From Dust to Ashes

The Development of Cremation in England and Wales, 1874-2024

Brian Parsons, Peter C. Jupp

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English

Palgrave Macmillan
17 November 2025

History of religion; Cultural studies; Religious groups: social & cultural aspects; Sociology; Palliative medicine

The second edition of From Dust to Ashes brings up-to-date this classic text investigating the replacement of burial by cremation in England and Wales. Cremation was promoted seriously in 1874 but the first cremation did not take place until eleven years later. The response by the public was cautious. Despite the provision of crematoria, by 1939, less than 4 percent of deaths were followed by cremation. The Second World War and the immediate post-war welfare state period brought drastic change to the extent that by 1967 the number of cremations first exceeded burials. Today, the proportion is just over 80 per cent. The final chapter addresses the enormous changes in the last twenty-five years in the disposal of our dead

This book discusses the activities of the Cremation Society, the establishment of early crematoria, and the promotion of cremation against the background of social and economic change before outlining the reasons why bereaved families chose to accept it and, finally, the social, economic and religious pressures that facilitated its adoption.

The book will therefore be of use to scholars of death studies, anthropology, sociology, health and medicine and church history, as well as members of the funeral professions.

By: Brian Parsons, Peter C. Jupp
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Country of Publication: Switzerland
Edition: Second Edition 2025
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 148mm,
ISBN: 9783031884108
ISBN 10: 3031884108
Pages: 402
Publication Date: 17 November 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Brian Parsons is an independent scholar who has worked in the funeral industry in London since 1982. His publications include: Committed to the Cleansing Flame. The Development of Cremation in the Nineteenth Century (2005), The Evolution of the British Funeral Industry in the 20th Century. From Undertaker to Funeral Director (2018), and with Hugh Meller London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer (sixth edition, 2018). He has also contributed chapters to a number of books, and has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Bath. www.brianparsons.org.uk Peter C. Jupp is a minister in the United Reformed Church. He has written and co-edited a number of books on death studies and on the sociology of religion. With Glennys Howarth, he founded the quarterly journal ‘Mortality’ and the bi-annual conference on ‘Death, Dying and Disposal’. He served on the Council of the Cremation Society of Great Britain (Chairman 2001-2009) and was a director of The London Cremation Co PLC (2000-2021).