THE Atworth village bier – that is a cart designed to carry a coffin – has been moved from a store room next to the village hall where it had been kept for many years, to the Atworth Museum on Bradford Road.
The museum has recently been tidied up and expanded allowing space for some new exhibits, including the bier – a hand drawn cart designed to convey a coffin from a person’s home to the church and graveside.
“This bier was presented to Atworth Parish Council in 1912 by the committee appointed to commemorate the coronation of King George V,” says a spokesperson for the Atworth History Group.
“It was first used in 1913 and last used in 2008 to take Reg Townsend’s coffin to St Michael’s Church in the village. The hire charge was one shilling (5p).
“The photographs show the bier leaving the village hall and in its new position in the Atworth Museum. Pictured are Hilary and David Hough, Tracey King, Emma Roberts, chair of the Atworth Parish Council, and Martin Kyte, clerk to the Atworth Parish Council.
The group meets on the first Monday of the month (unless there’s a bank holiday, in which case it’ll be the second) at Atworth Village Hall at 7:30pm. Visitors are very welcome at the modest cost of £5 for the evening, or you may wish to join for an annual subscription of £15.
