc. I wonder if there's any long gone burial grounds in Hebburn as over the years we are talking thousands of burials.0svpo8

Re: Hebburn Cemetery

Posted by Margaret McD on 4/1/2026, 1:23 pm, in reply to "Re: Hebburn Cemetery "

I would have said Heworth as well but, before that I don't know. Will take some research l would say or ask at the right archive. Tyne And Wear? Gateshead library?

Re: Hebburn Cemetery

Posted by Brian on 4/1/2026, 1:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Hebburn Cemetery "

The one I watched the video about opened because it cost money to be buried in a churchyard and a lot wouldn’t bury you if you were not part of it's congregation, plus you had epidemic victims, cholera etc buried in it.

Re: Hebburn Cemetery

Posted by norman on 4/1/2026, 3:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Hebburn Cemetery "

Hebburn had a massive Ballast Hill at the riverside just yards upriver from the bottom of Ellison st when I was young in the 1940s-50s but it was removed quite a few years ago & is now a Housing Estate.
Click the LINK to read Patrick Brennan's very interesting story about the body in the ballast hill. Well worth reading.

Link: LINK

Before Cemeteries were created

Posted by Norman on 4/1/2026, 4:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Hebburn Cemetery "

Before modern cemeteries, the dead were typically
buried in churchyards, under family homes, in barrows (mounds), or in temporary graves that were later exhumed to store bones in charnel houses. Other historical practices included cremation, leaving bodies in caves, or, in some cultures, exposure to the elements.
Key historical methods for managing the dead included:

Churchyards and Family Plots: For centuries, the deceased were buried in churchyards, often without individual markers, or on private family land.
Charnel Houses: To manage space, bodies were often buried for 15–20 years, after which bones were exhumed, cleaned, and stored in a charnel house (a "bone house") to make room for new burials.
Barrows and Mounds: Prehistoric cultures often buried bodies under large circular or long earth mounds, which served as community landmarks.
Temporary Storage: In cold climates, bodies were stored in "dead houses" or mort-houses until the ground thawed for burial in the spring.
Exposure or Alternative Disposals: In some, particularly ancient or specialized, traditions, bodies were left in natural crevices, in caves, or, in some cases, hung in coffins from cliffs, Britannica.

These practices changed as populations increased and concerns about sanitation in urban areas led to the development of, or move towards, dedicated, often municipal, cemeteries in the 19th century.