Cremation / The Cremation Society of England, London.

  • Cremation Society of England.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Cremation / The Cremation Society of England, London. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    number of cremations carried out in Great Britain in 1906 was 732, being an increase of 138 as compared with the previous year, in 1907 the number, as shown by figures kindly supplied to us by Mr. Herbert T. Herring Medical Referee of the Cremation Society of England, was 705. The number of crematories at work is still 13, of which 6—at Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Sheffield, Bradford, and Ilford—are municipal. The cremations were distributed as follows: Golder’s Green, 290; Woking, 108; Man- chester, 96; Liverpool, 34; Glasgow, 30; Hull, 17; Dar- lington, 8; Leicester, 12; Birmingham, 33; Leeds, 16; Ilford, 18; Bradford, 13; Sheffield, 18. The total number of cremations carried out since the establish- ment of the first crematorium at Woking iB 6 469. It is to be noted that although the total in 1907 showed decrease, there was an increase at some places. Thus at Manchester there were 96 as against 90 the previous year; at Birmingham 33 as against 25 ; at Leeds 16 as against 15; the largest increase being at Sheffield, where the number rose from 6 to 18. In the number of crema- tories Yorkshire stands easily first among the counties of Great Britain, having no fewer than 5. At these, taken collectively, there has been practically no decrease. Cremation in this country is almost wholly confined to persons of some intellectual distinction. The average citizen is still held in the bondage of custom, in which sentiment haB taken root so deeply as to make it hard to eradicate. This is doubtless the explanation of the fact that cremation so far has failed to become general. That there was a Blight decrease last year is probably due to accidental causes; it must not be taken as Indicating any renewal of the feeling against it which Sir Henry Thompson and the Cremation Society have done so much to remove ; but the decrease is none the less to be regretted. The religious objection has to a considerable extent died out with the decline of materialistic interpreta- tions of Christian teaching. It may be pointed out in connexion with this aspect of the matter that cremation would solve a difficulty which must make itself increasingly felt in regard to burial in churches. Many rectors and other church authorities are already compelled to refuse a privilege which is dearly valued by not a few; the closing of the vaults of Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s to the remains of our illustrious dead is now Bimply a question of time. But there would be no difficulty in finding room for urns