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LIVING A LIFE

Left: neglected memorial with plaque reading
“In memory of the residents of Calderstones
Hospital”; above: damaged ground at
Calderstones Cemetery in December last year

There is an added twist, as the graveyard
is sited next to a Commonwealth war
graves cemetery. Here are the bodies of a
number of armed forces personnel who
died when Calderstones was a military
hospital during the two world wars. The
site receives careful attention and is
immaculate. This is in stark contrast to the
state of the hospital cemetery, through
which you have to pass to reach the
military graves and memorial.
Many walk this route every November
Ignored and forgotten to attend the annual remembrance

service. It is right and proper to remember
– in death as in life? the war dead, and to honour them with a
well-looked after burial ground.
Recognising and acknowledging the lives
of those who died while in an institutional
Developers plan to build on the neglected burial site of 1,200 setting is surely of equal worth.
The recent history of these two
women, men and children who lived, worked and died in an cemeteries, linked by the same institution,
institution. Nigel ingham reports on the scandal of Calderstones sadly seems to reflect attitudes and values
where people with learning disabilities are
viewed as second-class citizens.
alderstones hospital, in the ribble Neglect and vandalism
Valley, lancashire, was a large The cemetery’s 21st century history has dark shadow
clong-stay institution for people been largely a story of woeful neglect and Against this backdrop of neglect has
with learning disabilities from the end of vandalism. There has been wholesale entered a new threat. This casts a dark
the First World War. removal of headstones by one of the many shadow over the future respectful and Pathways Associates CIC: neglected memorial; damaged ground; Dennis buckley: site in 1990s; michelle Simmonds: John Newton’s grave; Calderstones NHS Foundation Trust: remembrance service
“We’re treated like second-class private owners over the years, along with sensitive use of the cemetery.
citizens,” says Daniel Doherty, a one-time a short spell of wanton destruction by local In essence, the private owners have
resident of Calderstones. youngsters. Until recently, the site has been granted planning consent by Ribble
This pithy statement relates to been allowed to resemble nothing more Valley Borough Council, to build a
unfolding moves to build a private than a wild, unkempt and overgrown field. crematorium and car park on it.
crematorium, with a car park and Yet it is the final resting place of well However, objectors to the development
landscaping, on part of the site of the over 1,000 fellow citizens. confirmed earlier this year that the whole
former institution’s graveyard. In this
consecrated ground lie the remains of Respect and
around 1,200 women, men and children commemoration:
who lived and died in Calderstones. the annual
Calderstones – Mersey Care NHS Trust remembrance
Foundation Trust Whalley site as it is now service, held every
November at the
known – is now home to a low and neighbouring
medium-secure unit, its existence as a Commonwealth
large long-stay NHS hospital for people war graves site
with learning disabilities’ effectively
ending in 2000.
At this point, most of its vast main
building was demolished to make way for
a housing estate and the regional health
authority sold the cemetery to a private
developer for a knockdown price.

16 Vol 31 No 4 | Summer 2018 community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk