UK Heysham Trench Graves

I visited the fascinating Heysham Trench Graves near Lancashire in the ruins of St Patrick’s Church, nearby to St Peter’s Church. The open stone graves near the sea were an almost mythical sight to behold; apparently dating from the 11th century, they could be the first examples of Christian burials but that is debatable, as they also seem to have Viking links. We made our way to the graves through strong wind and on arrival all but one was full of rainwater. Tombstones in the nearby graveyard showed that people often succumbed to the water the most common cause of death shown was drowning. It is thought that the stone ‘trench graves’ were for the privileged but this is merely rumor and all seems quite mysterious as the reason for their being there is unknown.