Skipton Methodists 1939

The gravestones at Christ Church Skipton were removed from the gravesites by Skipton Urban District Council. In the 1960 to facilitate cutting the lawns all but 22 of the memorial stones were removed from their original site and placed along the wall side from Craven Street to Keighley Road.

I started at the Craven Street side and worked my way along them to the Keighley Roadside of the graveyard. These I have called section A. The few stones that are remaining in situ I have called section B. The memorial stones without inscriptions on went up to the top of Short bank Road in Skipton to build a bungalow. I had intended to include any interior inscriptions from Christ Church in this list unfortunately each time 1 have visited Christ Church it has been locked up. 1 have though managed to talk to one of the Churchwardens who informed me that when Christ Church was built it was designed with vaults for burials.

Only one body was ever placed in the vaults and this was the son of a local mill owner. The father had his son buried in a glass coffin and he used to visit his son until his own death. The family apparently forgot about the boy in the coffin until one day they learned that the verger at Christ Church was making extra income by showing visitors the boy in the coffin. The family soon stopped this by having the coffin covered in lead.

Also, at Christ Church Skipton is to be found the body and tombstone of the “Tom Thumb” real name Edwin CALVERT. Edwin CALVERT weighed 23.51bs and was under 36ins in height. According to the Church Warden the coffin was only 21 ins in length.

By Robert William Parish Project Organiser Skipton Area – Keighley and District Family History Society. The Monumental Inscriptions are in the process of being added the AWFHS Research Database.