A Strange Funeral.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 2, Issue 281, 1 March 1881, Page 3

A Strange Funeral.

There was a curious funeral procession passed through Mitcham to the Lambeth cemetery, London. It consisted of a hearse and feathers, drawn by four plumed horses, the corpse and coffin being borne on men’s shoulders immediately behind, with flowers plentifully strewn on the coffin lid, two mourning coaches followed by a long string of vehicles of every conceivable description from double chaises to donkey barrows, and every kind of truck and cart in use among the costermonger fraternity. The funeral was that of a poor old woman named Hilliard who kept a small fruit stall in Mitcham. The deceased had seen better times, and had hit upon a fancy to depart from this world in some grandeur. To accomplish her purpose she had joined several burial clubs, and hence the display. Some rare old china which the deceased feared her relatives would quarrel over was buried with her, and a curious observance of throwing the fruits of the earth after her into the grave in the form of apples, walnuts, &c., terminated the ceremony of the funeral.