Crypt

As you face the Meeting House, notice the steps on the right that lead down to the underground crypt. There, bodies were stored when the ground was frozen until it thawed enough to dig a grave. As graves were unmarked in the early years of the burial ground, the more recent deceased were often placed atop earlier burials. (See tour stop #3)

The First 300: The Amazing and Rich History of Lower Merion states, "In 1849 an arched vault over a chamber below ground off the east wall was built to hold bodies for burial until graves could be dug." (p. 20) In keeping with Quaker testimony, plainness and simplicity were emphasized. Quakers were encouraged to avoid pride, pomp and show during a Quaker funeral. P.C. O’Donnell wrote in Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 49. No. 1, p. 48), “Except on rare occasion, they did not carry the coffin into the meeting house before interment. Friends found ways to remain faithful to their testimonies and distinct from the world, however, while at the same time upholding their families’ status through their choice of coffins” (of mahogany or walnut rather than pine).