THOUSANDS pass through Blackburn Cathedral each year, but few realise it is home to one of the town's best kept secrets.

Only the top of a short flight of stone steps gives any clue that something is hidden beneath the feet of the congregation.

Take these steps into the depths of the cathedral and there can be found one of the most unusual places of rest in the country.

A room - no bigger than the lounge of an average terrace house - is the final resting place for around 150 Blackburn people.

On the stone walls are small, rectangular brass plaques, marking the spots where urns containing the ashes of well-known Blackburn family members and local dignitaries have been placed.

Bramley-Haworth, Fielding, Abram, Whitelock, Birtwistle and many others read like a roll call of well-known names in the district.

The Very Reverend David Frayne, the cathedral's provost, said: "The room was started about 40 years ago at time when cremation became more popular. The question being asked was 'Wwhat happens to the remains from cremation?' "Ashes can be scattered or buried in family graves. However, there is no graveyard at the cathedral, so this idea was decided upon."

The room is known as the columbarium, deriving part of its name from the Latin for dovecote, signifying people resting in peace.

It was created as part of the building work which saw Blackburn Parish Church transformed into a cathedral in the years immediately before and after World War Two.

"I don't think it is unique but am not aware of any other cathedral having such a room,'' commented the provost.

Spaces in the walls of the room are limited, only between 30 and 40 now remain and many of these have been reserved.

Its use is restricted to the cathedral congregation and anyone wanting to be laid to rest in the building has to apply to the provost. Within the next five years, the room may have to expanded to cope with the demand.

Mr Frayne claims the appeal of the room is the tranquillity it offers to relatives of the dead.

He said: "People want a place they can use as an alternative to a churchyard. It is a place for them to recollect their thoughts and place flowers on special occasions."

Apart from the individual plaques, memorials for members of Blackburn families, previous vicars and a World War One memorial are on the walls.

These were taken from the old parish church before it underwent its transformation.

Mr Frayne believes other places of worship may follow the lead of the cathedral in the next millennium.

"As cremation becomes the only alternative, churches and cathedrals are certain to start thinking about similar rooms"

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