Memorial to be built to thousands of people buried in unmarked graves in Bath

The bodies of more than 3,100 people lie under this field in Bath. Campaigners want to ensure they are not forgotten. Credit: ITV West Country

A permanent memorial is to be created to more than 3,100 people in unmarked graves in Bath after the project was awarded £6,800 by Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The field, beside Upper Wellsway in Odd Down, is home to the remains of people who died of poverty in the Bath Union workhouse between 1858 and 1899. The area is a popular place for dog walking and many are unaware of what lies beneath.

Local organisation Bathscape, which aims to restore and conserve Bath's surroundings, will provide a permanent memorial which includes planting shrubs and a wildflower area, a memorial plaque, interpretation board and benches.

Campaigners have created a temporary memorial at the field with linen pennants naming some of those buried - some just a few days old. Credit: ITV West Country

A local group has been researching the lives of those who died and reading their names at monthly events, also creating a temporary memorial.

Cllr Jess David, cabinet assistant for Neighbourhood Services, said: “This is a hugely important project to create a place that commemorates those whose lives were lost in tragic circumstances.

"The new planting will also provide a pleasant space for the community to relax in and pay their respects, as well as increasing the diversity of the local area. I look forward to following the project’s development later this year.”

Those buried in the field had been living at the old union workhouse, now St Martin's Hospital in Bath. Credit: ITV West Country

Odd Down councillor Steve Hedges has been instrumental in driving the project forward. He said: “This is long overdue. I and other organisations have fought hard for over 20 years to put something in place to remember the 3,100 people buried here but we must not forget the large amount of people buried at St Martin's behind the chapel.

“Bathscape, along with council officers, have put a lot of time and effort into getting this project off the ground and I thank them. I’m hoping people will enjoy the area and to me it will be one of the best things to happen since I became a councillor.”

The old bell still stands on display at the site of the former workhouse, where it used to regulate daily life. Credit: ITV West Country

In Victorian times, workhouses would take in people living in abject poverty and who could not support themselves. They would give them shelter and work but it was a very harsh regime.

It is understood that the bodies of the dead from the workhouse in Midford Road were taken in a tunnel under the road and buried without any kind of ceremony. Some local people have traced their ancestors to the field, while others buried were babies, some of them just a few days old.

The burial field is still consecrated and, once the memorial is in place, people will remember and pay their respects.