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gord

Part of the Furniture Now
This is in England (just). 10 miles from the Welsh border (I am a fan of many things Scottish, mind, which may have caused the misapprehension. Anyhow, geographical distances on this little island of ours I know are piddling compared with Canadian ones). The church, believe it or not, was built in 1873, was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, and occupies part of a much older burial ground.

The remains of a far older church, that of the Priory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmelite Friars), dating from 1349, lie beneath the turf slightly to the south and west of the present church. The graveyard - 3 acres of it - has about 5,000 burials we know about and is, of course, reputed to be haunted. There hasn't been a burial there for over 100 years (it's full, so there's a new cemetery just outside the town) but Ludlow's Parochial Church Council is still responsible for its upkeep and delegates that responsibility to The Friends of Saint Leonard's Churchyard, which I run.

One of my more interesting duties there is the occasional reburial of human remains dug up by the local badgers - dog walkers tend to find bones, freak out, and call the police, probably imagining some horrible act of desecration has been carried out in the hours of darkness. It's my job to liaise with the local clergy - they turn up with vestments and prayer book, I turn up with a spade - and we re-inter them with the proper rites, away from the badger-setts. Last year I found what I thought was a section of skull - it was lying around on some recent badger-excavation spoil, along with a thighbone, part of a pelvis and a rib or two - but it turned out to be part of an old jug I was able to date to the early 14thC and is now on my mantelpiece. I love the sense of continuity of this place.
Thank you so much for a most interesting and enlightening reply. I'm half English myself, but know relatively little about history - a big gap in my knowledge. Salut.
 

gord

Part of the Furniture Now
This is in England (just). 10 miles from the Welsh border (I am a fan of many things Scottish, mind, which may have caused the misapprehension. Anyhow, geographical distances on this little island of ours I know are piddling compared with Canadian ones). The church, believe it or not, was built in 1873, was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, and occupies part of a much older burial ground.

The remains of a far older church, that of the Priory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmelite Friars), dating from 1349, lie beneath the turf slightly to the south and west of the present church. The graveyard - 3 acres of it - has about 5,000 burials we know about and is, of course, reputed to be haunted. There hasn't been a burial there for over 100 years (it's full, so there's a new cemetery just outside the town) but Ludlow's Parochial Church Council is still responsible for its upkeep and delegates that responsibility to The Friends of Saint Leonard's Churchyard, which I run.

One of my more interesting duties there is the occasional reburial of human remains dug up by the local badgers - dog walkers tend to find bones, freak out, and call the police, probably imagining some horrible act of desecration has been carried out in the hours of darkness. It's my job to liaise with the local clergy - they turn up with vestments and prayer book, I turn up with a spade - and we re-inter them with the proper rites, away from the badger-setts. Last year I found what I thought was a section of skull - it was lying around on some recent badger-excavation spoil, along with a thighbone, part of a pelvis and a rib or two - but it turned out to be part of an old jug I was able to date to the early 14thC and is now on my mantelpiece. I love the sense of continuity of this place.
Thank you so much for a most interesting and enlightening reply. I'm half English myself, but know relatively little about history, British, Polish, European, American or Canadian- a big gap in my knowledge and sometimes a source of flippancy. Salut.
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
64,351
642,812
Enjoyed a tasty lunch, and a delightful conversation with an old friend (fellow piper, too), and just finished smoking year 2020 C&D Virginia Flake in a straight medium brown 1922-1937 Irish Free State era Peterson 222 bullcap with a sterling silver band and a tapered black vulcanite p-lip stem. Gold Star Hawaiian Kona Extra Fancy, neat, is my drink. I think Tomato the Brave has decided that my feet are his new pillow.
Irish Free State bullcap_222.jpg