Implementation: Graveyard Recording (2003 Research Design)
This year we shall be going to Bulmer church, near to Castle Howard, a few miles north-east of York. The small, picturesque village of Bulmer sadly lacks a pub, but has a beautiful small medieval church and an interesting graveyard. This is grazed some of the time by sheep to keep the grass down, and contains a variety of later 18th, 19th and 20th century memorials. The graveyard has been extended over time. There are a few internal memorials on the walls and on the floor of the chancel, and we may have the chance to record these also.
There are several research questions which we will be asking by undertaking this study. These can be placed at three levels, and each will be briefly outlined in turn.
Site Level
The graveyard at Bulmer is to be investigated to understand how it has developed over time and to investigate the change in monument types over time. As such it is a fine example of a rural graveyard where the material remains can also be compared with patterns of burial recorded in the parish burial registers.
Memory, Commemoration and the Country House Estate:
I am researching the ways in which families at Bulmer were influenced by the country house when creating memorials in the landscape. Some, like the mausoleum at Castle Howard, are away from the church on private estates, others such as village war memorials may be in public places, and many others may be in the church or churchyard. Bulmer, closely associated with Castle Howard, is a graveyard which can throw light on the nature, extent and chronology of patronage. Some of the memorials to villagers were paid for by the landowners. Moreover, within the church the memorials laid over the vaults of some family members have been inscribed to record the movement of their remains to lie within the mausoleum once it was finished. A detailed study of the Bulmer memorials will show how affiliation and patronage was used in the village and throw light on the relationships between village, estate and house.
Regional Level:
Students have, in the past, recorded the graveyards of Kellington, Riccal, Escrick and Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire. Adding Bulmer and, in due course, other sites to the database will allow regional trends to be developed. In this way the specific findings of the individual site level study can be compared with a wider background pattern.
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