Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church and churchyard, Toxteth, Liverpool, UK, is the focus of community efforts to research and conserve the heritage asset, and archaeologists at the University of Liverpool were invited to contribute their expertise to co-produce new understandings of this locally sig...

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Main Authors: Harold Mytum, Robert Philpott, Anna Fairley Nielsson, Eloise Burwood, Naomi Dark
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Heritage
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/169
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author Harold Mytum
Robert Philpott
Anna Fairley Nielsson
Eloise Burwood
Naomi Dark
author_facet Harold Mytum
Robert Philpott
Anna Fairley Nielsson
Eloise Burwood
Naomi Dark
author_sort Harold Mytum
collection DOAJ
description St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church and churchyard, Toxteth, Liverpool, UK, is the focus of community efforts to research and conserve the heritage asset, and archaeologists at the University of Liverpool were invited to contribute their expertise to co-produce new understandings of this locally significant place. Roman Catholic vault burial in Britain has not previously been archaeologically investigated, and the use of rock-cut burial pits, visible in the churchyard, appeared to be a response to the massive demand for urban burial during the nineteenth century. The project has combined local knowledge with surface survey and recording memorials in the churchyard, mapping the crypt and recording the interior of the four vaults at the western end of the crypt after they had been temporarily opened by the community volunteers. This enabled standard and photogrammetric recording, and PXRF analysis of the in-situ coffin fittings. No human remains were revealed. Interviews with volunteers and key stakeholders at the church provided the community’s voice, presented here. This project demonstrates how collaboration enables the skills and abilities of specialists, students and the local community to combine to create new knowledge and enhance public understanding of local heritage, with academically important and locally empowering results.
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spelling doaj.art-3e76fd5ddc62441981777f6287c186ec2023-11-24T15:13:31ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082022-10-01543298331510.3390/heritage5040169Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, LiverpoolHarold Mytum0Robert Philpott1Anna Fairley Nielsson2Eloise Burwood3Naomi Dark4Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, 12-14 Abercromby Square, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UKDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, 12-14 Abercromby Square, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UKDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, 12-14 Abercromby Square, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UKDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, 12-14 Abercromby Square, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UKDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, 12-14 Abercromby Square, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UKSt. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church and churchyard, Toxteth, Liverpool, UK, is the focus of community efforts to research and conserve the heritage asset, and archaeologists at the University of Liverpool were invited to contribute their expertise to co-produce new understandings of this locally significant place. Roman Catholic vault burial in Britain has not previously been archaeologically investigated, and the use of rock-cut burial pits, visible in the churchyard, appeared to be a response to the massive demand for urban burial during the nineteenth century. The project has combined local knowledge with surface survey and recording memorials in the churchyard, mapping the crypt and recording the interior of the four vaults at the western end of the crypt after they had been temporarily opened by the community volunteers. This enabled standard and photogrammetric recording, and PXRF analysis of the in-situ coffin fittings. No human remains were revealed. Interviews with volunteers and key stakeholders at the church provided the community’s voice, presented here. This project demonstrates how collaboration enables the skills and abilities of specialists, students and the local community to combine to create new knowledge and enhance public understanding of local heritage, with academically important and locally empowering results.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/169buildings surveycommunity archaeologychurch archaeologycultural heritagememorial recordingmortuary archaeology
spellingShingle Harold Mytum
Robert Philpott
Anna Fairley Nielsson
Eloise Burwood
Naomi Dark
Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool
Heritage
buildings survey
community archaeology
church archaeology
cultural heritage
memorial recording
mortuary archaeology
title Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool
title_full Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool
title_fullStr Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool
title_full_unstemmed Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool
title_short Collaborating with the Community: Applying Non-Invasive Archaeological Methods in the Crypt and Churchyard of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toxteth, Liverpool
title_sort collaborating with the community applying non invasive archaeological methods in the crypt and churchyard of st patrick s roman catholic church toxteth liverpool
topic buildings survey
community archaeology
church archaeology
cultural heritage
memorial recording
mortuary archaeology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/169
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