On the night of 13 January 1884, the congregation of Llantrisant have been making their method dwelling from church after they noticed flames climbing within the darkness from a close-by hilltop. Villagers raced there to seek out 83-year-old archdruid Dr William Value, clad in a white gown, chanting medieval Welsh over a burning petrol barrel.
However what was that different scent amid the fumes? A policeman kicked the barrel over. Out tumbled the charring physique of a five-month-old boy.
Value’s son by his 23-year-old maid-turned-mistress had died the earlier week. The boy’s title: Jesus Christ. However cremation was unlawful, wasn’t it? The group surged. Value was arrested. The useless had sometimes been cremated earlier than, however the difficulty had by no means been examined in court docket. Now it might be.
The truth is, whereas there was no regulation permitting cremation, there was no particular regulation in opposition to it both. This was Value’s defence and the decide sympathised. Mr Justice Stephen reminded the jury that ‘not … all the pieces that jarred upon the feelings of the folks was essentially a misdemeanour in frequent regulation’. The jury took its trace. Value was acquitted, the legality of cremation established.
A 12 months later the primary purpose-built crematorium in Britain welcomed its first buyer.
