The below image has been cropped from the Burial Record (found at Ancestry.com) of my 5th great grandfather John Smyth who was buried at Bunhill Fields Burial Ground (London, England) on 23 Jan 1806.
The column on the right hand side records that he was brought from Hoxton Square.
What is the term "brought from" likely to indicate in this context?
For a different London cemetery in a slightly later period I found:
- Brought From - The place of death; could be hospital, hospice or home address.
My first thought was that Hoxton Square might be where he had been residing so I checked Land Tax Records on Ancestry.com.
I found that John Smyth was living in Holywell Street (now called Shoreditch High Street), which is within a few hundred metres of Hoxton Square, for at least the years 1786-87, 1797-98, 1800-02 and 1804-06. During the last 2-3 of those years the heading in the records book (a few rows above his name) which had earlier been Holywell Street was replaced by just Street.
I suspect that some confusion over street (re)naming may have led to whoever brought his body to Bunhill Fields deciding to use the nearest well known landmark (thought to be one of London's oldest squares) rather than his home address.
