Practically, only three methods have been used from the earliest times: burial, embalming and cremation. Burial is the earliest and most primitive method. In Britain, it was customary to bury the bodies of the dead in consecrated ground around churches until the early 19th century, when the unsanitary state of churchyards led to legislation for their better control. Burials in Britain may take place after production of a certificate from a registrar of deaths, to whom notice of the death, accompanied by a medical certificate, must be given without delay by the nearest relatives.