Skeletons found under home in Hertfordshire

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 

Catherine McGuigan, a resident in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, UK, found skeletons from over a century ago buried under her dining room.

She had hired builders for an extension for her cottage, where she has lived for eleven years, and at the beginning of April they found human bones in the ground.

Her cottage was built over a burial ground; from 1697 to 1820 the land was owned by the Religious Society of Friends. In the 1600s, members of the society, better known as Quakers, were persecuted for their beliefs and so were not allowed to be buried in consecrated church grounds. Instead burials, which were also sometimes for others not recognised as parishioners - such as homeless people, often took place in the countryside.

The Daily Mail states in its April article that the Religious Society of Friends have advised McGuigan that she "must cremate" the bodies, however Quakers have written an open letter to the Daily Mail, informing that for Quakers, there is "no specific advice on the disposal of bodies", and that they had never expressed an opinion on how the discovered skeletons should be buried.

The cremation was rumoured to cost up to £32,000 - an £800 quote for cremation of a single body multiplied by 40, however as yet only ten bodies have been discovered.

The builders originally thought the bones were pieces of pipe, and McGuigan has now ordered coffins and is looking to holding a mass cremation or a burial in a nearby field.

Sources

• Alison Smith-Squire. "Home extension horror as mum discovers ten skeletons buried under her dining room - and faces a £30k bill to move them" — The Daily Mail, April 21, 2008
• "Gruesome discovery made at cottage" — ITV, April 21, 2008
• "Builders find skeletons beneath home" — United Press International, April 21, 2008
• Aidan Mcgurran. "Mum Catherine McGuigan faces £30k bill after builders find 40 skeletons under dining room" — The Daily Mirror, April 21, 2008