MEMBERS of Martley Rural District Council got hot under the collar this week 50 years ago over the "high" bill they had to pay from the rates for the burial of a poor villager.

The Journal reported: "The high cost of burials was brought home to members of the council when they were told that, under the National Assistance Act of 1948, the council had been responsible for the funeral of an 87-year-old cottager whose widow, aged 85, was unable herself to meet the cost.

"Lady Margaret Huntingdon-Whiteley asked: 'Does it usually cost £25 to be buried? It sounds an awful lot.' Was it necessary to have brass fittings on the coffin was another query.

"Mr G. Howard Heaton remarked: 'He was a very nice old man, but I am sure he didn't want brass fittings.'

"Clerk to the council, Mr R.H. Hodges, was asked if the council had received the usual £20 funeral benefit under the National Health Service. He explained that it depended on whether the deceased had sufficient stamps on his card. 'On this occasion, we had nothing,' he said.

"Mr E.N.G Crane suggested there was a danger people might think that here was a way of escaping funeral expenses. The council decided to try to cut down on the costs of any further burials to fall on the rates."

Also on the rural scene, the same Journal edition of 1953 sang the praises of Cropthorne and Fladbury.

"The beautiful village of Cropthorne and its near neighbour Fladbury must have been of considerable importance in Saxon times - without casting any reflection on their significance today.

"King Ethelred gave 'the Town of Fladbury' to Ostorious, Bishop of Worcester, in 621, and King Offa visited the district and gave 50 farms and the royal village of Cropthorne to the See of Worcester."