Today is the final day of the dig at St Thomas's Church, Pendleton in the, "Uncovering Pendleton's Past" project, after three weeks of volunteers removing the top grass and top soil to expose the headstones which have been unseen the early 1970s, when they were grassed over to make them look, "tidier" The project which was funded by Historic England will enable researchers from The Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service to build a profile of the people who are buried there, their place of birth, occupation and what trades were prevalent in the area, family, social issues relating to health etc. So far 96 headstones have been revealed in two area of the churchyard, I took several photos of the headstones, plus we have drone footage and interviews with Barry and Theresa Emberton from, Friends of St Thomas's Church to come in the next few days. Here are just a few of the names which adorn the headstones, they include Watson, Dolby, Rees, Diggle, Seddon, Hall, Holbrook, Handley, Clegg, Wright, Kirk, Mason, Cook, and Boame, are you possibly related? It is thought that a further six months of research will be needed before the pieces of the proverbial jigsaw fall into place and then a fuller and clearer picture will emerge of these people buried and their lives, and I can't wait to see the finished article. Thanks must be given to the army of volunteers including school children, students, interested locals, parishioners, even the local community bobby who worked through all weathers to see the job through.
