0:00:26 > 0:00:32When a fine brick vault was discovered in the centre of a city,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35the ancestors team investigated.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40We uncovered the moving story
0:00:40 > 0:00:43of a 19th-century Midlands family.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51I'm in Coventry, not perhaps what you'd think of as a historic town.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55But we've got something that might just change your mind.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Next to Holy Trinity church is an old graveyard
0:00:59 > 0:01:03that's been earmarked for redevelopment.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07First, all the burials have to be removed.
0:01:07 > 0:01:14'I was invited along by Paul Thompson, the city archaeologist.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Lever it up...
0:01:19 > 0:01:24Our first job was a heavy one - moving headstones.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39You may wonder why, in the whole graveyard, we're digging here.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43A couple of years ago, Paul put a small trench in,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47and at the edge of that trench, he found a brick vault.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51If it is a vault, it will contain a whole range of burials.
0:01:58 > 0:02:05After two days of hard digging, the roof of the vault began to appear.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Now it's exposed, you can see the brick arch here.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14This brickwork here is much rougher.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Obviously, this bit was taken out and put back in to seal it up.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23So we'll have to take it off to see inside.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33The sides of the hole could have collapsed, so we put shoring in.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42But who were the people in the vault, and when did they die?
0:02:42 > 0:02:47Originally, that vault would have had a stone above it,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52but over the years, the stones have been moved around and jumbled up.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57We'll only have the burials inside it to tell us who the people are.
0:02:57 > 0:03:04Only one stone hasn't been moved, because a tree's grown around it.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09'The next day, bone specialist Trevor Anderson arrived.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:14So, what would you expect to find inside something like that?
0:03:14 > 0:03:18I think, when we get in the vault tomorrow,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23I would imagine that we're probably looking at a group of coffins,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27perhaps stacked one on top of the other.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32The uppermost coffins are probably quite well preserved,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and the lower ones may be squashed.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46This stuff might look very strange, but there's a serious purpose.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Those bones could only be 200 years old.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55There could be biological hazards in there, so we need protection.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59It's a very strange feeling, isn't it?
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'As the first few bricks were removed,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07'there was a mixture of excitement and apprehension.'
0:04:07 > 0:04:10OK, Trevor, have a look.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13What's that, that's just wood, isn't it?
0:04:13 > 0:04:18That's a collapsed... collapsed coffin at the bottom.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23But then there's... That looks like an intact one,
0:04:23 > 0:04:29sitting on top of it - down this side you can see a handle.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38It looks as if there's a whole stack of coffins along one side.
0:04:38 > 0:04:44The top one looks like it's intact, but it looks like a lead coffin.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48There's an enormous space, then these few coffins.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52It's deeper than we thought.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54'We know there are three coffins.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58'What do Paul and Trevor intend to do with them?'
0:04:58 > 0:05:04Our purpose is to rescue the remains in advance of the redevelopment.
0:05:04 > 0:05:11An intact coffin we would just re-bury with care and consideration.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15The next stage is to get the roof off the vault.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19We've got to make sure nothing falls onto the coffins.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23So we're going to slide some boards and planks through
0:05:23 > 0:05:28so that if any bricks do fall, they won't cause any damage.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36The principle of this is simple, that if you knock out that brick,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41then it should fall in, but we don't want too much to fall in.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Just...gradually.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47So, let's have a try...
0:05:53 > 0:05:56- HE LAUGHS - There we are!
0:05:56 > 0:06:00'With the roof off and the end walls nearly removed,
0:06:00 > 0:06:05'the next problem was getting the top coffin out.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'There's little room for manoeuvre.'
0:06:08 > 0:06:13Is the bottom going to fall out? That's the worrying thing.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17It is. So if you can lift...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Are you ready for this, lads?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22OK, right...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It's light as a feather!
0:06:25 > 0:06:29'Everyone was expecting a heavy, lead-lined coffin.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34'But being so light, it must be made of wood.'
0:06:34 > 0:06:39Almost there. That's it, we're home. Well done, lads.
0:06:39 > 0:06:45It's in extraordinary condition, after being buried for so long.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47But when it was first made,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51the top may have been covered in some bright material.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56There's a decorative border, perhaps in a shiny, silvery metal.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01And these plaques, now so rusty, would have been shiny and black.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It would have been a splendid coffin,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07a proper sendoff for somebody.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15I'm relieved it came out in one piece.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20But I suppose what's disappointing in some ways - after all this,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25I'd love to have known who it was, if there'd been a nameplate.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31It's a shame - we've got three fabulous slates, all decorative,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34but no name to identify the person in there.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40We'll have to see with the next coffin, and the one at the bottom,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43if we get any more information.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48'Because the coffin was so fragile, it was placed in a sturdy container
0:07:48 > 0:07:52'for transportation to the funeral parlour.'
0:07:52 > 0:07:55I'll just put it there.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I think that's very appropriate.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11'The next day, Julian Litten, a historic funeral expert,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14'arrived to examine the coffin.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16'What could he tell us?'
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Quite a lot. One can tell the size of the individual, to start with.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26One can also tell when the coffin was made, within a 25-year period.
0:08:26 > 0:08:311840s or 1850s, judging from the coffin furniture,
0:08:31 > 0:08:36which is the collective noun for the metal applique work you find on them.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39The figure at the top is Our Lord.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44The inscription - "Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- "and I will give you rest." - Is that a common one?- It is, yes.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53"Be faithful unto death and you will receive the crown of life" is too.
0:08:53 > 0:09:00"Gone but not forgotten" certainly wasn't used in the 19th century. "Simply the best"? No. That's 1990s.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04You wouldn't have got it in the 1850s.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08- Are the handles what you'd expect? - Yes, they are.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11I'm surprised and delighted with them.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14The grip plates at the foot end of the coffin
0:09:14 > 0:09:19show the oval one would expect at the end of the 18th century,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22but they've added extra spandrels
0:09:22 > 0:09:25now we've gone into the 1840s, 1850s.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28In the centre is an angel with HUGE wings -
0:09:28 > 0:09:31absolutely massive wings.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36With wings that size, it could put a girdle round the Earth in 40 seconds.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40And then, this successfully hideous handle.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47It's the worst type of manufacturing art that you could get -
0:09:47 > 0:09:52the very reason why the 1851 Great Exhibition of All Nations was set up,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56to see whether one could improve the quality of design
0:09:56 > 0:10:01within the manufacturing arts. I'm afraid to say
0:10:01 > 0:10:04this company probably didn't have a stand there!
0:10:04 > 0:10:08At the graveyard, they were raising the second coffin.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13- That's fine. We've got it. - WOMAN:- Yeah. Oh, I'm sliding!
0:10:13 > 0:10:18But unfortunately it was in a very poor state and all that survived
0:10:18 > 0:10:21were fragments of decayed wood.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Trevor was left with no bones to examine.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29This may be our last chance to find out who the family buried here were.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33The first two coffins have no names on them.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35There's just this last one,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39which lies crushed at the bottom of the vault.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44TREVOR: Can we get this big piece off, do you think?
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Let's see.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- And then just put it into the bucket. - OK, yeah.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Just when we least expected it,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58there under a fragment of crushed coffin was a metal nameplate.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Could this be our vital clue?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Can we have the torch? Thank you.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Let's see -
0:11:07 > 0:11:10S-A-R-A-H.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Sarah...Conroy I THINK is what it says.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18I think this says, "Died July 10th...
0:11:18 > 0:11:20"1827...
0:11:20 > 0:11:23"29 years."
0:11:25 > 0:11:31'Now we had a name, it was time to bring in local historian Judith Riley.'
0:11:33 > 0:11:39We're hoping to find out who the people buried in that vault are.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43- Is that going to be difficult? - If you could sort out a date,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46we might have a starting point.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50A name or a suggested name would be even better.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Would, er... something like that help?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- Ooh!- There you are - "Sarah Conroy.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02"Died July 10th 1827."
0:12:02 > 0:12:03Now...
0:12:03 > 0:12:06will that give you a good start?
0:12:06 > 0:12:10We can do it with that. I'm sure we can.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Judith began her search of the city archives
0:12:16 > 0:12:21while Paul and I excavated the remains of Sarah's coffin...
0:12:21 > 0:12:23with unexpected results.
0:12:24 > 0:12:30Oh, wow! That's absolutely fantastic! That is incredible!
0:12:30 > 0:12:32TREVOR: You can see its fastenings.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Lying under the remains of three coffin lids
0:12:36 > 0:12:40were the fragile remains of Sarah's burial clothing.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Almost everything had decayed
0:12:43 > 0:12:46except for the silk ribbon edging the shroud.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48This is the body,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51what's left of it.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53There's very little bone material.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58This white powdery residue is all that's left of the bone.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00That's where the skull would be.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Around it we see, in situ, a double loop of ribbon
0:13:05 > 0:13:07and a bow tied under the chin.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11It's preserved just the way it should be.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15This other bow is probably just above the waist.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17And then...
0:13:17 > 0:13:20it comes all the way down,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22all the way down to below the feet.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Although we don't have much of it remaining,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31because of the state and position we know what this looks like.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35At the end of the week,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39I went to see what Judith had found out about the Conroys.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44- Hello.- Hello, Julian.- This is more civilised than digging in the mud!
0:13:44 > 0:13:49- Very much so.- Have you found anything about Sarah for me?
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Well, yes, I have.
0:13:51 > 0:13:58In the Holy Trinity registers I found the burial entry for Sarah Conroy
0:13:58 > 0:14:03and her abode - where she lived - Cross Cheaping.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10And a John Conroy later on, in 1870. I've made a note of him.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Their ages are given. He was 80 then.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18The Cross Cheaping business interested me.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23I decided to look in the trade directories and we were very lucky -
0:14:23 > 0:14:25there was a John Conroy,
0:14:25 > 0:14:30foreign and home fruit merchant and tea dealer, Cross Cheaping.
0:14:30 > 0:14:36- There must be a connection between John and Sarah.- Definitely.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41- But what? Could he be her husband? - Yes.- It would fit in terms of dates.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43He could well have been her husband.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Did you find any other Conroys?
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Yes, there was an Ellen Conroy.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52She was 35 when she was buried.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56But she lived at Upper Well Street - 9 Upper Well Street.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59John, when he was buried, later on,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01lived at Upper Well Street.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04So they're connected, anyway.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09- So Ellen might be... - She could be the daughter.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- She might have survived...- She might. - ..as Sarah was dying.
0:15:13 > 0:15:19Right. Where do we go from here? I want to know more about this family.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Well, after 1837, you can actually apply for death registers.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28It would be well worth, although it's a long shot,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31applying for copies of their death certificates.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Here, Coventry people register their births, marriages and deaths.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41Hopefully, I'll find out more about Sarah and her relatives.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47Sarah died before it was compulsory formally to register a death.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52But the records of John and Ellen, who died later, should be available.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57- Death certificates for John Conroy and Ellen Conroy.- Thanks very much.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00- Thank you. Bye.- Bye.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06These are absolutely fascinating.
0:16:06 > 0:16:12There's Ellen Conroy who died, aged 34 years, of acute bronchitis.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16She was a silk warper, whatever that is.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20But John Conroy died, aged 80 years, of natural decay
0:16:20 > 0:16:23and he was a fruiterer.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Next day, at the library, I met Judith
0:16:28 > 0:16:32and city conservation officer George Demidowicz.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37So are you fairly certain, then, that John and Sarah were married
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- and that Ellen was their daughter? - Yes.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- They also had a son, John...- Right.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46..in 1819.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51They then had a James, and that James must have died,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53because they baptised another James
0:16:53 > 0:16:57and a Henry, who died as a child. Very sad.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00That's one thing that struck me.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Ellen seems to have died, at a very young age, of acute bronchitis.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Of course it was January. It would be cold and damp.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12What about where they were living?
0:17:12 > 0:17:16- George, you've been finding out about Cross Cheaping.- Yes.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19From the rate books,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23we discovered a John Conroy living in Cross Cheaping in the 1820s.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27We thought it might be in this area just here.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32Here is the burial ground where the Conroys are buried in the vault.
0:17:32 > 0:17:38- Just literally around the corner. - Just round the corner.- So hang on.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42- You then had to go where? - To Warwick Record Office.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47And this one that we've marked in yellow is the Conroy house,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51because we found, in the rental,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54John Conroy, from 20 January 1824,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59paying a rent per half year of £6
0:17:59 > 0:18:04up to 29 September 1829 when he disappears.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09But because we now know which, precisely, is the building,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12we've got later photographs
0:18:12 > 0:18:14which show the building.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19- There's the number. Very convenient. - They knew we were coming,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23because that's the only building with a number on the top.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- It's tall.- It's timber framed.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30It may have a medieval timber frame hiding in there.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33- I want to see it.- I'll show you.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37- It's not very far from here. - Really?- No.- Right!
0:18:39 > 0:18:45I still find it hard to get my bearings around here, George.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50- We're not far from the burial ground, are we?- No, about 50 yards.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55That timber-framed building is just in front of the Conroys' cemetery.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00- If they're buried there, where did they live?- They lived over here.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05But hang on a minute. What happened to that?
0:19:05 > 0:19:09The whole side of this street was redeveloped in the 1930s.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13- And...- It's gone completely, then? - Completely.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17This department store was built in the 1950s.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22- So we can't see the house?- No. We know where the site is, though.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25We can lay old maps over new.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It's just interesting to see where the site was.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33- You can tell exactly? - We've worked it out from plans.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36We've marked the position of the house.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41- Right!- You can see, it's partly under the department store
0:19:41 > 0:19:43and partly in the pavement.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48- Is it the back bit that pokes out? - It's the back.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53- Where should I be? - In that direction. 4.5 metres.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57Chalking towards you. Oops!
0:19:57 > 0:20:02And now 3.5, roughly on a right angle. It only needs to be rough.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- OK, so that's 3.5. - That's the back of the property.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10To here. And we need a right angle.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14- We need to go back towards Alders. - OK.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16I'll just chalk from here.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21That's it then, is it?
0:20:21 > 0:20:24This shows a fireplace. Let's put that in.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29- That was on the back of the building. - Right.- Let's chalk it on here.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34- Roughly speaking... - It's slightly to one side.- Yes.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Here's one side of the fireplace.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39And the other one.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- Like that?- Further over.- There.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49The fireplace on the back wall.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54But, as you can see, the front of the building is...
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Somewhere behind the sofas! What a shame.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04It would have been lovely to come and find the actual house that they lived in.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Yes, but Coventry has suffered very much.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13Lots of historic streets have been knocked down for redevelopment.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18- So this is progress, is it?- This is certainly progress in one direction.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25I never thought we'd find out so much about the people in the vault.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27They were the Conroy family -
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Sarah, her husband, John, and daughter, Ellen.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34We even know what they did for work.
0:21:34 > 0:21:41John was a fruiterer. Ellen worked in the city's most important industry as a silk warper.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47As our picture became clearer, there remained a question.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50What was, or is, a silk warper?
0:21:51 > 0:21:57Whitchurch in Hampshire is home to one of Britain's last silk mills,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01where I met a modern silk warper, Claire Andrews.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06- Hello.- Hello.- I need to know about what a silk warper does.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10You don't wind these, do you?
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Yes, we do. The silk comes to us in hanks.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Each thread is put through a series of reeds.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23- Are those the comb-like things?- Yes. - That keeps them separate?- Yes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27They then go through a finer reed.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32'The warper's job is to take the threads that make up the pattern,
0:22:32 > 0:22:38'and bring them to the width of the final piece of woven silk.'
0:22:38 > 0:22:41And then start it rolling.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46'They're wound round the warping mill before going for weaving.'
0:22:54 > 0:23:00When I heard about Ellen being a silk warper, I had no idea what it involved.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04How long did it take you to work it out?
0:23:04 > 0:23:11A year to be confident in the process but a lot longer to learn about the patterns.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16- Are you still learning?- Yes, you never make the same mistake twice.
0:23:22 > 0:23:29'Now I knew what a warper did, I wanted to know how Ellen would have fitted in with the mill workers.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33'I found the answer from Christine, who runs the mill.'
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Of the 100 people who were working here in the 1850s,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42a quarter would have been weavers and the rest winders,
0:23:42 > 0:23:48with a very few, under five, who would have been warpers like Ellen.
0:23:48 > 0:23:54So she would have had a privileged place in the mill, making the warps.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57How much did people get paid?
0:23:57 > 0:24:04Weavers were paid more than winders, and warpers were paid more than weavers.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11150 years ago, Coventry was famous for silk weaving.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Today, nearly all that's gone.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18But the museum has a wonderful collection of silks.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22Hugh Jones got them out to show me.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25We've got a lot of samples in the museum.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29This is one of the earliest ones that's survived.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32They're so bright these colours.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37They're all done with natural dyes and natural silk, at this stage.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40That's what I expect, muted colours,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43nothing as bright as these.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46They're very intricate, aren't they?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50The process was done by hand by the weaver.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56- So it was a very skilled job. - And very time consuming.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00They were supposed to produce 36 yards in a week.
0:25:00 > 0:25:06- A week!- Yes, so long hours, long hours bent over a loom.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11These are products of a thriving industry. What happened to it?
0:25:11 > 0:25:17Well...it went into a very sharp decline in 1860 for various reasons.
0:25:17 > 0:25:24One reason was that there was a treaty signed with France that lifted all the import duties
0:25:24 > 0:25:27on French goods entering the country.
0:25:27 > 0:25:34- Cheap foreign imports! - Yes. France was the main competitor of Coventry in ribbon weaving.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37French ribbons were produced more cheaply.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41This must have caused hardship in the town.
0:25:41 > 0:25:47For the individual weavers it was a very difficult few years.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54Maybe Ellen's death is linked to the collapse of the silk industry
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and the dreadful poverty that ensued.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03- 'Hello.'- Mr Conroy?- 'Speaking.' - I work for a BBC programme...
0:26:03 > 0:26:08'We were searching for descendants of our Conroys,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10'but without success.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14'I called every Conroy in the book. No luck!'
0:26:14 > 0:26:18- Do your family come from Coventry? - 'No, Stratford.'
0:26:18 > 0:26:23- 'From Ireland.'- 'The North-East.' - 'We're Geordies.'
0:26:23 > 0:26:25The BBC...
0:26:25 > 0:26:29'A radio appeal brought no response either.'
0:26:29 > 0:26:35If anybody has information about any descendants, we'd like to hear from them.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- We can use your phone line.- Yes.
0:26:38 > 0:26:46The remains - we've found out all that we can - are going to be re-buried with a proper ceremony.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49CHURCH ORGAN PLAYS
0:26:52 > 0:26:57We brought nothing into the world and we take nothing out.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Blessed be the name of the Lord.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06'Five weeks after opening the vault,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09'it's time for the final act.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13'We feel we've grown to know this family.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15'Now it's time to say goodbye.'
0:27:15 > 0:27:20We have entrusted Sarah Conroy to God's merciful keeping.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24We now recommit her remains to the ground -
0:27:24 > 0:27:29earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust -
0:27:29 > 0:27:33in the certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37through Jesus Christ who died, was buried
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and who rose again for us.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Now Julian will say a few words about the Conroy family.
0:27:49 > 0:27:56Thank you. We've been privileged to have this glimpse into the lives of this family,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59who lived in Coventry so long ago
0:27:59 > 0:28:04and whose lives seem to have been bound up with Coventry's history.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I feel it's very appropriate
0:28:07 > 0:28:13that we disturbed their rest and we're now returning them to rest.
0:28:33 > 0:28:40To take your interest in archaeology further, visit our website, or phone.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Subtitles by BBC Subtitling - 2000
0:28:48 > 0:28:54E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk