The strip of land on which Benedict Biscop later
built his main monastery, on the north side of the river became
Bishopwearmouth. Bishopwearmouth became a parish around the 12th
century. The parish of Bishopwearmouth with its boundaries laid
out in early medieval times, became the church of St Michael.
It stands today near the urban centre of Sunderland. In response
to public concern over the threats to health caused by overcrowded
burials and laying some dead to rest beneath floors of churches,
particularly at St Michaels, meant necessary development of
Bishopwearmouth cemetery opened in 1856. The consequence of this
meant the loss of an interesting source of social history and
evocative memorials.
One memorial that was moved to Bishopwearmouth cemetery, a white
marble statue depicts a grieving mother holding her dead child.
This commemorates a tragedy which took place on 16th June 1883 at the
Victoria Hall. 183 children 115 boys and 69 girls tragically
were suffocated and crushed in a stampede, rushing downstairs to claim
a free present at the end of a special children's entertainment show.
Originally the statue stood in Mowbray Park but after it's removal to
the cemetery it was vandalized and forgotten.
The memorial has now been restored to its original condition, at a
cost of £63,000, with a protective canopy to protect it. Now council
leaders have placed the memorial back in Mowbray Park. It was
re-dedicated during a ceremony involving 183 children, who laid a
single flower at the base of the restored figure. A display of
material connected with the Victoria Hall disaster has been put on
show at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens. One of the items is a
wooden horse with its legs broken, said to have been one of the prizes
being given away on stage on the day.
