Often visitors to older burial grounds assume that the box tomb – coffin shaped as it can be – holds the body of the deceased. Sometimes they will even pry away at loose capstones trying to peek within. The bones are not within the stones however – but far below them.
St Nicholas Ground forms a warren of underground chambers and vaults, and the tombs and headstones serve to mark the entrances. Over the years the earth has eroded around many tombs, exposing their foundations. Here the arched brickwork above the vault is becoming more apparent.
Beneath the ground large antechambers. Smaller sealed recesses lead from them…
Most of the time these spaces are hidden, but occasional subsidence gives glimpses of the labyrinth.
If you visit an ancient burial ground after prolonged and heavy rain; do be careful where you tread.