8:40am Friday 1st August 2008
By Tom Moseley
A SECOND graveyard has been discovered in the path of Blackburn’s new link road.
A new study has revealed the site of the town’s first ever Roman Catholic chapel lies on the route of the planned £4million dual carriageway.
The council-commissioned report says the number of bodies in the 18th-century graveyard – which was used for more than 40 years – will not be known until it is dug up, but it concluded: “there is the potential for a few hundred burials”.
Critics claim the council has not done its homework properly, but supporters of the scheme say the disused burial ground is not important enough to threaten the plans.
However its discovery, on the site of the recently-closed Byrom Supplies on Chapel Street, is the latest obstacle to the crucial road, which will connect the new £12million Wainwright Bridge to the junction of Montague Street and King Street.
Also in its path is another graveyard, part of the St Peter’s Church of England diocese. Council bosses say there are about 1,000 bodies buried there, but some historians have claimed the true amount is much higher.
And last month it was revealed the battle over a crumbling listed building - 53 King Street - means a public inquiry looks set to decide the fate of the plans.
Richard Prest, of Blackburn Civic Society, said: “There is a lot more to the history of this town centre than most people realise.
“I don’t think the full historic implications were researched.
“In some respects it seems as if the council has made it up as it goes along.”
He added: “From my point of view I always thought this was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The road is basically not needed.
“They did have to do something about the junction, but I don’t think a big road down the middle was the answer.
“It’s almost as if the road is being used as the excuse to clear the area for regeneration.”
But Coun Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration and the environment, said: “These are the unknowns you find when you are digging in an old town centre.
“It’s not surprising that you find things when you start excavating - look at the amount of churches there used to be.
“We will keep records, and if any graves have to be moved we will do so sensitively.”
Amateur historian and family history expert Barrie Holden, of Francis Street, Blackburn, said he had a book, published in 1901, that mentioned to the Catholic chapel as St Alban’s.
He said: “The church was built about 1780 and was probably in use for about 30 or 40 years.
“It’s surprising that there are no records, but I would be very surprised if there had never been people buried there.”
Labour regeneration spokesman Andy Kay defended the way the project was being handled.
He said: “It has been known for many years that this road was needed.
“But you can’t do your homework until you know what you’re going to do.
“I know someone suggested before that some people suspected it was a burial ground, but it’s obviously been of no concern in previous years.
“It’s been built over and used for other purposes, so it does beg the question what is the excitement about.”
Father Michael Walsh, the spokesman for the Salford Diocese, said that he wasn’t aware of the chapel. He added: “I do hope the correct procedures are followed.”
The study, by Egerton Lea Consultancy, said the burials could yield information about what lifestyles and health were like in the 18th century.
An in-depth survey of the land will take place after the Byrom Supplies building has been demolished, which is expected to take place in the Autumn, after the council has taken control of the premises.
Adam Scott, the council’s director of regeneration and environment, said: "The council's title deeds for the land off Chapel Street, leased to Byrom Supplies, make reference to a Roman Catholic chapel but there is no reference to a graveyard. There are some references on other maps and documents which indicates a graveyard may have existed.
“The chapel went out of existence between 120 and 140 years ago and the site has been completely redeveloped since then.”
The council recently purchased Byrom Supplies from owners Maralyn and Paul Rigby, which was heralded as a major step forward for the link road.
Mr Scott said the archaeological investigations were needed to find out more.
He added: “Until this is carried out, we do not know what we will find.
"It was always known that this was a historical site and the council's project planning fully caters for the possibility that there may be a graveyard on the site."
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