Cremation Act 1902
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The Cremation Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7. c. 8) is an Act of Parliament of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
. The major purpose of the Act was to allow burial authorities to establish
crematoria Cremation is a method of final disposition of a corpse through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and Syria, cremation on an open-air pyr ...
. Later revisions of the Act outlawed open air
cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...
s using funeral
pyre A pyre (; ), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire. In discussi ...
s, although in 2010 the Court of Appeal ruled this practice to be legal under certain circumstances.


Background

In 1883, eccentric Welshman William Price fathered a child with his housekeeper nearly sixty years his junior, a son named Iesu Grist (
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
), who was born to him in his eighties. When his son died, aged five months, the heartbroken Price took the boy's body to a hilltop above Llantrisant on a Sunday. There in full view of the nearby chapel he attempted to cremate the body in paraffin. A furious crowd of locals dragged the body from the flames and nearly killed Price. Later, an autopsy was performed on Iesu's body by a local doctor who concluded that the child had died of natural causes and had not been murdered. Price was therefore not charged with
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
but was instead tried in a
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
courtroom for performing cremation rather than a burial which the police believed to be illegal. Price argued that while the law did not state that cremation was legal, it also did not state that it was illegal. The judge, Justice Stephen, agreed. Price was freed and returned to Llantrisant to find a crowd of supporters cheering for his victory. On 14 March, he was finally able to give his son a cremation involving his own personal druidic prayers. In 1885, the first official cremation took place at
Woking Crematorium Woking Crematorium is a crematorium in Woking, a large town in the west of Surrey, England. Established in 1878, it was the first custom-built crematorium in the United Kingdom and is closely linked to the history of cremation in the UK. Locat ...
, and ten cremations are recorded as being performed in the following year. In 1892 a crematorium opened in
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followed by one in
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in 1895 and one in
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in 1896. The case's
legal precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...
together with the activities of the newly founded
Cremation Society of Great Britain The Cremation Society of Great Britain (now known as The Cremation Society) was founded in 1874 to promote the use of cremation as an alternative means of dealing with the bodies of the dead instead of burial which until then was the only option. T ...
led to the Cremation Act 1902.


Legislation

The Act deemed that any power to provide for and maintain burial grounds or cemeteries was to be considered to encompass crematoria. No crematorium built could be closer than fifty yards to any public highway, or in the consecrated area of a burial ground. It could not be built within two hundred yards of any dwelling house without the written consent of the owner, lessee and occupier, and the act was not to be interpreted to "authorise the burial authority or any person to create or permit a nuisance". The Secretary of State was to create regulations for the maintenance and inspection of crematoria, the circumstances in which they could be used, and the creation of a register of such burnings. All statutory provisions relating to the use of burial registers as evidence were to apply to these registers. Any breach of these regulations, or burning of human remains outside of the provisions of the Act, would be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty of up to fifty pounds. Any person found guilty of wilfully making any false representations in order to procure the burning of human remains would be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labour for up to two years; and any person found guilty of attempting to conceal an offence by attempting to procure the burning of human remains would be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labour for up to five years. The incumbent of a parish was not under any obligation to perform a funeral service for those dying in his parish who were to be cremated; but if he refused to do so, any cleric of the Established Church who was not otherwise disabled from doing so could perform the service at the request of the executor, the persons in charge of the cremation, or the burial authority, with permission from the bishop. The Act applied to England and Wales, and Scotland, but not to
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. It came into effect on 1 April 1903. The Act has since been heavily amended, but remains in force.


Open air pyres

Open air funeral
pyre A pyre (; ), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire. In discussi ...
s were made illegal in Britain by the 1930 issue of the Cremation Act. Prior to this but after the 1902 Act, open air cremations had occurred in limited numbers, including several
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
and
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
soldiers cremated in Brighton, having died after fighting for the British Empire in
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. The last open air pyre was believed to have occurred in 1934, when the British Government gave special permission to
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
's ambassador to cremate his wife outdoors in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. In 2006, Davender Ghai, a British citizen and devout Hindu who had arrived from
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in 1958, launched a
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...
of the Act after
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refused him a permit to conduct open air cremations in Britain in accordance with Hindu religious practices, which require the burning of the body in a sacramental fire in order to secure the future reincarnation of the soul. Ghai, through his multi-faith Newcastle based charity the Anglo-Asian Friendship Society, had been campaigning for open air funerals for people of any faith, arguing there was significant demand from the increasingly aging British Hindu and Sikh communities who, due to the Act, often flew bodies of their relatives abroad for cremation. In July 2006, believing the law did not prohibit pyres, Ghai organised the open air cremation of Rajpal Mehat, an
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n-born
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
illegal immigrant who was found drowned in a
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canal. Subsequent delays in identification meant the body was not fit to be repatriated, and Mehat's relatives asked Ghai to organise the ceremony in accordance with their beliefs. The ceremony, held in a field in
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, was Britain's first open air cremation since 1934. Informed prior to the ceremony, local police initially allowed it to take place, but then said it had been illegal. The
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agreed, but ruled a prosecution would not be in the public interest. Shortly afterwards, Ghai launched his judicial review to seek clarification of the law and the council's refusal under the Act. In the review, Ghai argued simultaneously that the act did not outlaw open air pyres if done under the principles of the act, i.e. in a properly authorised and private site and without causing public offence or nuisance, and that if it did, this was an infringement of the
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, under articles 8 and 9, specifying citizen's rights to religious freedom and a private and family life, respectively. The British Government, through the
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(which in 2007 became the
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), backed the council's decision and took an opposition stance during the review, on the basis that open air cremations would offend public decency; that the articles of the human rights were properly limited by the act due to the wider societal implications of pyres; and latterly, due to environmental concerns arising from the practice of burning materials such as mercury fillings. In seeking permission for his court challenge in 2007, the High Court ruled that "the burning of dead bodies in the open air is not necessarily unlawful" and allowed Ghai to proceed. In February 2010, the
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
ruled that, as long as open air pyres took place within a structure of some sort, that the practice would be legal under the existing act, although there were outstanding planning and environmental regulatory issues to be settled before pyres would actually be possible.


See also

*
Birmingham Crematorium Birmingham Crematorium is a crematorium in the Perry Barr district of Birmingham, England, designed by Frank Osborne (architect), Frank Osborne and opened in 1903. A columbarium was added in 1928. The crematorium is now owned and operated by Di ...
, opened 1903 *
Cremation Society of Great Britain The Cremation Society of Great Britain (now known as The Cremation Society) was founded in 1874 to promote the use of cremation as an alternative means of dealing with the bodies of the dead instead of burial which until then was the only option. T ...
, founded 1874 *
Woking Crematorium Woking Crematorium is a crematorium in Woking, a large town in the west of Surrey, England. Established in 1878, it was the first custom-built crematorium in the United Kingdom and is closely linked to the history of cremation in the UK. Locat ...
, opened 1878


References


Citations


Sources

* ''The Public General Acts Passed in the Second Year of the Reign of His Majesty King Edward the Seventh''. London: printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1902. * ''Chronological table of the statutes''; HMSO, London. 1993.


External links

* {{authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1902 Cremation in the United Kingdom Death in the United Kingdom