ANGER has erupted over news of a multimillion-pound land deal at a former Lanarkshire orphanage where more than 400 children died.
It has emerged the order of nuns that ran the Smyllum Park home in Lanark hope to sell 40 hectares of land at the site for about £6 million.
However, calls have been made for a memorial to be built at the site to the 400 children believed to have been buried in a mass grave at cemetery, and former residents who claim they were abused are outraged at the proposed land deal.
Josie Drage-Dawes, 73, who says she was physically abused at the home, said: “To think the nuns are secretly chasing a £6m sale while they’ve been unable to remember the lost children is unforgivable.”
Run by the Daughters of Charity, formerly known as the Poor Sisters of Charity, Smyllum Park hit the headlines last week after it was revealed that at least 400 former child residents had been buried in an unmarked grave St Mary’s Cemetery in Lanark, below. An investigation found that one-third were aged five or younger and only 24 were older than 15.
It also uncovered evidence of beatings, punches, public humiliations and psychological abuse. Two representatives of the Daughters of Charity, which is worth nearly £60m, told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in the summer that they could find no records of any abuse taking place. Smyllum Park closed in 1981 and the home was sold to developers and turned into flats.
Janet Docherty, whose late husband Frank, a former resident fought for a headstone at the cemetery, said he had initially been told the nuns couldn’t afford to pay.
“To learn they are worth so much is unbelievable,” she said.
The Daughters of Charity have not replied to requests for comment on the land sale.
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