A burial scandal ….. a walk of shame … and a heap of other stories

This week sees the publication of our latest book in the series nothing to do in chorlton, which tells the story of the old parish church and its graveyard by the green.

The newly arrived books, 2023

This is the twelfth book Peter and I have written together and for me it is the most important.

Like all our books it tells “the stories behind the doors”, concentrating less on the great and the good but exploring the lives of the “little people” who at best history has forgotten but mostly never even bothered to notice.

People like Mary Crowther who was the last woman in Chorlton to do penance in St Clement’s Church, Samuel and Sarah Nixon who ran a beer shop on Beech Road for half a century and the unknown mother and child whose bodies were found underneath a side aisle of the church.

The graveyard in 2009, in happier times

That said we do also acknowledge the important role of Thomas Walker who despite being an important Establishment figure in Manchester during the late 18th century campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade and was indicted for sedition for supporting the values of the French Revolution. 

He lived at Barlow Hall and was buried in the graveyard.  And for me what makes this collection of stories the most important to date is that it is linked to efforts to restore the parish graveyard, along with the Lych Gate which are in need of some tender care and attention.

Since the landscaping project of the 1980s bits of the site have become tired and it is time for a joint venture between the City Council and a “Friends” group to identify areas which need repair, and improvement and imaginative suggestions about how the gravestones could be better displayed and preserved.

So, while the book is about the church and those who were buried there it is also a way of increasing awareness of the history of this green space in the heart of Chorlton.

The Lych Gate and Grave Situations beyond, is book 4 in that popular series nothing to do in chorlton, costs £4.99 and is available from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk and Chorlton Book shop.

The graveyard in 2023 in less happy times

The book launch will be on April 10th at 1 pm in the Lloyd’s Hotel and we are planning a history walk later in the month which will be centred in the old parish church yard.

Location; Chorlton in April

Pictures; The newly arrived books, 2023, the graveyard in 2009, in happier times, and in 2023 in less happy times.