Burials in Old Burial Ground

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Note at the beginning of the burial register in 1813 indicating that burials can take place here
Sacred to the memory of Joseph Hussey Cooper who died January 1851 aged 53 years....Martha the beloved wife of Joseph Hussey Cooper who died October 13 1853 aged 48
Sacred to the memory of Jane Hussey the beloved daughter of the late Joseph Hussey and Martha Cooper of this parish who died September 13 1854 aged 15 years
Memorial stone to Elizabeth Webb, died 2 January 1842 aged 67, and Thomas Webb, died 6 May 1842 aged 29
Memorial stone to Elizabeth Webb, died 2 January 1842 aged 67, and Thomas Webb, died 6 May 1842 aged 29

PDF Files:

Archive Notes:

Burials in Wheatley took place at the parish church of Cuddesdon until 1813 after which, by special licence from the rector of Cuddesdon – also being the bishop of Oxford, they were allowed to be performed in Wheatley at the chapel in Bell Lane. A photo of the top of the the first page of the register, which has a statement to this effect, is included in this record. The chapelyard there was extended in 1830. By 1840, the Churchwarden, Richard Way, wrote that 'The Church yard is so full that there is no room to dig another grave in it', [Plate 76 from Hassall, Wheatley Records]. At this stage, there were only about 170 burials but, so it seems, a further 300 were accommodated, perhaps by layering them and building up the ground? The last burial (of 478) took place there in April 1857.

The village separated from the parish of Cuddesdon in 1852 with the arrival of Wheatley’s first vicar - Rev E. Elton - and the building of St Mary the Virgin’s Parish Church which was consecrated in 1857, after which all burials took place in the new churchyard. The original burial ground for the chapel is now the Wheatley’s Memorial Garden with the village war memorial and some gravestones visible too.

This list of burials can be accessed on some of the Family Tree websites but for ease of reference is shown attached as a pdf from an Excel spreadsheet created by Wheatley Village Archive. It can be searched by surname (NB there are often different spellings).

When a new burial register was started in 1920, there was a record which included details of reserved plots; the names on the War Memorial; and a section on the old burial ground including details of the few memorials which were then visible. Photos taken in 2020 of two of them are included with the inscription as recorded in the 1920 document. To this record have been added the names of those who died in the Second World War.

Map Address:

Memorial Garden, High Street