Re: The riddle of the missing bodies.
 

Yes I do believe there was.....I'd forgotten about that one.

Re: The riddle of the missing bodies.
 

What an intersting thread.
I remember the ones at The Swan pub. They found some lead lined coffins there.

Re: The riddle of the missing bodies.
 

The grave yard between the Swan and the Petrol Station belonged to the New Jerusalem Church which was demolished around the same time that Eastgate was laid out.

In reply to Doug's remenisences about Green Haworth; I have looked at the 1860 map and the 1898 map for the area and there is no sign of any designated burial ground anywhere in Green Haworth. Which is a little puzzling. Apart from a badly concealed murder or a genuine case of "meet the ancestors" the only other possibility appears to be that it had been dumped there from somewhere else. From the end of the War to the eighties, Victorian cemeteries fell into rapid decline and a great many family vaults were desecrated and remains were often taken as ghoulish trophies. Perhaps this may be the most likley, if mundane, explanation. It would also explain why the police did not conduct a more thorough investigation.

Re: The riddle of the missing bodies.
 

Why Macpelah?

Not surprisingly the name comes from the Old Testament.

It is the name given to the field and cave purchased by Abraham for a family tomb. Sarah was first buried there, Genesis 23:1-20; and afterwards Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, with Rebekah, Leah, etc., Genesis 49:30 50:13.

A rather fitting name for a graveyard I should say.

Re: The riddle of the missing bodies.
 

Aaahhhh! Thanks A-b ..... yes it makes sense now.

Re: The riddle of the missing bodies.
 

Cheers A-B. I seem to remember that a bloke was killed and beheaded many years before just before School Lane. Apparently if my memory serves me right he had raced up from the Red Lion on his motorbike and skidded on loose earth some distance from the end of School Lane. He was thrown over the handlebars and had fallen head long into the road; unfortunately his head was hit by the front wheel which had caught him between the mud guard, forks and tyre decapitating him. His head was never found at the time of the accident.

The skull that was found that afternoon was green and had been exposed to the air and elements for some considerable time, there was no sign of an helmet, although one would imagine that it would have been made of leather so would have degraded by that time. I seem to think that the skull was put back into the field where it was found; this was thirty eight years ago. Perhaps its still there somewhere in the top corner of the field side of the wall and School Lane…………