AN AWARD-WINNING documentary concerning the underground charnel house adjoining to Worcester Cathedral — a movie previously seen only by film-festival judges — is now available for anyone to observe online.
The medieval charnel home is entered from a town house that the previous Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge, moved into as his official residence in 2008. It inspired a reflective book on European charnel houses, A Tour of Bones, by his wife, Dr Denise Inge, who died in 2014 when the book was almost accomplished (News, 19 April 2024).
In it, she writes of her first descent by candlelight into the space, to search out “no neat bones. Instead, there’s nothing here however the chaos of death: bones heaped on bones in disarray, indignity upon indignity, jaw upon pelvis, femur upon cranium, as in the event that they had fallen right into a freeze while wrestling in the mean time the door was opened.”
CONTEURCONTEUR
The existence of the hidden charnel house caught the imagination of an area production company, Conteur, which worked in collaboration with Dr Inge to make the film, Life Over Death. It won Best Documentary on the Worcester Film Festival 2023, and was shortlisted for Best Documentary on the Liverpool Indie awards and Best British Director for a Short Documentary on the European Short Film Awards 2025.
Dr Inge, who’s now retired, said: “During her years in College Yard, Denise developed a fascination with the charnel house and the connection between life and death. To see its strange beauty captured on film is a privilege, and something so unique to Worcester. I hope the community gets behind the film, discovers something latest about our historic city, and, in the method, reflects on life in the sunshine of death.”
The film’s director, Gillian Davies, said: “We’re excited to share the film with the community.”
Life Over Death is out there to observe on Conteur’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@conteuruk
