The mysteries of St Mary’s: Empty coffins & the final resting place of one of Hull’s richest men
UNCOVERED: Brick vault 27 looking south at St Mary’s Church in Lowgate
Now & Then, a column by Angus Young
Uncovering the secrets of St Mary’s Church in Hull’s Old Town
The remains of ten brick-built burial vaults containing opened coffins have been discovered during a £1m renovation project at St. Mary’s Church in Hull’s Old Town.
Archaeologist John Buglass maintained a watching brief as works were carried out to replace the church’s crumbling Victorian tiled floor and the corroded heating pipes underneath which no longer worked.
Although unable to physically inspect the vaults he did manage to record five lead coffins still surviving in their original locations in three different areas.
DISCOVERY: Brick vault 21 looking east, with intact lead coffin under stone slabs on right
The lids of four of the coffins had been cut open while a fifth remained intact with stone slabs placed on it.
He believes the remains of the bodies were probably removed when the tiled floor was laid in the 1860s.
He said: “The exposed coffins had all been opened by having the lids cut around the edges and then pulled off. In addition to the obviously opened coffins, all the other voids did not appear to contain coffins and were simply filled with loose backfill material.
FORMER RESTING PLACE: Vaults 29 and 30 looking east as uncovered
“Although it is not entirely certain why both the vaults and coffins appear to have been emptied, the most likely time this happened would seem to have been during the 1860s restoration work.
“At this time it is known that the various ledger stones within the church were lifted and moved into the adjacent churchyard. It would seem quite possible that any living descendants may have taken the opportunity to relocate the remains of any forebears, possibly along with their monuments, to a new location.
“The fact that there are a significant number of vaults reflects the location of St. Mary’s in the heart of the Old Town of Hull with its associated wealthy merchants. This would have led to a large number of burials in various parts of the church with location depending on the wealth and status of the individual.”
RESPLENDENT: The refurbished St Mary’s
The discovery has led to speculation that one of the empty coffins might once have been occupied by the remains of Sir Samuel Standidge, a former Mayor of Hull and five times Warden of Trinity House, who as a successful shipowner was one of the richest men in 18th century Hull.
Records show he bought his own vault opposite his regular seat in the church for five guineas in 1778, some 13 years before his death.
As well as the vaults, Mr Buglass’s most significant discovery was the remains of walls which once formed part of the earlier phases of the medieval church. The most substantial was the south wall of the building before being taken down in the 1860s restoration when the church was enlarged with the addition of a second south aisle.
HISTORIC: St Mary’s Church in Lowgate
Elsewhere, a small part of an earlier brick floor was also uncovered with some of the oldest identified bricks re-used in later building projects likely to date back to 1423 when 10,000 were purchased from the Hull Corporation brickyard for use at the church.
The recent works carried out over the last two years have included the laying of new stone flooring, the installation of new heating and electrical systems, the provision of indoor toilets and the creation of a new refreshment space.
Amanda Habergham, chair of the Friends of St. Mary’s. said: “Any visit to the church used to usually require the wearing of at least five layers of clothes just to keep warm. Thankfully, the new heating – which includes underfloor heating and some renovated radiators from the 1930s – has changed all that although it’s also a bit of a double-edged sword because we now have to keep a close eye on our energy costs.
RENEWAL: An interior view of St Mary’s after a £1m renovation project
“As a church, we get no capital funding from the Church of England or the local authority so everything we raise is either from the congregation or through grants.
“We had to close during the construction work and because we only have a very small team here we have only been able to re-open for services on Sundays and Friday lunchtimes, but we are now in the fortunate position of having secured some funding to train up new volunteers and we will be looking to extend our opening times and stage more one-off events in the future as a result.”
John Buglass is giving an illustrated talk called ‘Peeking Under The Floorboards: Recent Archaeological Discoveries at St. Mary’s Church’ on Wednesday, June 14, starting at 6pm at St. Mary’s. Admission is £7 on the door or £5 if booked in advance here. Admission is free to members of St. Mary’s. To join visit: www.stmaryslowgate.org.uk
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