WHEN Sophia Wallis died at 77 in 1895, she was buried beside her husband Henry and two other family members in a shared grave at Stoke Newington’s Abney Park cemetery.

But communal burials rarely occur out­side of London anymore and are not often associated with the 21st century.

Communal graves were a feature of Victorian Britain, but many thought they had been consigned to history (Photo: Jennifer Lipman)

Yet since 2007, 24 Hackney residents have been buried in these communal graves, in­cluding one still-born infant last year. These were ‘pauper’, or ‘public health burials’, ar­ranged by the council for those without fam­ily or friends to pay.

Dominic McGuire, from the National As­sociation of Funeral Directors, said: “The public purse takes responsibility for people for whom no other satisfactory arrangements can be made.

“Councils own communal grave plots in which people with no next of kin, or down and outs, will be buried in.”

In 2009 the council arranged 43 funerals, of which all but five were cremations, as is their policy unless it has been specifically requested otherwise.

But those who requested a traditional burial may not have been informed that this condemned them to sharing a grave with to­tal strangers.

Although each person gets a grave stone and an individual coffin, critics branded it “degrading” that there might be four bodies with perhaps no family connection laid in the same plot.

“It’s because of money,” said John Beer­ing, manager of Dalston’s T. Cribb & Sons Funeral Directors. “People with no one have to be buried when and where.”

The cost of a basic funeral, including a private grave, hearse and coffin can run to £4000. A communal burial is around £1000 cheaper and cremation costs about £2500.

During the Victorian era families would often share graves because land prices were too high for them to purchase individual plots, but it came as a surprise to many that pauper burial continues.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” said Fa­ther Rob Wickham, parish priest at St John at Hackney church, who oversees an average of five funerals every month. “There are ques­tions over who those people might be. You can judge a society by how it treats its dead.”

He said in a borough with many young residents and not a single cemetery current­ly in use, Hackney was not the best at deal­ing with death and funeral processes.

“There is so much excitement about the beginning of life,” said Father Wickham.

“There should be the same care and at­tention at the tragic moment when someone passes away.”

His comments were supported by Simon Tesler, Conservative councillor for the Lordship ward, who called for an end to communal burials.

“It degrades human dignity,” he said. “The costs are not that phenomenal. The council should spend the money on indi­vidual plots.

“They can make savings elsewhere.”

Steve Douglas, the council’s corporate director for Neighbourhoods & Regen­eration, said the council complied with the principles of a charter on communal burials launched this week by the Evening Standard.

In response, he said: “Hackney Council is confident that where we manage resi­dents’ funerals, we do so with dignity and respect.”

Junior Home Office minister Meg Hillier is no longer encouraging women to enter politics.

Meg Hillier on the campaign trail (Photo: Hoxton Councillors)

Hillier, elected Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch on an all-women shortlist in 2005, said she is no longer as enthusiastic about female parliamentarians as she was a few years ago.

“Now I am sounding a strong note of caution,” said Hillier, a former councillor who in 1998 became Islington’s youngest ever mayor.

The mother-of-three added: “The new expenses system makes it very challenging for anyone with young children.”

She said many of the candidates standing in 2010 had young families and would find life in Westminster hard, especially if their constituencies were not nearby.

“I’m lucky to be an inner London MP and be able to go and see my children between votes.”

Last April, Hillier took maternity leave following the birth of her third child. With David Cameron soon to become a father again, she advised that the prospective Prime Minister would have to very organised.

“Being a working parent is challenging whatever you do,” she said. “It’s always hard juggling [work and childcare].”

“I just have to have good childcare and have my children well trained,” said Hillier, adding that she sometimes finds herself up in the early hours baking for the school fair and that her kitchen floor is “never swept”.

But she said she tries to follow fellow Hackney MP Diane Abbott’s example and make time for her children. “I try not to say no to things,” she said.

As a busy working mother, she said she found the way Samantha Cameron and Sarah Brown were being used as campaign tools “a bit old fashioned”.

“My husband wouldn’t do it for me and it would be interesting to see if the boot was on the other foot what would happen,” she said.

Roadworks on Kingsland High Street (credit: Tom Jackson)

BUSINESS leaders and entrepreneurs are demanding compensation for the short-term impact of the council’s £2.3m plan to regenerate Dalston town centre.

Many have labelled the project as “short-term pain for long-term gain”, but feel that the council should be doing more to help out businesses adversely affected.

The plans for Kingsland High Street include better walking and cycling routes, more trees, improved lighting, a new 20 mph speed limit and better access for wheelchair users.

Colin Jones of Hackney Co-operative Developments, a local economic development organisation, called for “organised compensation” from the council.

“Any inward investment into the area is always welcome,” he said, “but what’s happened is that Dalston’s become one large roadworks.”

“With that, the Overground line being closed until June for works, and the East London line being built, businesses have seen trade and revenue patterns changing. They’ve been adversely affected, fortunately none have had to close.” he said.

Richard Abbott, chief executive of local business support charity HBV Enterprise agreed that businesses must be supported throughout any disruptive redevelopment work.

“It’s crucial that every effort is made to absolutely minimise the negative effects of the redevelopment works on the business community, which after all is key to making Dalston town centre what it is today,” he said.

Mustafa Cicekci, owner of the popular Kingfisher Cafe on the High Street, said he was sceptical about the council’s plans.

“There has been a slump in business,” he said. “The small businesses on the high street will feel a big blow.

“It would be good to get some kind of relief, small businesses like us bear the brunt of [works in the area],” he said.

John Neilson, owner of the nearby Dalston Lane Cafe, fears some businesses may not survive the short-term effects.

“People say that it’s short-term pain for long-term gain, but with rising business rates, the recession, and the roadworks on top of it, it might be enough to finish some businesses off. It’s so difficult for small businesses to look long-term at the moment,” he said.

But Michael Hughes, Head of Development at Criterion Capital, who own Kingsland Shopping Centre, welcomed the plans.

“I think any redevelopment of Kingsland High Street will be a huge improvement on what we’ve got at the moment,” he said. “I don’t think there will be too much disruption to businesses in the short-term if the council are mindful of what they need to do.”

£1.3m of the regeneration funding is from the Mayor of London, with an extra £1m coming from the London Development Agency. The work is due to be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “When the world comes here during the 2012 Games we want the place to look its best.

“These great projects will help enhance the Capital as a whole, giving local communities and visitors improved public space, and providing a legacy for London that lasts for many years to come.”