![]() Hablot Knight Browne illustration: "The Goblin and the sexton" (published in The Pickwick Papers, 1837) | |
Occupation | |
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Occupation type | Officer |
Activity sectors | Church, congregation, or synagogue |
Description | |
Related jobs | Sacristan |
A sexton is an officer of a church, congregation, or synagogue charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or an associated graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger.[1] Larger establishments, such as cathedrals, may employ a team of sextons.[2]
Historically in North America and the United Kingdom the "sexton" was sometimes a minor municipal official responsible for overseeing the town graveyard. In the United Kingdom the position still exists today, related to management of the community's graveyard, with such sextons usually employed by the town/parish or community council.[3][4]