Church Surroundings
St.
Catherine's was built in the very centre of Crook and was originally
surrounded by a stone wall enclosing a small graveyard. This very soon
became full - perhaps not surprisingly as, until the middle of the 19th
century, all drinking water came from poor quality springs and wells
and the town had no provision for drainage. In 1850 there was a
smallpox epidemic. Following an outbreak of cholera in 1853 a few
inadequate drains were laid, emptying into Crook Beck.
By 1855 a separate town graveyard was established on the hillside above
the town. When the pit heaps were being razed and landscaped in about
1960, the small wall surrounding the church was demolished, the
headstones removed and the area levelled and grassed as it is seen
today. It is maintained by the local authority.
St. George's Church, Billy Row