Baby's skeleton laid to rest after being found wrapped in 1910 newspaper

A baby boy whose body was found under floorboards with twine wrapped around his neck was finally laid to rest - up to 300 years after he died. The remains of the child , born at full-term, were discovered by builders undertaking a renovation project in a Victorian-era building in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, in July 2024. The skeleton was wrapped in newspaper from June 1910 and testing revealed the baby probably lived between 1726 and 1812 - though mystery surrounds how he passed away. A moving funeral service was held for the child this afternoon at the Town Cemetery, where a small white coffin carrying the name "Baby Auckland" was escorted by a police motorbike and lowered into a plot with blue ribbon. Multicoloured floral tributes were then laid by representatives from the police who are leading the investigation into his death and the council. Only one member of the public turned out for the funeral, Janet Atkinson. The 68-year-old, who travelled from nearby village High Etherley, and said she came out to pay her respects on behalf of the community. The retired social worker said: "I just felt so sorry for him. I wanted to attend the funeral today to show my respects and show him some love, which he really didn't have in his short life. "People do care, people do love him. The people of Bishop Auckland are very compassionate people and I think more people would have been here had it been publicised. Everyone has been so upset to hear and read about it. It was quite shocking to hear a baby boy had been found under floorboards and had possibly been there since 1910. It's a complete mystery as to what happened, it's very, very sad." Celebrant Gemma Dobson told the service today: "Though we do not know the details of their days, we stand here knowing something simple— this child was here, and this child is worthy of love, dignity, and rest. Today, Baby Auckland is not alone. As we gather here to say farewell today, we recognise that Baby Auckland will be part of this place— this quiet, beautiful place— for all time." An inquest into the baby's death opened at Crook Coroners' Court on April 14 and revealed a post mortem at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle could not ascertain his cause of death. The infant was found with twine looped around his neck three times, with a knot and a further loop. At one stage, the building where the baby was housed, on Fore Bondgate, was home to a church-run mother-and-baby unit, although it is believed that the baby was concealed before then. A full hearing is scheduled for May 18. Previous efforts from police to trace the baby's origin and possible relatives have seen them look through historical records, but it is now believed that no more can be done to trace descendants or identify the remains. Speaking after the service, Det Chief Insp Mel Sutherland from Durham Constabulary said: "We did some press appeals at the time and did have some members of the public come forward and thought they may be related to people who had lived there. "But we took some DNA and compared it to the baby's and unfortunately, it didn't match. That was a disheartening moment. "With the techniques and resources we have got available to us, there are no more reasonable lines of enquiry to do at this stage." He added: "It has been an emotional day, a long process to get to where we are now. I think we did him justice. We laid him to rest today when he hasn't been for probably over a century. "Every life is worth celebrating and respecting. It feels like it is my responsibility to give the baby a voice and an appropriate send off."