STUDENTS from Dunham Hall – one of the five halls within Lymm High School – have presented a catalogue of all graves in the graveyard at St Peter’s Church, Oughtrington to the vicar, the Rev Michael Burgess.
It has been completed over a period of some two years and will help people find the graves of relatives – including those dating from past centuries.
St Peter’s is the link church for Dunham Hall and Father Michael is Dunham Hall’s local member of clergy.
Some two years he approached Neil Hodgson, head of Dunham Hall, and asked if students would be interested in helping him identify and catalogue the graves in the graveyard.
Many are very old, some inscriptions are very difficult to read and the location of some is also uncertain.
This makes it difficult for people looking for the graves of relatives – particularly old ones they might be seeking in researching family trees, etc.
Students worked with Maureen Stebbings, a member of staff within Dunham Hall, to clearly identify the graves.
They then presented a catalogue to Father Michael, including print-outs of locations together with names and dates of deceased.
They also gave him a spreadsheet version so he can easily keep it up-to-date from now on.
Mr Hodgson said: “It is a great example of our youngsters contributing positively to the local community. They gave up their own time at lunch-times and Mrs Stebbings worked hard in her own time to co-ordinate the project.
“Dunham Hall is very proud to have been able to help the local church in this way.”
Picture shows (left to right) Maureen Stebbings, Rev Michael Burgess, Jack Croft, Jeremy Russ and Ben Evans-Clarke. Other students involved in the project were Maeve Walkington and Josh Monks.
