EVOLUTION OF CEMETERY TYPOLOGIES

The broader categories of cemetery types are the Church cemetery, Rural cemetery, Lawn cemetery and Natural cemetery.

THE CHURCH CEMETERY – 7th century

The church cemetery and churchyard dates back to the 7th century, where every church had tombs inside or
below them in which people with certain ranks were buried. The land adjoining or surrounding the Church was the
churchyard where poor people and children were buried in mass graves. Yew trees were commonly planted in churchyards
or used as a symbolic marker to mark the burial sites. But since the beginning of 19 th century, churchyards were no longer
used as there was a spread of infectious diseases due to increasing populations and pressure for space for new interments.

Figure 1 Trinity Church Cemetery, NYC. Image from Wikipedia

THE RURAL OR GARDEN CEMETERY – 19th century

Bender (1974) stated that “The rural cemetery movement was a widespread cultural phenomenon in mid-
nineteenth century America”. A rural cemetery was a large landscaped park-like burial ground also known as a garden
cemetery. This planned public space retained the arrangement of existing natural features with mutually added roads and
paths following natural contours along with native and exotic tree plantings. This type of cemeteries were designed for
recreation purposes and to establish a connection with nature in the emerging urban society.
 Figure 2. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Massachusetts. First rural - garden cemetery in
the US. Image from American Planning Association

LAWN CEMETERY – 19th Century

The lawn-park cemetery design was introduced by a renowned landscape architect Adolph Strauch, who designed
the lawn cemetery layout for Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA in 1855. This marked the departure of the
romantic rural cemetery design and elimination of monumental markers from cemetery landscape. This type of cemetery is
an extensive lawn with a series of burials, which are marked with a commemorative plaque. This cemetery style was
adopted by the public for its appealing aesthetics and by cemetery authorities anticipating easier ground maintenance
("Cemetery," 2016).

Figure 3. Spring Grove Cemetery, Ohio. Image clipped from Youtube.

TRADITIONAL LAWN CEMETERY

The Auckland Council (2014) defined a traditional lawn cemetery as “a grass lawn cemetery where no headstones
project above the ground”. The traditional lawn cemetery allows plaques of a standard size and design to be placed
horizontally on the ground. One pro of this type is that the organized appearance of the cemetery attracts people and on
the other hand practices such as placing artificial flowers, vases, toys and other items introduced a new form of clutter. The
lawn itself is another problem as the grass could grow over and cover the plaques, making it difficult for the bereaved to
locate the burial plots.

LAWN BEAM CEMETERY

A modern improvement, which attempts to tackle the earlier problems associated with lawn cemeteries, is the
lawn beam cemetery. A low elevated concrete beam runs the length of burial plots on which a headstone or plaque is
implanted. The beam makes it easier for the bereaved to locate the burial plot even if the grass is over grown. A lawn
mower can be used without causing any damage to the headstones or plaques.

Figure 4 Lawn Beam Sample. Image from Everhard Industries.

NATURAL CEMETERY – 20th Century

A natural cemetery, is a place where natural burial or eco burial takes place. The practice of natural burials was
used for thousands of years, but was discontinued because modern practices, such as vaults, mausoleums, embalming, etc.
were introduced, that rather slowed down the decomposition process. But laater in the 19th century, prominent physician
and etcher, Sir Francis Seymour Haden (1875) recommended “earth to earth burial” to bring a better change in the system
of burials and a substitute for cremation and other practices of the time.

Natural burial is a process in which the body is allowed to decompose naturally wherein the body is buried in a pit
with a minimum depth cover of 800mm, which is the active layer of the soil. Embalming of the body is not allowed and
people are only buried in shrouds or a biodegradable coffin. The burial plot is marked permanently with a native tree or
shrub. The above mentioned factors aid the natural process of decomposition, and help the soil and plants absorb the body
nutrients without disturbing the natural environment (Auckland Council, 2014; Wellington City Council, n.d.).

The idea of a natural cemetery is to use a natural shrub land or woodland setting for natural burials but the idea
can be applied to any cemetery to be turned into a natural cemetery. On account of the fast decomposition of bodies as a
result of natural burials, the burial land can be reused, which would increase the efficiency of land use. A natural cemetery
houses the deceased along with native flora and fauna is intended to become a living memorial park for the family to visit
and memorialize.

OTHER TYPES OF CEMETERIES

 MEMORIAL PARKS

Sarasota Memorial Park, Sarasota, Florida

Memorial parks are privately-owned cemeteries. Two of the greatest influences on the design and look of the
cemetery in the 20th Century were the cost of labor and the invention of the motorized lawn mower. By designing
cemeteries with only grass markers—gravestones that lay flat and level to the ground—groundskeepers could mow large
swaths of the cemetery in much less time than it took to push a mower around tombstones and trim the grass growing next
to monuments. The improvement in the efficiency of maintaining the cemetery gives way to artistic and expressive aspect
of tombstones used to mark the graves of the deceased.

SPECIALTY CEMETERIES

Hearthside Rest Pet Cemetery, Erie, Pennsylvania

This category of cemeteries includes family cemeteries, as well as, cemeteries that are dedicated to members of
secret societies. Some of these would include Masonic, Odd Fellow, and Knights of Pythias cemeteries.  This also includes
pet cemeteries, which were established in the United States in the late 19th Century. 
 Pet Cemeteries: Pet cemeteries exist to provide a place of repose for cats, dogs, and other beloved pets. In recent
years, regulations have been changing to allow for cremated human remains to also be interred here, since some people
wish to be buried next to their four-legged friends.

In 1896, Veterinarian Dr. Samuel Johnson offered to let his friend bury his beloved dog in his apple orchard. Today
more than 70,000 pets are buried in what is now the Hartsdale Canine Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York, which became the
first and oldest pet cemetery.  Since that cemetery was founded others have dotted the countryside.

MILITARY CEMETERIES

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

On July 17, 1862, during the Civil War, Congress passed an act that gave the president the power “to purchase
cemetery grounds and cause them to be securely enclosed, to be used as a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die
in the service of the country.”

The gravestones found in National Cemeteries are overwhelmingly the segmented-top white marble tablet. These
gravestones are 42 inches tall, 4 inches thick, and 13 inches wide. In an article written by Edwin Dethlefsen and Kenneth
Jensen, “Social Commentary from the Cemetery”, published in Natural History, June/July 1977, Volume 86, they write,
“Another type of gravestone is that provided for veterans by the United States government. This takes the form of a simple
granite, marble or bronze tablet and is a specific indicator of what we know to be an important aspect of culture in America
—the increasing paternalism of government”.

Monumental Cemeteries

Monumental cemeteries are a traditional style. Burial sites are marked with ornate granite monuments and
headstones, made up of angels, obelisks, and other symbols. These large slabs of concrete and granite sometimes cover the
whole burial site of the deceased. And in some cemeteries, personal fences surround the burial site.

  The monumental cemetery is so iconic because the style is one of the oldest in the world.  
 The symbols on these monuments vary by culture, but typically they are common symbols of Christianity. That’s
because churches have historically owned and operated most graveyards. According to the Encyclopedia of Death and
Dying, “From approximately the tenth century the parish churchyard was the most common burial ground in all Christian
countries.” These early graveyards were primarily located in or near the center of towns. That’s because the churchyard
was a focal point of daily community activity.

FAMILY CEMETERIES

A Buddhist graveyard. Kyoto, Japan.

In many cultures, the family is expected to provide the "final resting place" for their dead. Biblical accounts
describe land owned by various important families for the burial of deceased family members. In Asian cultures, regarding
their ancestors as having spirits who should be honored, families carefully selected the location for burial so as to keep their
ancestors happy.

While uncommon today, family or private cemeteries were a matter of practicality during the settlement of
America. If a municipal or religious cemetery was not established, settlers would seek out a small plot of land, often in
wooded areas bordering their fields, to begin a family plot. Sometimes, several families would arrange to bury their dead
together. While some of these sites later grew into true cemeteries, many were forgotten after a family moved away or
died out. Groupings of tombstones, ranging from a few to a dozen or more, have on occasion been discovered on
undeveloped land. Usually, little effort is made to remove remains when developing, as they may be hundreds of years old;
as a result, the tombstones are often simply removed.

More recent is the practice of families with large estates choosing to create private cemeteries in the form of
burial sites, monuments, crypts, or mausoleum on their property; the mausoleum at architect Frank Lloyd Wright's
Fallingwater is an example of this practice. Burial of a body at such a site may protect the location from redevelopment,
such estates often being placed in the care of a trust or foundation. State regulations have made it increasingly difficult to
start private cemeteries; many require a plan to care for the site in perpetuity. Private cemeteries are nearly always
forbidden on incorporated residential zones.