Consecration of the cemetery
What is Consecration?
Consecration in relation to burial grounds not in church ownership, is carried out by the Church of England, and is the setting aside of a portion of the burial area for sacred use. On such consecrated ground, burials should then be performed in accordance with the burial rights of the Church of England and the land falls under ecclesiastical law. Under this law, permission is required from the Church of England for certain works, this permission is called a faculty.
All burials, whether in consecrated land or otherwise, are protected under UK law, no burials can be disturbed without a faculty from the Church or a Licence from the Ministry of Justice. Remembrance Parks Construction Ltd will not disturb any burials.
If consecration is for the Church of England, what about those of other faiths?
In 1916 when Calderstones Cemetery was consecrated many of the Roman Catholic faith would not be buried in land consecrated by the Church of England and in Victorian times, and for a long time after, faiths other than the ‘established church’ were often called dissenters or non-conformists.
The majority of local authority cemeteries were designed with different sections, the Roman Catholic Section, the Non-Conformist Section and, of course, the consecrated Church of England Section, even the famous Highgate Private Cemetery in London, set aside portions of the cemetery which were unconsecrated and it is in Highgate’s Dissenters Section that Karl Marx was buried.
So, by consecrating the whole of a cemetery, this effectively discriminates against large parts of the local community.
Is it legal to consecrate the whole of a cemetery?
The law is not always easy to interpret, and we know that many cemeteries have been completely consecrated in error over the years. The facts are, however, that all the burial legislation from the Burial Act of 1852 onwards, refers to the establishment of burial boards, later to be local authority and eventually including hospital and infirmary cemeteries. These burial boards were empowered to consecrate their cemeteries as long as ‘…a portion of the cemetery is left unconsecrated’. Victorian law, right through to the latest legislation governing the management of local authority cemeteries, the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977, recognise the need to allocate burial land fairly, so not to discriminate against other faiths, or those of no faith.
The simple answer to the question is Yes… it is illegal to consecrate the whole of the cemetery, it is now, and it was in 1916.
How was Calderstones Cemetery consecrated?
The Hospital Board would have asked the Diocese of Blackburn and a Petition of Consecration would have been prepared. The Bishop of Blackburn would then have proceeded around the cemetery and the Deed of Consecration would be presented to him. He would say prayers and then sign the Sentence of Consecration. The consecrated area then falls under ecclesiastical law and can be used for burial, specifically under the burial rights of the Church of England.
Calderstones cemetery was specifically consecrated, “…for the burial of the lunatics dying in the said Whalley County Lunatic Asylum and of the officers and servants belonging thereto.”
Unfortunately, the whole of the cemetery was consecrated against statutory legislation and guidance at that time. An error which resulted in unintended discrimination against other faiths and left Roman Catholic patients, and patients of other faiths, with no other option but to be buried in land consecrated by the Church of England.
Can the legal effects of consecration be removed?
They can be removed under the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018, section 92 says:
The bishop has the power to remove legal effects of consecration if he is satisfied that
a) The building or land is not held or controlled by an ecclesiastical corporation or a diocesan board of finance.
The land is in private ownership and is not held or controlled by an ecclesiastical corporation or diocesan board of finance.
This element is satisfied
b) No purpose will be served by its remaining subject to the legal effects of consecration.
The original purpose of the deed of consecration was, “…for the burial of the lunatics dying in the said Whalley County Lunatic Asylum and of the officers and servants belonging thereto.”
This can no longer be achieved.
c) There are no burials on the land to which the application applies
There are not, proven by the statutory records, the GPR survey, the witness statements (a further two witness statements have been found identifying the correct location of the one and only Garden of Remembrance) and excavations.
It seems clear that no purpose will be served by the discrete portion of the cemetery remaining subject to the legal effects of consecration, but this is for the Bishop of Blackburn to decide.
Application to remove the effects of consecration
Remembrance Parks Construction Ltd (RPC) have made an application to have the legal effects of consecration removed from part of Calderstones Cemetery. The entire burial area was consecrated in 1916 for the burial of the deceased patients from the then ' Whalley Asylum'. Legislation at that time required a portion of the cemetery to remain un-consecrated to provide for those of other faiths who would not wish to be buried on land consecrated by the Church of England. Unfortunately this did not happen, so irrespective of the future use of the cemetery, we would suggest that a portion of the cemetery should have the effects of consecration removed to allow for other faiths or those of no faith.
The Bishop will now decide based on whether there is any purpose for the portion of the cemetery, as identified in the application, to remain consecrated, given that:
There are no burials in the area to have the effects of consecration removed
It can no longer serve the purpose for which it was consecrated; specifically for deceased patients from the hospital, as mentioned in the actual deed of consecration
It should not have been fully consecrated in 1916 and to ensure all faiths are treated equally, there should be a portion of the cemetery that is not consecrated
To confirm there are no burials on the area to have the effects of consecration removed, the following has been carried out:
Obtained all of the statutory cemetery records and the mortuary records from Calderstones Hospital and have plotted them onto a cemetery plan.
Checked all the statutory records at Accrington Crematorium.
Carried out a Ground Penetrating Radar survey which shows no other burials outside of the records we already know about.
Members of the public should be assured that we will respect all those buried in the cemetery, so we intend setting up a steering group to foster joint working and help ensure all those buried in the cemetery will never be forgotten. The steering group will decide on issues such as:
A memorial for those buried in the cemetery
Memorials for the Booth Hall babies
Interpretation boards explaining the history of the cemetery
An electronic Book of Remembrance to help keep the stories alive
There may still be community concerns, given some of the unfounded comments being circulated. We can assure you:
1. Headstones were removed over two decades ago by an owner completely unrelated to RPC.
2. Planning permission for a crematorium to be developed within the cemetery was first granted in 2009 and the last application for construction work was in 2018. RPC only took over ownership in 2019.
3. We will not tarmac over burials. We have already amended plans to take account of the Garden of Remembrance and have engaged an experienced team of architects who have developed construction plans to ensure there will be no disturbance to graves during the construction phase.
There have been many things being said about the provision of a crematorium at Calderstones Cemetery, and we are are saddened by contrary claims circulated by individuals and organisations. We consider such comments to be false, harmful and defamatory and are obtaining legal advice on their content and the reputational damage caused to the company. Remembrance Parks Construction Ltd (RPC) want to assure everyone that those buried in the cemetery are suitably protected, remembered and that their stories will not be forgotten