If you live in my Stroud Valleys, there are many villages built on the hillside slopes. The old mills were in the valleys below feeding off the rivers that flow through the valleys for their power. It was often the case that the workers walked down from the villages to work at these mills and had the long climb back in the evenings.
With these villages built on the slopes it meant that all the buildings were at different levels. The houses, shops, schools and churches were often reached by paths. It also meant that the churchyards were also on slopes, and taking that Christian graves generally face East/West they had to have extra support. This is Randwick churchyard with some very old graves built with added walls to the side.
Without being disrespectful, it was a good job they weren't in a North/South direction as some of the coffins may have been like toboggans and ended up down in the valleys, just my silly thoughts again. Much better viewed with the black background.
