Blue Coat pupils are going to be spending the night in St Mathews Church Crypt in Walsall. It's all in aid of raising funds for a Ecological trip abroad they hope to go on.
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00:00Here at St Matthew's Church, and introduce yourselves guys, who we got?
00:03My name is Jack Sargent.
00:05My name is Slim Tickamottomari.
00:07And my name is Adam Gore.
00:08Cool, and you're raising money for, well the t-shirts are a clue aren't they, what are you raising money for?
00:15So we're going on a trip in 2026 of the summer to Cambodia and we're hoping to do some environmental and community work.
00:23Great stuff, good stuff. And how much have you got to raise roughly?
00:26We have got to raise just under £5,000.
00:27Yep. So, one of the ideas, braver than me, you guys, was sleeping in the crypt here at St Matthew's Church.
00:36Who came up with this idea then?
00:38It was kind of like a joint idea that we all had.
00:41Cool. And when is it you're doing it?
00:4624th of April.
00:47Cool. So, shall we go and have a look where you're going to be spending the night then?
00:52Yeah? Shall we follow you down? Go on then, lead the way guys.
00:57So, it gets a bit narrow, doesn't it?
01:17Yeah.
01:18Wow. Okay. Well, this is interesting, isn't it?
01:30Right. So, do you reckon you're going to get much sleep when you're down here?
01:33No.
01:35And is there any plans to kind of do the whole, I mean, this is a perfect setting for doing some, you know, bedtime ghost stories, isn't it?
01:41There's always time for it.
01:45Yeah. Are you going to be nervous at all? Or are you kind of, are you quite brave about it all?
01:50Nervous and excited at the same time.
01:52Yeah. Same for you?
01:54I'm a bit scared.
01:55Yeah, yeah. Well, I don't blame you. I think many would. I mean, this has been here a few years, I'm sure.
01:59My name's John Edlin, and I volunteer at St Matthew's Church, but I'm something of an expert on its history and heritage.
02:08So, the lads are going to be down here, and there's a few little interesting features which maybe we can't see to the naked eye.
02:16Fill us in on what's behind this wall here. It's not a Tesco's, is it?
02:19Behind this wall, there's bones of about 800 bodies. These were buried in the graveyard over a period of years, and they were tidied up towards the end of the 18th century, and placed in a notary. That is, a bone stall.
02:36I didn't know if that's a new word for me. And is there any stories of kind of, you know, things that go bump in the night down here? Any tales over the years?
02:44Yes. Not many that I know of. There are lots of stories, but not the ones that I can verify. There's stories, for example, about tunnels that go into caves near here, but they are stories. They're not verified that I know of.
03:00Something tells me there might be a few new stories created very soon that I'll be knocking around the school for a while. Would you want to spend a night down here?
03:08Oh, yes, very much so. I've spent nights in many peculiar places.
03:13Well, yes, so have I, but we won't go into that.
03:17So, yes, 800 bodies, then, behind this wall. That's certainly food for thought, isn't it?
03:24Just to say that this room is all that's left of the church that was built between 1150 and 1180.
03:33All right. So it is by far Walsall's oldest building and by more than 500 years older than anything else in town.
03:44Wow. And it was called St. Matthews from the start?
03:47Not at all. It had no specific attribution to start with.
03:51It was known as All Saints Church up until the middle of the 18th century.
03:56It probably changed its name because one of the annual fairs fell on St. Matthews Day and St. Matthews Day was a day when a lot of the dolls were given out to help poor people.
04:10And so I can understand how the people would think, yeah, let's call it St. Matthews, because it was probably popularly known as St. Matthews a long time before its name actually changed.
04:22So, lads, we've just been told a story about the flooring here.
04:41Can anyone remember what they used to put on the floor before we had nice concrete slabs?
04:47Animal blood.
04:48Animal blood. So they used to pour animal blood on the floor to harden it. That's delicious, isn't it?
04:55So, if people want to get involved in kind of sponsoring you, because how much is it you've got to raise each again?
05:01Just under £5,000.
05:02Each year? And is there a GoFundMe or something like that?
05:05Yes.
05:07How do people find it?
05:10We've each got an ending.
05:11I think.
05:12Okay.
05:13Cool. So if they Google, well, if they get in touch with the school, I guess.
05:18Yeah.
05:18What's your school? Give it a shout out.
05:21Playoff Academy also.
05:22Wicked. So if anyone wants to get involved or any corporate sponsors would be much appreciated, I'm sure.
05:29Cheers, guys.
05:34Don't get out of me!
05:35Cheers, guys.