Resident ‘honoured’ to serve as custodian of garden graves

A resident has expressed feeling “honoured” to reside in a home featuring three graves within its garden. Bob Sutton’s cottage, which is 400 years old, is situated near the former location of a Methodist chapel that has since been demolished, in Roughlee, Pendle. The garden contains three tombstones, while an adjacent graveyard holds the remains of 92 individuals. Regarding the gravestones, he remarked, “They’re fascinating things.” He further explained, “When I came here in 1999 I couldn’t see them because of the bracken, and when we tidied it up, I realised there were three gravestones here.” Sutton elaborated, “One is a family vault, and there are three bodies in there: Mr John Hargreaves, his wife and his grandson.” He noted that the inscription indicates Mr. Hargreaves “died at 58 years old and he had ‘a life full of sorrow and hard work, his time has come and he’s glad about it’.” Mr. Sutton mentioned that initially, finding the gravestones in his garden felt “strange at first,” but he and his partner, Nubia Farquharson, now maintain the historical graves and have investigated the histories of those interred within them. He commented, “Over 1,000 people lived in Roughlee in 1900. Now there’s just over 250, and it’s a fascinating place to live.” Sutton added, “It’s a lovely place… and in the evenings, you come into the garden and it’s so peaceful and quiet.” He concluded by stating, “I feel very honoured that I’m the custodian of these graves and I’ll look after them as best I can.” Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk and via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.