ABSTRACT
The theology of Reformation, which rejected the doctrine of purgatory and the proposition that there could be any effective interaction between this world and the next, ought to have undermined many aspects of the traditional burial ritual, which endowed actions, places, and objects with spiritual value and salvatory effect. The investigation of burial and burial practice is obviously a central concern of archaeologists of any period, but it is of major interest to historians of medieval and modern cultures also. The location of burial was a key part of the overall character and impact of the burial rite. The practice of charnelling, the planned removal and storage of bones from the ground, seems to have ceased in London with the Reformation. The choice of location framed the range of choices about service and accoutrements which could subsequently be made, since most of these were offered or managed by the representatives of the burial church itself.
