London's Crossroads Burials

This 1746 map shows the probable site of the burial of John Duke.

Walking along the streets of London, with its over 2,000 years of history, you can never know exactly what, or who, you are walking on.

Historically, in Britain, individuals who died by suicide, which was considered a crime, executed criminals or other 'outcasts' were often denied burial in consecrated church ground and interred at crossroads, with a stake through their heart. It was believed that the junction of roads would confuse the spirit of the deceased and prevent them from returning to haunt the living. 

The crossroads at which they were  interred were usually the closest to their home or the murder site.

Three high profile crossroads burials.

Although there were many burials at crossroads, records have been lost or destroyed, making a true count of how many impossible. Below are the three that I can find information about.

John Duke was buried at the crossroads near Centre Point.

John Duke.

In 1761, John Duke had murdered his wife in the breast, following an argument. He was arrested and, while under transport to the magistrate, he attempted to take his own life, later dying at the Middlesex Hospital. 

John Duke was buried at the crossroads of what is now Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, roughly where Centre Point now stands.

The burial site of John Williams, in 1811.

John Williams.

In 1811, John Williams, was arrested for the murder of two families, totalling seven victims, which would become known as the Ratcliff Highway Murders. He always protested his innocence, but hung himself in his cell, which the magistrate and the public took as a sign of guilt. 

He was interred in a shallow grave, with a stake through his heart, at the crossroads of Cable Street and Cannon Street Road, with a large public gathering watching the spectacle.

Abel Griffiths.

In 1823, Abel Griffiths shot his father before turning the pistol on himself. At midnight on Wednesday June 25, 1823, his remains were collected from a workhouse mortuary and taken to the crossroads of Eaton Place and Grosvenor Gardens. Here, he was unceremoniously dumped onto the street, wrapped in a Russian carpet, and thrown into a five-foot deep grave, which was immediately filled in. No stake was used to pin the body. This burial site is now the entrance to Victoria coach station.

Note: Some sites say that the burial site was the junction of Grosvenor Gardens and Lower Grosvenor Place, while others state that it was at the junction of Chester Street and Grosvenor Place. But, all state that the site is where the entrance to Victoria coach station now stands.

Crossbones Graveyard gate.

'Outcast' burials.

The most prominent site associated with 'outcast' burials, in London, is the Crossbones Graveyard, in Southwark. This was an unconsecrated burial ground originally for 'single women', which was a euphemism for prostitutes, who were known as 'Winchester Geese'. It later became a pauper's cemetery. 

It is estimated that as many as 15,000 people are buried at Crossbones Graveyard.

In the 1990s, an excavation uncovered 148 graves, revealing an extremely overcrowded site with bodies, many of them infants and children, piled on top of one another. 

Today, Crossbones Graveyard is a garden of remembrance and a shrine, marked by ribbons and mementos, commemorating the 'outcast dead' of London

Felo de se.

"Felo de se" is a phrase derived from Medieval Latin, literally translating to 'felon of him/herself. A person found guilty of felo de se, even posthumously, could face penalties, such as the forfeiture of property to 

the Crown and a 'shameful burial'. 

The term is now largely obsolete in modern legal practice

The Interments (felo de se) Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 19) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed a person whose death was felo de se to be buried in a churchyard at any hour, and with the usual religious rites.

1823.

The 1823 Burials Act allowed suicides to be buried in churchyards, but only at night and without a service. The 1882 Burials Act allowed daylight burials in churchyards. Suicide was finally decriminalised with the 1961 Suicide act. 

This makes John Williams one of the last people, in England, to be buried in this manner. Or, at least, the last high profile burial.