Under the Burial In Wool Act of 1666 it was legal requirement to wrap a body in wool for burial; the intention of this Act of Parliament was to protect the domestic wool industry, as its wording included the phrase ‘For the Encouragement of the Woollen Manufactures of this Kingdome’.
A fee had to be paid and an affidavit had to be sworn in front of a Justice of the Peace that the legislation had been complied with – a number of Yeo burial records include a reference to such affidavits.
The 1666 Act was subsequently modified, but remained in force until 1814, when it was repealed.
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