A POIGNANT service paid tribute to hundreds of paupers buried in unmarked graves at a former workhouse.

A plaque was unveiled as a lasting memorial to those who died at the Bolton Poor Law Union Workhouse during a service at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

The building, known as the Townley Workhouse, was originally situated in Fletcher Street in 1837 and became part of the Townley’s Hospital site when it closed in 1929.

It is believed at least 1,000 people were buried near the site of the old workhouse, off Minerva Road. Some were buried six to a grave without headstones or ceremony.

At the service yesterday, a permanent plaque was unveiled at the site by Farnworth Cllr Noel Spencer, who has family members who died in the workhouse.

During the ceremony the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Martin Donaghy said it was important to honour their memory because they were “just like us in every single way”.

Cllr Donaghy, whose grandmother died in an Irish workhouse, added: “They were members of Bolton and the surrounding districts, but they fell on hard times and in those days the equivalent of social services was the workhouse.

“There was no shame, because this was not of their choosing. This was a set of circumstances beyond their control which unfortunately they were victims of.”

The hymns Abide with Me and Amazing Grace were sung, and solemn music was provided by the Bolton Caledonia Pipe Band