350 graves to be exhumed

[caroclay]

I have just saw in our local newspaper that there is to be 350 bodies exhumed from a cemetery in Airdrie

All the bodies will be sent to New Monklands Cemetery.

I thought i would let everyone know incase it is off any relevence to your research.


regards

carolyn

[tidybooks]

Hi Carolyn,

Just googled to read the story, I thought there was a law that stated they could not move the corpses buried there for a hundred years, The article even mentions cemetry being used up to 1927.

http://www.rootschat.com/links/05gx/

I think all those who have relatives there are made aware. Is there someone on RC that could advise on legal position.

Tom

[sancti]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7872282.stm

[Lodger]

The burial ground in question is attached to the disused Wellwynd church in Airdrie.  The church was established on that spot in 1791 and has not been used as a place of worship for many years now.  Way back in the 1960s (or about that time) a portion of the burial ground was leveled and made into a car park. Again, as far as I know, this was done when the church was still in use and the burial ground owned by said church. All the headstones were removed but the bodies left in place.  No record is know to exist of who was buried in that portion of the churchyard. 
It is this car park that is now being dug-up and North Lanarkshire Council, the present owners, has employed a specialist company to remove any bones that are found. They will all be re-interred at Rydenmains (New Monkland cemetery) and a church of Scotland minister will be in attendance to say a prayer.

NLC are improving the area and upgrading the disused church, I think it is to be some sort of leasure centre but don't quote me! At the moment it is almost a ruin, a great pity as it has been there since 1847 and is a fine building.
The portion of burial ground in front of the church is all that has survived and this will be tidied-up and security cameras installed to deter vandals. (Rather late in the day in my opinion).  I have a list of lair owners and the MIs from what's left of the stones if anyone would like a look-up.

[Lodger]

I should add that the figure of 350 bodies is a wild guess on the part of the newspaper.  No lair plan is known to exist, and my guess is that in the area in question there could have beeen up to 200 lairs.  If the evidence left by Airdrie burgh engineer when he exhumed part of Chapel Street burial ground in 1926 is anything to go by, some of the lairs held 18 - 20 bodies, in most of the lairs opened, the top body was 1 foot from the surface!!!  (This lovely man not only made a meticulous record of the number of bodies and any inscription no matter how trivial from the corresponding headstone, he also recorded coffin plate inscriptions).

[apanderson]

Just by sheer co-incidence, I have been pestering both the owners and the architects who are 'dealing' (for lack of a better expression) with Wellwynd Church for access to photograph the War Memorial Plaques which are still within this church.

It seems they couldn't be removed when the church closed and have been described as 'part of the fabric of the church' I think this means they're probably some sort of stonework, but that remains to be seen.

I shall keep pestering requesting access as I'd hate to think these plaques will conveniently vanish along with so many others which have ended up on scrap heaps etc.

New Monkland has a section with the re-interred remains and a few of the stones which were still legible from Chapel Street Churchyard as Lodger pointed out but there's only about 20 or so.

Anne

[buzzbyb]

Lodger
I would very much appreciate if you could look-up the names Gardner/Gardiner Finnie and Lindsay in the Wellwynd list.
Thanks
Barbara

[caroclay]

hi

I did not know anything about this graveyard i had only read what i saw in the paper.

It does not seem quite as bad now after reading the replies above the newspaper did make it sound very grim saying 350 bodies.

I personally don't think any body should be moved from it final resting place whether in a marked or unmarked grave but that is a personal opinion

[daval57]

My reading of Lodger's post is that there are many more than 350, ie, 200 x up to 18 bodies.

Anne is referring to the remaining stones.

Dave