The Deeping funeral hudd

Most of our parish churches contain curiosities from past times, artefacts that once provided a useful service for the parish but have either fallen into disuse or been overtaken by more modern replacements. Such it is with the rare funeral hudd that can be found on display in the nave of the 13th century Priory Church at Deeping St James, sandwiched between the organ and one of the front pews, a most unusual object once used as a graveside shelter.  

It stands some six feet high, is made of wood and resembles a sentry box such as those we might see outside Buckingham Palace or a military barracks although this one had quite a different purpose in that it was used to prevent clergymen getting a soaking during inclement weather while officiating at interments in the churchyard, an extreme precaution to stop their wigs from getting wet and as it was fashionable at the time to powder them to give a white colour this would have turned them into a soggy mess. 

The hudd is, in fact, a portable, covered canopy that was moved into the churchyard for funerals to protect the priest from inclement weather during services at the graveside, probably by the verger assisted by strong lads from the village because they were very heavy and needed at least two people to lift them and so two sets of handles were provided on either side for this purpose.  

This is such an unusual object that England’s foremost authority on such subjects, Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-83), a scholar in art and the history of architecture, found it worthy of a place in his account of the church which he visited while compiling a 46-volume series of county guides entitled The Buildings of England between 1951and 1974. His entry is recorded under the heading “CURIOSUM: The church preserves one of the rare graveside shelters for the parson to keep dry during rainy burial services.” 

Funeral hudds originated in Georgian times and were peculiar to the fens. Several others survive as exhibits in various parish churches in South Lincolnshire apart from Deeping St James, including Quadring, Friskney and Donington, and another at Pinchbeck dated 1725.  

The hudd has now fallen into disuse and an accompanying notice explains: “The churchyard is no longer open for burials and modern funerals are mostly indoors so there is no longer a need for such a device, a cloak sufficing for the few minutes the vicar now has to spend at the graveside in the cemetery next door.”

The hudd pictured in November 2015, tucked away between the organ and one of the front  pews with assorted items for company.

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