AN AWARD-WINNING documentary about the underground charnel house adjacent to Worcester Cathedral — a film previously seen only by film-festival judges — is now available for anyone to watch online.

The medieval charnel house is entered from a town house that the former Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge, moved into as his official residence in 2008. It inspired a reflective book on European charnel houses, A Tour of Bones, by his wife, Dr Denise Inge, who died in 2014 when the book was almost completed (News, 19 April 2024).

In it, she writes of her first descent by candlelight into the space, to find “no neat bones. Instead, there is nothing here but the chaos of death: bones heaped on bones in disarray, indignity upon indignity, jaw upon pelvis, femur upon cranium, as if they had fallen into a freeze while wrestling at the moment the door was opened.”

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The existence of the hidden charnel house caught the imagination of a local production company, Conteur, which worked in collaboration with Dr Inge to make the film, Life Over Death. It won Best Documentary at the Worcester Film Festival 2023, and was shortlisted for Best Documentary at the Liverpool Indie awards and Best British Director for a Short Documentary at the European Short Film Awards 2025.

Dr Inge, who is now retired, said: “During her years in College Yard, Denise developed a fascination with the charnel house and the connection between life and death. To see its strange beauty captured on film is a privilege, and something so unique to Worcester. I hope the community gets behind the film, discovers something new about our historic city, and, in the process, reflects on life in the light of death.”

The film’s director, Gillian Davies, said: “We’re excited to share the film with the community.”

Life Over Death is available to watch on Conteur’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@conteuruk