The Parish of Atherton in the County of -- Lancashire --

Memorial Inscriptions at Church of St John
in the Parish of Atherton

In 1877 the 2nd Atherton Chapel was demolished and the existing parish church built on the site. Burials had ceased there in 1857, but there must have been many graves and memorial stones around the old chapel. However, the large, new church extended almost to its boundaries on all sides (Church Street, Market Place, St John Street and Market Square), presumably covering the old burial grounds. All that remains to show that people were interred here, is a short row of battered, broken stones dumped along the north side of the church next to the old Market Square. Old grave stones are often used to construct paths around, or floors within a church; much of the interior of St John is carpeted, but the there are no old stones in the open, flagged area between the main entry and the pews.

Peter Wood
August 2005

	Here Resteth the Remains of the St John Burial Ground. Looking towards Church Street. Photo by Peter Wood, July 2005

	The fragment at top right (next to the squashed blue beer can) is all that is left of the memorial to the Rev. John Lowe, the 2nd Minister of Atherton Chapel, who served from 1755-1780. Photo by Peter Wood, July 2005