History revived in long-forgotten graveyard: tales of pirates, WWII bombings and opera singer shipwrecks discovered by retired couple who cleared an overgrown church plot to keep busy in lockdown
- Lindsay and Brian Sandford took on the project in the Isles of Scilly in 2021
A couple from the Isles of Scilly who renovated a ‘derelict’ graveyard to keep busy during the lockdown have uncovered graves that tell tales of piracy, shipwreck and scandal.
Lindsay and Brian Sandford took on the project at St Mary’s during the pandemic, along with a team of volunteers, after struggling to find a grave connected to Lindsay’s family history.
Retired museum researcher Ms Sandford, 60, and retired contractor Mr Sandford, 73, began clearing the churchyard of St Mary’s Old Town in 2021 after receiving permission from the diocese.
The graveyard is most famous for the grave of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, although this plot was already well maintained.
Ms Sandford has since written three books about the lavish lives of those buried in the churchyard’s 858 graves – each of which can hold up to three people.
Lindsay and Brian Sandford took on the project at St Mary’s during the pandemic, along with a team of volunteers
The cemetery is most famous for the grave of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson
A view of the cemetery before the renovation works started
Among the stories uncovered by the pair is a captain who was captured by sea pirates off Dunkirk.
Captain Peter Lambton was buried in the churchyard in January 1781. After being captured, he was ransomed by the French pirates for 500 guineas before finally being killed.
The couple also discovered a relative of the Fry chocolate family, Georgianna Fry, who died at just three months old while traveling on the Calypso ship from Jamaica to England on October 1, 1847.
Her father Charles Edward Fry was an overseer on Jamaica’s second largest sugar plantation, which had a long history of using slaves for labor.
Also buried there is Ann Cargill, a famous eighteenth-century opera singer who died in 1784 in a shipwreck off the coast of Scilly with her baby.
More recent burials include Dorothy Agnes Paice, 22, and Sylvia Jenkin, 29, both of whom were killed when German planes dropped a bomb on their house in August 1941.
And one of Harold Wilson’s ministers, Ray Gunter, is buried not far from him in the same church hall.
The picturesque graveyard overlooks the sea and is where some of the local castaways are buried (Image: graveyard before renovation)
The couple spent up to 60 hours a week renovating and maintaining the site
The work included clearing plants, restoring tombstones and clearing debris
Mr. Sandford was key to getting permission from the local diocese, having worked on construction projects in every other church in the islands.
Originally from Wales, Mr Gunter was Minister for Labor and then Minister for Energy before resigning in 1968. He died in 1977.
Mrs Sandford told the BBC the project has been ‘very satisfying’.
She added: ‘Brian, my husband, has advanced Alzheimer’s and we needed a project to get him out every morning. Two years later here we are – it looks neater and easier to maintain.’
Mr. Sandford was key to getting permission from the local diocese, having worked on construction projects in every other church in the islands.
The couple spent up to 60 hours a week renovating and maintaining the site and now hope their younger volunteers will continue the project for generations to come.
They say they have received help from many local families
The Anglican Church of St Mary was built in Old Town in the 12th century.
In the 1880s the cemetery was terraced so that more graves could be placed. This meant that many of the former resting places were buried.