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Body find halts work on building

Bones of contention

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30/11/2006

Body find halts work on building

A BODY has been discovered beneath the foundations of a historic Sunderland school.

Work to revamp the 18th-century Donnison School has now been put on hold.

Police have cordoned off the building and tests by a Home Office pathologist have revealed the bones are human and date from more than a century ago.

A spokeswoman for Northumbria Police said: "Because of the age of the bones, we are not investigating this any further."

The Donnison School, in Sunderland’s East End, is at the centre of a £550,000 project to transform it into the North’s first centre for Living History.

The revamp is being co-ordinated by the Wearside-based Living History North East (LHNE) group.

Janette Hilton, project director, said: "I was relieved to hear that the bones were old, as my initial fears were that we could be dealing with a murder investigation.

"I am just hoping now that work isn’t delayed too long, but I suppose the find does add to the history of the place. It is a new chapter in its development."

Workmen discovered the body while digging up the ash filled foundations of the old schoolroom, which dates from around 1798.

The school was built next to the graveyard of Sunderland’s Old Parish Church and it is believed the remains may have come from there.

Ms Hilton added: "That is the most logical explanation. Although, because of the age of the remains, we will never know exactly how the body came to be there.

"We are now waiting for Environmental Health to exhume the rest of the remains and take them away for re-burying elsewhere. Work will start again after that."

The Grade II-listed Donnison School was set up in 1778, after a £1,500 bequest from wealthy Wearside widow Elizabeth Donnison to educate Sunderland’s poor girls.

It was put up for sale, however, by the Church of England in 2001, after becoming surplus to requirements and LHNE volunteers quickly snapped it up.

Cash from Back on the Map, Townscape Heritage Initiative and the One North East/Tyne and Wear Partnership is being used to transform the building.

Plans include turning the old school room, where the body was found, into a museum where children can learn about school life in times past.

And a room in the adjoining cottage will house a state-of-the-art digital archive and video editing suite, to record the memories of Wearsiders for future generations.

Ms Hilton said: "We believe it is important to document the experiences of ordinary people from the region who have lived through this changing century.

"The database is a valuable record of our changing environment through personal accounts. It provides a unique insight into the past."

Work on the revamp, barring any further delays, is expected to be completed by next Spring.

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