Mass Grave in Old Swan

[PhilipG]

Who's jumping to easy conclusions, Chris?
You - more than most - should know I try to deal in facts.

Too many "conclusions" have been suggested in this thread.

I'd never studied maps of Old Swan before, so I did today, and am just reporting what I've found.
The burial grounds are not shown on the 1847 OS map, whereas the Jew's Cemetery near Kensington is.
The site is a field on an 1835 map.


On the subject of bread and cheese.
When I was a kid we used to eat what we called a "bread and cheese" plant.

[ChrisGeorge]

Who's jumping to easy conclusions, Chris?
You - more than most - should know I try to deal in facts.

Philip, I am not saying you are jumping to easy conclusions. The remark was made in relation to those who claimed without evidence that the bodies were Irish immigrants who had been massacred by the British authorities.

Too many "conclusions" have been suggested in this thread.

I entirely agree.

I'd never studied maps of Old Swan before, so I did today, and am just reporting what I've found.
The burial grounds are not shown on the 1847 OS map, whereas the Jew's Cemetery near Kensington is.
The site is a field on an 1835 map.


On the subject of bread and cheese.
When I was a kid we used to eat what we called a "bread and cheese" plant.

Philip, you might be on to something when you mention the "bread and cheese plant". That might well be the origin of the local Baltimore, Maryland area name I am trying to figure out.

Thanks

Chris

[Spike]

Dont Shout at me

An old guy years back told me the graves had something to do with Canadian Soldiers??? Mind you he was in the pub at the time.

Its deffo not the Irish in the grave. They would never have given them coffins.

[marky]

The Knotty Ash and Old Swan 1906 map (Godfrey Edition) shows a Burial Ground from the Presbytery to the rear of the buildings on Mill Lane. The map was surveyed 1890-1 and revised 1905-6. The Burial Ground does not have the word 'disused' unlike the later maps.

The following Google map shows the Junior School has been built over part of the Burial Ground, as already shown by fortinian:
http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/sho...ld-Swan/page15

[Hutch]

We will never know the truth. The burial ground as featured on old maps, shows it belonged to a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel (1845-1856) Which was purchased by the Catholic church in 1856. The church was destroyed by fire during the second world war. I remember it being rebuilt when I was a kid. Around about 1957. So I can only presume that all records where destroyed in this fire.
Mr Williams states that coffins were dated up to 1856, this would be the last year that burials would have taken place in the Chapel graveyard.
Too many People who know a third person, or met someone down the pub who was there. Have made a farce of a simple burial ground

---------- Post added at 11:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------

The Knotty Ash and Old Swan 1906 map (Godfrey Edition) shows a Burial Ground from the Presbytery to the rear of the buildings on Mill Lane. The map was surveyed 1890-1 and revised 1905-6. The Burial Ground does not have the word 'disused' unlike the later maps.

The following Google map shows the Junior School has been built over part of the Burial Ground, as already shown by fortinian:
http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/sho...ld-Swan/page15

The rest of the burial ground still looks like scrubland. It is to the left of this google map....

[hmtmaj]

I've never heard the church was destroyed by a fire at all, it was simply not big enough to hold the congregation, in the late 40's.
The New building was built "around" the former, smaller building then the smaller interior knocked down.

Mart

[Hutch]

Hi Martin,
Got that info from this site :-

http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Liverpool/Old-Swan/index.html

Can remember the Church being rebuilt, passed it with me mam going shopping to Old Swan. I am a C of E
so was not very wise to the reason for the rebuild.
The BMD records for this church for the period starting 1842, are held at the Liverpool record office.

[marky]

St Oswald Street Wesleyan Church is mentioned on the Liverpool Records Office website:

St. Paul's Methodist Church, Stoneycroft (formerly Wesleyan Methodist):
"Services were first held in Stoneycroft in 1838 in a house known as May Place, Broadgreen Road, and in 1841 a large meeting room was secured over a shop in Oswald Street. Wesley church was erected in the same street in 1845. The church prospered, but a trade depression led to its sale to the Roman Catholics who incorporated it in their new church in 1866. The present church in Greenfield Road was opened in 1868, schools being added in 1896."

[hmtmaj]

St Oswald Street Wesleyan Church is mentioned on the Liverpool Records Office website:

St. Paul's Methodist Church, Stoneycroft (formerly Wesleyan Methodist):
"Services were first held in Stoneycroft in 1838 in a house known as May Place, Broadgreen Road, and in 1841 a large meeting room was secured over a shop in Oswald Street. Wesley church was erected in the same street in 1845. The church prospered, but a trade depression led to its sale to the Roman Catholics who incorporated it in their new church in 1866. The present church in Greenfield Road was opened in 1868, schools being added in 1896."

May Place, still stands today on Braodgreen Rd.
As you say, the Church bought the building on St Oswalds St, which again, still stands today, albeit empty.
St Pauls, is is on Derby Lane.

Mart

[PhilipG]

St Oswald Street Wesleyan Church is mentioned on the Liverpool Records Office website:

St. Paul's Methodist Church, Stoneycroft (formerly Wesleyan Methodist):
"Services were first held in Stoneycroft in 1838 in a house known as May Place, Broadgreen Road, and in 1841 a large meeting room was secured over a shop in Oswald Street. Wesley church was erected in the same street in 1845. The church prospered, but a trade depression led to its sale to the Roman Catholics who incorporated it in their new church in 1866. The present church in Greenfield Road was opened in 1868, schools being added in 1896."

As Marky says here, there was St Paul's Methodist Church in Greenfield Road.
St Paul's in Derby Lane has nothing to do with this thread.

[marky]

The St Pauls mentioned on the Records Office website is marked on the 1906 map at Greenfield Road, St Pauls Church (Wes. Meth).
The available information on this Church is listed as:
287 LSE/10 St. Paul's Methodist Church, Stoneycroft (formerly Wesleyan Methodist), 1 volume, 1 pamphlet.
Google Streetview:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&so...55.85,,0,17.55
I wonder if the re-interred were given any special mention, a plaque for instance, at Anfield Cemetery.

[Hutch]

Back to the mass grave...
Just checked on the Old Swan site.
Fr McCartney knew it was a burial ground, he tipped off the builders that the graves at the bottom of the garden would have to be moved, before building commenced.
George Spall, the Parish accountant for St Oswald's allegedly said "We were lucky, the council had to pay £50,000. We sold the land and soon afterwards they discovered the coffins". Untrue Fr McCartney told the builders about the graves.

[fortinian]

There has been a lot written about these graves and their discovery.* I do not wish to re-tread old ground so I have compiled a list of questions that I feel are not answered.
We can be fairly certain that they were buried between 1842 and 1906 but:

1. When exactly were they buried

2. Who were the bodies?

3. Where are the records for the 1973 exhumation and building work?

*I don't like to call them mass graves as they were not - the exhumation was a 'mass exhumation' - but the burials were just graves.

[PhilipG]

There has been a lot written about these graves and their discovery.* I do not wish to re-tread old ground so I have compiled a list of questions that I feel are not answered.
We can be fairly certain that they were buried between 1842 and 1906 but:

My answers are only educated guesses.

1. When exactly were they buried
We need to study more maps, as they were clearly marked.
Unfortunately, there are not many (large-scale) maps of Old Swan, but the Record Office is sure to have the 1890 OS.

2. Who were the bodies?
Methodists?
Perhaps Roman Catholics, also.
What religions used the term "Burial Ground".

3. Where are the records for the 1973 exhumation and building work?
They should exist.

*I don't like to call them mass graves as they were not - the exhumation was a 'mass exhumation' - but the burials were just graves.

As I earlier said, 3,000+ is not a huge number as 27,000+ were buried in St John's in just 20 years.

[ItsaZappathing]

There has been a lot written about these graves and their discovery.* I do not wish to re-tread old ground so I have compiled a list of questions that I feel are not answered.
We can be fairly certain that they were buried between 1842 and 1906 but:

1. When exactly were they buried

2. Who were the bodies?

3. Where are the records for the 1973 exhumation and building work?

*I don't like to call them mass graves as they were not - the exhumation was a 'mass exhumation' - but the burials were just graves.

Nice one Fortinian.
I too am interested to see those answers.