I was briefly in Old Kirk Braddan Churchyard yesterday, and I startered wondering about the inheritance of burial rights in the ancient plots within the bigger yards. I am aware of plots belonging to a family farm (Arderry) immediately behind the altar of the church (out of doors) where there is room for three or four burials side by side. However the other farm (Ballachrink) does not seem to have any identifyable place. Of course before the date of the surviving stones they were burying over and over in the same ground. The numbers from Douglas who were interred therer before they opened the new cenetery is frightening. THe openimg of the Braddan Cemetery, after St. Luke's, Baldwin, relieved some of the pressure. However as there are records of 18th c. disputes over burial grounds, there must have been some accepted layout. It seems to me that quite a few Douglas families might have buried in places where their rural ancestors or relatives did.. I know it is a long shot, but has anyone done anything with this?

NGC