Confessions of a Taphophile

Airedale & Wharfedale Family History Society Talk by Stephen Miller

Members of the Airedale & Wharfedale Family History Society were treated to an entertaining, informative and thought-provoking presentation by Society webmaster Stephen Miller entitled Confessions of a Taphophile.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a taphophile is someone with an interest in cemeteries, graveyards and memorials. Stephen explained that whilst the word literally means a lover of graves and burial places, his own interest extends far beyond headstones themselves. The real fascination lies in the stories, records, symbolism, history and people connected to them.

The talk combined personal experiences, practical advice, historical research and more than a few carefully placed "dad jokes", taking the audience on a journey spanning over forty years of cemetery exploration and family history research.

The Beginning of an Obsession

Stephen traced the origins of his interest back to the 1980s when a colleague asked him to recommend a computer program for family history. After purchasing a copy of the genealogy program Brother's Keeper, he began entering information about his own family and quickly found himself drawn into the world of genealogy.

Conversations with parents and grandparents soon led to the discovery of family graves in local churchyards. One of his earliest visits was to Meanwood Parish Church, where he located a family headstone. Whilst finding the memorial was exciting, it immediately raised more questions than it answered.

Who else was buried there? Where were the burial records? Were there grave maps? What other documents survived?

The search for answers led him into parish registers, cemetery plans and archives, revealing that a headstone is often only the visible tip of a much larger historical iceberg.

Looking Beneath the Surface

One of the key themes of the evening was that cemeteries contain far more information than appears on the memorial itself.

Stephen demonstrated how burial registers, grave books, cemetery plans, maps, census returns, newspaper reports and civil registration records can all contribute to a fuller understanding of the people buried there.

An early visit to Harehills Cemetery proved particularly influential. Unable to find a family grave, he was advised to search death indexes at Leeds Reference Library before consulting the cemetery registers.

This experience led to a discovery that many family historians remain unaware of today. Under the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977, members of the public have a legal right to inspect burial registers maintained by local authority cemeteries. Stephen explained how these records remain public documents and can provide invaluable information for researchers.

From Personal Research to Public Project

As Stephen's knowledge grew, so too did his ambitions.

What began as a search for his own ancestors gradually evolved into a determination to make cemetery records more accessible for everyone. Recognising how difficult it could be to locate information, he began systematically recording memorial inscriptions, transcribing registers and creating indexes.

The turning point came after a visit to Harehill's Cemetery when he discovered that numerous memorials had been damaged by vandals riding stolen vehicles through the grounds.

The experience changed his outlook entirely.

The work was no longer simply about research; it had become a race against time to preserve information before it disappeared forever.

As Stephen remarked, a photograph may eventually become the only surviving record of a memorial destroyed by weather, neglect or vandalism.

Developing a Method

The audience was fascinated by Stephen's description of how his recording techniques evolved over the years.

Early visits relied upon notebooks and pencils. These were eventually supplemented by dictaphones before being largely replaced by digital photography.

Modern cameras and smartphones now allow thousands of high-quality images to be taken during a single visit. By photographing entire rows of memorials, close-up inscriptions, grave numbers and stonemasons' marks, information can be examined and transcribed later from the comfort of home.

A recurring piece of advice throughout the talk was the importance of working methodically.

Rather than wandering randomly around a cemetery, Stephen recommends dividing the site into sections, photographing systematically and maintaining accurate records of any memorials requiring further investigation.

The Evolution of a Taphophile's Toolkit

One of the most entertaining parts of the evening came when Stephen revealed the contents of his ever-expanding cemetery field kit.

Presented through a series of animated PowerPoint slides, items appeared to emerge one by one from a virtual bag as he explained how decades of cemetery recording had gradually transformed a simple notebook-and-camera approach into something resembling a professional field survey operation.

The journey began modestly with a notebook, pencil and camera. As experience grew, so did the collection of equipment. Brushes were added for gently clearing loose dirt and moss from inscriptions, together with plastic scrapers, water bottles and tailor's chalk to improve the readability of worn lettering.

Further additions included secateurs and loppers for dealing with vegetation obscuring memorials, reflective panels for directing sunlight onto difficult inscriptions, and specialised tools for locating hidden or buried stones. Each item had been added for a specific purpose, often as the result of a challenge encountered whilst recording cemeteries.

The audience particularly enjoyed Stephen's humorous descriptions of how the kit had evolved over the years, together with his observation that there is no such thing as a ready-made "Taphophile Starter Kit" available to purchase. Instead, the equipment had developed organically as new problems required new solutions.

As cemetery projects became larger and more ambitious, the equipment became correspondingly more substantial. Mapping and surveying tools were introduced, including GPS equipment and later RTK technology capable of locating individual graves with remarkable precision.

The final reveal demonstrated just how far the hobby had progressed. Alongside brushes, notebooks and cameras now sits a drone, used for aerial photography, cemetery mapping and site planning. What had begun as a simple family history interest had evolved into a sophisticated combination of genealogy, archaeology, surveying and digital preservation.

Although presented with considerable humour, the demonstration illustrated an important point. Every piece of equipment served a single purpose: preserving information that might otherwise be lost through weathering, neglect or vandalism, ensuring that future researchers can continue to access the stories hidden within Yorkshire's cemeteries.

Mapping the Dead

One of the most impressive aspects of the presentation was Stephen's work on cemetery mapping.

Using spreadsheets, aerial photography, GPS and more recently RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) surveying technology, he has been able to create highly detailed cemetery maps.

Ordinary GPS can often be accurate only to several metres, which may be sufficient to locate the correct section of a cemetery but not necessarily an individual grave. RTK technology, however, can achieve centimetre-level accuracy, making it possible to plot individual memorials precisely.

This work has become an important component of the Yorkshire Burials project, enabling researchers not only to identify where people are buried but also to discover family members in adjacent plots and explore the wider context of burial patterns.

Yorkshire Burials

The audience was given an overview of the continuing development of the Yorkshire Burials website.

Originally beginning as the Leeds Indexes project, the work expanded into Yorkshire Indexes and ultimately evolved into Yorkshire Burials.

The project now contains hundreds of thousands of burial records from across Yorkshire and continues to grow through the efforts of volunteers and researchers.

The website not only provides searchable burial records but also links together inscriptions, grave locations, cemetery maps, photographs and supporting resources.

A particularly exciting development is the creation of an interactive cemetery map covering both surviving and lost burial grounds throughout Yorkshire.

The project increasingly aims to direct researchers towards existing resources held by archives, family history societies and online collections rather than duplicating work already undertaken elsewhere.

Technology as a Research Tool

Stephen also demonstrated how modern technology is helping automate many of the repetitive tasks associated with large-scale transcription projects.

Custom scripts are now used to compare burial data against General Register Office records, identify possible discrepancies and highlight entries requiring further investigation.

However, he stressed that automation does not replace the judgement and experience of the researcher. Technology may assist with checking and validation, but interpretation remains a human skill.

The Stories Behind the Stones

Perhaps the most memorable part of the evening was a series of extraordinary stories uncovered through newspaper research.

These included tragic accidents, mysterious deaths, heroic acts and remarkable tales of endurance that would never be apparent from reading a memorial inscription alone.

One particularly moving account described Elizabeth Snowden, who survived seventeen hours trapped in an overturned keel on the Humber after a maritime accident in 1885, keeping her young daughter above the rising water until rescuers finally reached them.

Other stories illustrated the unexpected ways in which ordinary lives can become extraordinary when viewed through the lens of historical newspapers.

As Stephen observed, a headstone records a death, but a newspaper often reveals a life.

Lessons Learned

Towards the end of the talk, Stephen summarised some of the lessons learned during decades of cemetery research:

• Start with records, not just memorials.

• Work systematically.

• Photograph generously.

• Keep careful notes.

• Respect the memorial.

• Back up everything.

• Share information whenever possible.

• Build resources that future researchers can use.

Most importantly, he encouraged researchers to remember that every memorial represents a real person and a family story waiting to be discovered.

Conclusion

Confessions of a Taphophile was far more than a talk about gravestones. It was a fascinating account of how curiosity can develop into a lifelong passion, how technology can support historical research, and why preserving cemetery records matters.

By combining humour, practical advice and decades of experience, Stephen demonstrated that cemeteries are not simply places of remembrance but valuable archives of social history.

The evening concluded with questions from members and the reassuring observation that whether one is merely curious about cemeteries or already "beyond saving", among family historians there are plenty of fellow taphophiles ready to share the journey.