In message , "Dr Robert V. J. P. Varman" <[log in to unmask]> writes >Hi Histarchers, > >Does anyone know when coffins for ordinary people's burials became a >standard, or expected, thing. Was it during the 1700s or earlier? > Where? Julian Litten, _The English Way of Death_, chapter 4, points to the 16th century for the introduction of the re-usable parish coffin, and the 17th century for its abandonment in the face of the growing trade of funeral furnishing. Best wishes to all, -- Pat Reynolds [log in to unmask] "It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years time" (T. Pratchett)