Bones of 1,500 people stuffed inches below Devon high street

Beneath the bustling high street of a Devon town centre lies a chilling secret. Unbeknownst to the hundreds of people who shop, lunch and socialise there, something startling lurks just beneath their feet.

Nestled in the heart of Barnstaple, St Anne's Chapel can be found on Paternoster Row, a well-trodden path between the busy high street, pannier market and Boutport Street. The modest 14th Century chapel has undergone a transformation into a popular arts and community centre.

However, the green space surrounding the former chapel conceals a grim surprise. Most passers-by are oblivious to what is contained within its retaining walls.

Approximately 1,500 bodies are crammed beneath the grounds here, with bones thought to be a mere six inches from the surface.

A collection of gravestones are scattered around the chapel, some tilted at an angle, placed there to keep the bodies in place. This information comes courtesy of local author, historian and tour guide Susan Pengelly.

Susan's extensive knowledge and spine-chilling tales have led her to offer no less than five different ghost walks around Barnstaple, guiding visitors through the town's most haunted locations steeped in history.

Discussing the eerie secret of St Anne's Chapel, Susan reveals that bodies were being packed into the ground there - the town's only burial site at the time - as recently as the mid-1800s.

She revealed: "Outside in the grounds, the little bits of grass that surround it, there are over 1,500 bodies. "There are so many that they had to be crammed down to fit inside - so much so that people coming into town were in danger of tripping over bones poking out of the ground.

"Bodily fluids would leech out into the wells of Barnstaple that would then be used in the most potent beer. The authorities at the time thought they had to do something about it, people were a bit put out by it to say the least. That's why they built the walls up."

"The chapel is a fantastic building and it's open every Thursday for anyone who wants to come and have a look round."

St Anne's underwent a renovation in 2012 and has since become a popular arts and events venue - but it still features a slightly eerie ground floor 'undercroft'. It's believed this room was used as either a tomb or charnel house, a place where the bones disturbed by later burials could be respectfully stored.