GRAVE CONCERNS OVER THE STATE OF ABANDONED ECCLES CEMETERY

The person to contact, for the required permission, is the priest at Holy Cross church, near Patricroft Bridge, but it is just possible that he may not realise that, especially if he is new to the parish.  In which case, do ask him to make enquiries.
     The land for this graveyard was given by Sir Thomas Joseph de Trafford circa 1820, but probably because of the anti-Catholic "Penal Laws" that were still in force at that time, no official deed of assignment appears to have made, or if made, then it has been lost. The result, I believe, is that the Catholic Church cannot prove their ownership, but there is absolutely no doubt of that fact.  It may require action in a Court of Law to prove it.
      I am not a lawyer, but I think a further complication could arise because of multiple possible claims from the descendants of those buried there, and who originally bought the grave plots. Their descendants could be argue that they own the grave plots and the Catholic Church only owns the walls and the spaces between the graves. But this all depends on the exact terms of each sale, which have almost certainly not survived.
    And then there is the matter of the value of this land, especially to a local builder, hungry for land.
Things could get quite complicated !
Richard McGarry.

This is terrible. Surely the Roman Catholic Church should still be responsible for its upkeep? It’s not as if they don’t have the money. 

I wish something could be done about the old Marantha Chapel grave yard.  It just gets left and strewn with litter.  The maintenance company for the flats chops the weeds down, once or twice a year.

I grew up in  Barton (1950-61) and as a child remember the graveyard well. It was abandoned then and in a state. It's not very big and was accessed through large rusty iron gates at the top of Peel Green Rd.  Last time I tried to visit it was walled up and inaccessible. It was the original graveyard for All Saint's Church across the Irwell (MSC).

Would be nice if it could be tidied up. I doubt if there are many, if any, families who have relative in the place now.

Maybe the Bishop of Salford might be a starting point for action...

To help Tony tidy up Barton on Irwell Roman Catholic Cemetery, Peel Green Road, Eccles I have created a crowd funding site.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sean-white-3

Please donate if you can. Lets give the respect back to those buried there and hopefully get some visitors to the graves which are not currently accessible.

Felling and removing of the trees needs to be done by professional tree surgeons who can also remove and wood chip them. A skip (with permit) would be also be required for general non-recyclable waste. 

Volunteers welcome when the project begins and hopefully we can setup an agreement going forward to keep the cemetery maintained once re-instated. This maybe a trust fund combined with a local community group.

My vision going forward would to see the cemetery fully restored with ongoing maintenance and ensure it is open on certain days by a caretaker, with a locked gate at other times to prevent vandalism.

Article mentions Robert Eadsworth and wonder if it’s misread as know I have relatives named Eadsforth buried here so it’s great to think they may be accessible at some point - a stroke means I would never be able to get through an overgrown area 

I'm currently in discussion with Salford R.C. Diocese, Salford council and the local MP Barbara Keeley regarding the land owner and cemetery upkeep. I'll keep you updated here. Also my investigation video-blog is here https://youtu.be/R2HxOcohh7Y   thank you.