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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy subm itted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bieedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Artx)r, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' Death, Burial and Mutuality A Study of Popular Funerary Customs in Cumbria, 1700-1920 by Brenda Doreen Callaghan B.A., University of Victoria, 1989 M.A., University of Victoria, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of History We Accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard _ _ Dr^ Angus McLarfen, Supervisor (Department of History) D r . Brian Dippie, Departmental Member (Department of History) ______________________________________ Dr. Wendy Wickwire, D^i^rtment Member (Department of Dr. Nelson Smith, Outside Member (Department of English) _________________________________________ Dr. Mary Lynn Stewart, External Examiner (Department of History, Simon Fraser University) © Brenda Doreen Callaghan, 2000 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying or other means, without permission of the author. Supervisor: Dr. Angus McLaren ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the impact of modernisation upon popular death customs in Cumbria between 1700 and 1920. Specifically, it explores the role and nature of mutuality, arguing that despite the growth of individualism, the mutual ideal which had underpinned many popular death customs in the pre-industrial environment continued to play a crucial role in shaping working-class mortuary practices in the towns. This study challenges historical arguments that mutuality was simply individualism in disguise; it suggests that at its heart lay an internal tension: a conflict between self-interest and collectivism which was exacerbated by modernising trends. Ultimately individualism was to triumph, but not in the way historians have claimed. Its success can be gauged, not by the apparent readiness of the nineteenth- centTiry urban working classes to embrace a more materialistic attitude to death and burial, but in the growth of the burial insurance industry which capitalised on the collectivism of the majority to further the self- interest of an enterprising minority. The thesis begins by tracing the roots of mutuality in death through an examination of popular death customs in pre-industrial Cumbria. It reveals that although such practices were designed to alleviate individual distress, they also worked to cultivate an ideal of collectivism by encouraging community participation, and by publicly Ill affirming a common notion of 'decency' which was rooted in powerful spiritual beliefs. Informal aid of this type was supplemented by that supplied by the guilds and friendly societies. In this more formal, premeditated setting, the contractual nature of mutuality was more pronounced, and a tension between collectivism and self-interest more clearly articulated. This conflict was exacerbated by the sanitary reforms of the nineteenth century, and in particular the passage of the Burial Acts of the 1850's . The creation of the private grave, and the division of the cemeteries into areas of greater and lesser desirability, increased social discrimination while emphasising conspicuous consun^tion as a means of articulating individual social position. A consequence of such reforms was the commercialisation of the funeral. Many of those who could afford it now modelled their obsequies on much older aristocratic rites which were designed to indicate social standing. These materialistic rituals set a new standard in funerary protocol, and increased social pressure on the working classes to conform to elite norms. Despite greater stress on materialistic individualism, however, many working-class people continued to observe familiar death customs which were rooted in community participation. Familiar customs of long-standing were of value in many ways, not least because they symbolised values which helped sustain a distinct cultural identity. Thus, while individualism emerged as a powerful cultural force, collectivism did not vanish. Indeed, this thesis concludes by curguing that the continued potency of popular IV collectivism was most strikingly exemplified in the growth to prominence, in the early years of the twentieth century, of working-class burial insurance. Examiners : Dr. »s Mcl^ren, Supervisor (Department of History) -------- Dr. Brian Dippie, Departmental Member (Dept, of History) ------------------------------------------- Dr. Wickwif6T\ Depgr^ental Member (Dept, of History) Dr. Nelson Smith, Outside Member (Dept, of English) Dr. Mary Lynn Stewart, External Examiner (Department of History, Simon Fraser University) • TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.................................................. il TeQsle of Contents..........................................v List of Figures...........................................vi Acknowledgements........... viii Dedication................................................ ix Map of Cumbria............................................. x Introduction............................................... 1 1. Death with Decency: Popular Funerary Customs in Rural Cumbria................................................ 37 2. Funerals and Fraternity: Death and the Local Associations.............................................. 70 3. From Common Ground to Private Property: The Burial Acts in Cumbria............................................... 113 4. Rituals of Rich Folk: The Funeral as Status Symbol... 170 5. The Tenacity of Tradition: Working-class Funerals in Barrow................................................... 210 6. The 'Death-Hunters': Burial Insurance in Cumbria 241 Conclusion............................................... 275 Bibliography............................................. 283 Appendices............................................... 307 VI LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Independent Local Friendly Societies of Westmorland/1857 ...................................... 84 Figure 2. The Independent Local Friendly Societies of Cumberland/ 1842..........................................85 Figure 3. Table of Contributions and Benefits/ Broughton- in-Fumess Friendly Society/1864........................ 101 Figure 4. Colton Parish Church Burial Fees............... 126 Figure 5. Closure of Overcrowded Burial Grounds and Opening of New Cemeteries under the terms of the Burial ActS/ Furness and Cartmel, Cumberland and Westmorland/ 1850-1876................................................ 143 Figure 6. (parts 1-3) Parishes in which a New Portion of Ground Consecrated/ 1832-1862....................... 146-148 Figure 7. Fees for New Burial Ground at Flookburgh/ 1890..................................................... 151 Figure 8. Loans Granted to Dalton Burial Board for Cemetery Purposes under the terms of the Burial ActS/ 1861-1871................................................ 154 Figure 9. Accounts of Dalton Burial Board for year ending 25 March/1887............................................154 VII Figure 10. (parts 1 and 2 ) Fees for Dalton Cemetery, 1873.................................................161-162 Figure 11. Interments in the Barrow Cemetery for year ending July, 1, 1874................................... 169 Figure 12. A List of the Affiliated Orders of Friendly Societies in the County of Westmorland, 1857.......219-220 Figure 13. The Friendly Societies of Cumberland auid Westmorland, 1874...................................... 253 VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their help in the research, preparation and writing of this thesis: the staff of the Barrow, Kendal and Whitehaven Record Offices, the staff of Barrow and Kendal Local History Libraries, the Ambleside Oral History Group, the staff of the Armitt Library, Ambleside, the Burton-in-Kendal Local History Society, Dr. Elizabeth Roberts, Mr. Kevin Lancaster, the Rev. A. Rigg, Dr. David Borwick, Dr. John Walton, Dr. June Bames, and most of all my supervisor. Dr. Angus McLaren. IX DEDICATION For Tim and Natasha, whose faith in my ability to complete this work kept me going, despite everything. CARLISLE ^ •A lston CUMBRIA WORKJj^OT^ -P en rith Cockermouth Appleby •in-Westmorland Keswick Whitehaven t Broagn Ok. ^GfEsmsrB K Ambleside Gostorth Râvsnstonsdsis