Not disturbing the dead

A few weeks ago whilst at Ettington Park we noticed an old grave which was protected by a metal fence. We found this interesting and wondered if the fence was just to protect the grave stones but maybe it also had a more macabre purpose...

This fascinating webpage on Victorian funerary practices says that grave robbing was very common especially in the early 1800s. Thus families went to great lengths to protect their loved ones' remains from being stolen including metal fences and other ways of reinforcing the coffins. Whether this fence was for this purpose or not I can't say but if it was it seems to have done it's job!