Having touched on the ancient combined office of sexton and undertaker in the village, a little more explanation of this may be useful. New residents to the village are often curious as to why this office remains in the one family and why the services are performed free of charge. They are usually directed to the village library and to two books there. The first, by Digby Boneburier, Catchpole's father, is entitled Necrophilia for Dummies, and the second, a much lighter read by Catchpole himself, is called How Was It For You – Unanswered Questions About Necrophilia.

In actual fact, the office was granted by charter by Richard II following the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, for the disposal of the remains of those executed in the persecutions following the uprising. When pressed and plied with a substantial amount of Sneck Lifter beer, Catchpole will produce an ancient and very grubby document, which states that "…the holder shall be called, in name and title, Bone Buryer, and the office shall be past from father to sonne in perpertuitie. For the performance of this office neither gold nor silver shall be given but the holder may, in whatsoever way he may deem fitting, use for the sateing of his carnal lusts, the bodies of the deceased."

This may, some say, account for the great age to which many maiden ladies in the village live and also for their greeting to each other: "Ah see Boneburier an't 'ad thee yet".

On cold winter days when his services are most in demand, the cheerfull whistling of Mr Fox's The Hanged Man can be heard emanating from ever-deepening holes in the churchyard, and curious passersby will stop and wonder: who will Boneburier have in his bed tonight?