THE remains of 66 people whose bones date back to medieval times have been reburied at Holy Trinity, Kendal.

Uncovered beneath the church’s curtilage wall during the construction of the Kendal Flood Risk management Scheme in 2022, the remains include adults and children and were reburied on 19 May.

Speaking to the Church Times, the Vicar of Holy Trinity, the Revd Shanthi Peiris, said that “in conjunction with the church, the environment agency, and the archaeologists, we had prayers before they started digging, because we figured that digging in a churchyard would unearth bones.”

Some of the remains date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, predating the church building that is standing.

Ms Peiris said that she had not expected the bones to be so old. One of the skeletons, known as “Kendal Woman”, is 1000 years old, and the oldest recorded resident of Kendal. Fragments of her skull and DNA, along with a digital scan completed by John Moores University, revealed her origins and diet, as well as the fact that she suffered from arthritis, and that she died in her early fifties.

Shanthi PeirisThe caskets were held in the church’s chapel for people to pay their respects

The university also carried out a facial reconstruction of the woman, whom guests at Holy Trinity’s Christmas tree festival voted to name Agnes. “It’s been absolutely fascinating for us to actually have the face of someone that was part of our church family,” Ms Peiris said.

In total, eight caskets were buried, containing the remains of 66 individuals, who were shrouded separately. Before the reburial, the caskets were held in the church’s chapel for people to pay their respects.

“At the time they were buried, locals would have been there, and it feels appropriate that when we bury them, the local people now could come and, if they wanted to, feel they were part of this,” she continued. “They could view the caskets, and if it’s their tradition to pray or just to think about them or just to say they’ve seen them, because it’s not something that happens very often.”

“They could view the caskets, and if it’s their tradition to pray or to think about them or just to say they’ve seen them [they can] because it’s not something that happens very often.”

Members of the community attended the reburial, including the deputy mayor, and representatives of the British Legion, the Kendal Historic and Archaeology Society, and the Environmental Agency, and other representatives of the church.

During the service, Ms Peiris gave thanks for the lives of those buried, and for “the care and compassion showed to them during their exhumation, investigation, and storage, because I think it’s important to recognise that that was done very appropriately”, she concluded.