Grisly past of ‘Dead House’
HUNDREDS of years ago the summerhouse was a scenic, tranquil riverside spot overlooking lush green meadows.
Today the Wilford Gazebo, as it is called, is in a rather sorry state; the floor missing after a fire and the bottom is strewn with cans and crisp wrappers.
A lovely as it was, the pentagonal red brick building in the graveyard at St Wilfrid’s Church in Wilford, it also holds a morbid past – as a makeshift mortuary.
Built in 1757 by Henry Tull, the gazebo is just yards from the medieval church in one direction and the River Trent in the opposite.
Originally it would have been a picturesque spot, sheltered from the sun, with sash windows and attractive shutters.
Local history buff Daniel Atherton, who heads the Wilford Heritage Project, said: “Wilford was very lucky that there were lots of wealthy people who settled here. Henry Tull donated it as a seating area for local parishioners.
“There were benches all around the edge and the view would have been really nice back then as Queen’s Drive didn’t exist and Lenton didn’t exist. It was only in the ’60s that Wilford gradually got surrounded by industrial estates.
“Before it got built up you could see all the way to Wollaton Park. You can just about see the Castle now and the Council House. There would have been a really natural meadow and enormous lush grazing fields.”
Records show the basement of the summerhouse was used for centuries as a temporary mortuary to store bodies of drowning victims. Ray Hutchins, chairman of Wilford History Society, wrote in his book Wilford, Past And Present, that the gazebo was known to earlier generations as the “Wilford Dead House”.
In 1784 six people died in a ferry accident on the Trent during a storm.
Daniel, a parliamentary assistant in London, has spent the last year home in Wilford, explained: “There used to be a ferry from the Toll Bridge. Due to the hazardous nature of the river and the primitive safety of the raft, multiple tragedies happened due to the ferry crossing, most of which are unrecorded.
“However, one recorded took place in July 1784, when
11 passengers were swept overboard due to a sudden gale, and in the confusion the chain was released with the passengers being swept away by the current. Only five were eventually rescued.”
The bodies of the six victims were taken to the gazebo basement.
A plaque inside gives a brief insight into the building’s past as a “mortuary for river drownings”.
Another record tells how victims of Wilford’s devastating 1914 flood were also kept there.
“The church was flooded, the school was washed out and families were killed. This was also used as a mortuary for that,” said Daniel.
“It is rather macabre and almost definitive of the area that on top was a beautiful and much-loved attraction in the village whilst below was the mortuary showing the dangers of the river.
“People could quite literally be enjoying their cream tea or fresh cherries – Wilford was famous for its cherry eating festivals and as a summer retreat for city workers – while, less than a metre below, drowned victims were being stored until they could be given their last rites.”
Local historian Arthur Wright wrote in 1978 how the summerhouse had doubled up as a mortuary: “At that time (in 1757) the outlook from it, towards Nottingham over the Trent and The Meadows, would no doubt be extremely pleasant. The lower storey, which is on a level with the river, is still referred to as the mortuary.
“It was the custom in this country for coroner’s inquests to be held in the porch of a parish church. With a ferry, a difficult ford nearby and a far more dangerous ford a little higher upstream, coroner’s inquests must have been frequent at Wilford and a mortuary therefore became a necessity.”
The building is listed, as is the church, but it has fallen into disrepair over decades. A 1976 arson attack destroyed the wooden floor, which locals stripped back four years later, leaving a sheer drop to the basement.
The doorway was taken out and wrought-iron railings were installed to stop intruders.
Daniel said: “Thankfully all the roof work and gables inside are all original. We are very lucky there wasn’t woodwork from the floor to the ceiling. If there had been one single wooden bar or support it would have set fire to the roof and we’d have lost the entire thing. But it’s stayed pretty strong.”
The heritage project has applied for £10,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Daniel hopes that the gazebo will be restored with a new floor and benches and possibly renamed after one of its most famous visitors – poet Henry Kirke White, who was praised by Lord Byron and Robert Southey.
“Byron and several other poets said he was a better poet than them but he died aged 21 from tuberculosis,” Daniel said.
“He had two famous poems and is said to have written in the gazebo.
“Since its basic restoration following the fire in the 80s, it has fallen more and more into disrepair. It has such a unique history that deserves to be recognised and celebrated.”
If the summerhouse was to be restored, today’s visitors would look out over Moderns Rugby Club’s pitch, and further afield Unity Square, the newly built multi-storey offices of HMRC.
Multiple tragedies happened due to the ferry crossing, most of which are unrecorded
Daniel Atherton