A curiously uninformative stone.

 
St James the Great, Hanslope, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
The church has a massive spire, out of all proportion to the size of the rest of
the building. Much of the graveyard was overgrown and I find this rather
disrespectful to those buried there.
 
 
A curiously uninformative stone.
 
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One of the most elaborate memorials I have seen in a small parish church.

 
St Mary the Virgin, Fawsley, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
 
The village of Fawsley disappeared in the eighteenth century when most of the parish became part of the landscaped park of nearby Fawsley Hall. This has left the parish church sitting the middle of an otherwise empty field.
 
 
 
The church has an outstanding collection of brasses, chest tombs and wall
monuments dating from the 16th to 19th century.
 
 
One of the most elaborate memorials I have seen in a small parish church.
 
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Read the poem and see if you notice the mistake!

 
St Margaret of Antioch, Crick, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
 
This view of the church is not enhanced by the curious small
building in the centre of this picture.
 
 
Read the poem and see if you notice the mistake!
 
 
 
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The Waratah disappeared with 211 passengers and crew aboard.

 
Bridgnorth Cemetery, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 

Although it is not clear in this photograph part of the cemetery is both overgrown and on a steep slope and it was quite hazardous surveying this section.
 
 

In July 1909, the Waratah, en route from Durban to Cape Town, disappeared with 211 passengers and crew aboard. No trace of the ship has ever been found.

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A youngster killed in a playground

 
Ashby Road Cemetery, Hinckley, Warwickshire
(Click on an image to see a larger version)
  

This was an unexpectedly large cemetery with a good number of graves worth recording. Again we had our younger daughter Sally with us which speeded things up a lot. Curiously Sally found far more graves to photograph than we did!
 
 
 

A 3 year old killed in an accident in a recreation ground.in 1896.

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Mary was drowned when a pleasure boat overturned

 
Bridgnorth Cemetery, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 

Although it is not clear in this photograph part of the cemetery is both overgrown and on a steep slope and it was quite hazardous surveying this section.
 
 

Mary Lousia Mulliner was drowned in the River Severn at Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

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Tortured to death by the Japanese

 
Ashby Road Cemetery, Hinckley, Warwickshire
(Click on an image to see a larger version)
 
 

This was an unexpectedly large cemetery with a good number of graves worth recording. Again we had our younger daughter Sally with us which speeded things up a lot. Curiously Sally found far more graves to photograph than we did! 
 
 
Cuthbert Arthur Stanley was tortured to death by the Japanese
Military Police in December 1943.

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A 300 year old epitaph for this young girl!

All Saints, Naseby, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
A typical Northamptonshire church in a lovely location.
 
 
 
Nearly 300 years old and still easy to read. What a nice epitaph for this young girl! It is a strange thought that somebody who died in a small village in the middle of England so long ago is now being remembered by readers around the globe!

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This married couple lost five of their children, four of them in infancy.

 
St Botolph, Church Brampton, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
St. Botolph was an Abbot who died c.680. With his brother Adulf he became a monk abroad and in 654 established a monastery at Icanhoh, usually identified with Boston (Botulf's stone) in Lincolnshire. St. Cedfrid is said to have journeyed all the way from Wearmouth (Tyneside) to converse with this man - " of remarkable life and learning".
 
 
Samuel and Elizabeth Tarry lost five of their children, four of them in infancy.

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David and Elizabeth Kendrick lost two children on consecutive days in 1847.

 
St Philip and St James, Morton, Shropshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
A well presented graveyard with an extension, that we nearly overlooked, behind a wall.
 
 

David and Elizabeth Kendrick lost two children on consecutive days in 1847.

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A schoolmaster who died after falling off his pony.

 
St Andrew, Lower Harlestone, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
We found the church eventually, despite getting slightly lost and wondering
through some farm buildings looking for the footpath.
 
 
A schoolmaster who died after falling off his pony.
 
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A policeman killed while travelling to work

 
All Saints, Burton Dassett, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
A lovely church in a superb location but almost ruined by the roar from
 the nearby motorway. What a shame.
 
 
 
A policeman who was killed in a motorcycle accident while
travelling to firearms training duty.
 
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A thought-provoking epitaph - plus an engraving error

 
St Peter, Arnesby, Leicestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
It is disappointing and rather disrespectful that part of this graveyard has become so overgrown that some of the graves cannot be accessed.
 
 
The mason had trouble with the lettering on the stone and had to finish
one word in a rather unusual way.
 
 
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Born on the same day and married for 62 years.

Brackley Cemetery, Brackley, Northamptonshire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
This was a surprisingly small cemetery for the size of the town it served.
 
 
Born on the same day and married for 62 years.
 
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What's your theory about the third date on this grave?

 
Anstey Cemetery, Anstey, Leicestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
A very strange cemetery because part of it had been fenced off on health and safety grounds. It was certainly no more dangerous than many sites Claire and I have visited so it is hard to understand the Parish Council's decision.
 
 
What is the significance of the three dates for Annie Shelton?
 
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Joseph Titley was killed in the Hamstead Colliery disaster of 1908

 
St Philip, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton, West Midlands
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
This is the church where we were married in 1977. Claire's parents were also
married here in 1954, as was Claire's sister Jane in 1980.
 

Joseph Titley died in the Hamstead Colliery disaster of 1908. When the fire broke
out there were 31 miners in the pit but only 6 escaped before the rest
were overcome by poisonous fumes.

 
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Ann Floyd died giving birth to a still-born son.

 
All Saints, Swinford, Leicestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
Clearly all sorts of additions have been made to this church over the centuries.
 
 
Ann Floyd died giving birth to a still-born son.
 
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The monumental mason had problems with the word "Requiescat".

St Cassian, Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
We have not seen a church dedicated to St Cassian of Imola  before.
 
 
 
The monumental mason had problems with the word "Requiescat".
 
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The dirtiest memorial we have ever seen

Lye and Wollescote Cemetery, Lye, West Midlands
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
An oasis of calm in the major conurbation. In some parts of the cemetery the graves were packed closely together while other parts were almost empty.
 
 
The dirtiest memorial we have ever seen.

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The mason made two mistakes when engraving the age at death

St Michael, Knighton-on-Teme, Worcestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
It looks as if the church steeple is constructed entirely from wood.
 
 
 
Both ages have had to be corrected - 71 to 72 and 77 to 76.
 
 
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A lady military pilot who died carrying out an "air radio test" in 1945

 
Kidderminster Cemetery, Kidderminster, Worcestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
 
The cemetery has been built along the floor and up the sides of a valley
near the centre of the town.
 
 
 
Isobel Squires was a lady pilot who died carrying out an "air radio test" in 1945.
 
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Three brave airmen died on a training flight in 1941

St Peter, Kinver, Worcestershire
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 
There was a sparsely filled graveyard directly around the church and a more
crowded one just across the road.
 
 
More details of this accident can be found here. "There was no sign of Q-Queen T1892. P/O Shirlaw and his crew P/O Dugdale (Observer) and F/O Mair (W/Op/AG) failed to return". The aircraft is recorded as "having hit a balloon cable at Pilton Hackett, SW of Birmingham". The crew is mentioned in the Squadron Roll of Honour and had service numbers 81054, 84034 and 78277.

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A memorial to a policeman shot in 1925

 
Merridale Cemetery, Wolverhampton, West Midlands
(Click on an image for a larger version)
 
 

This was our first visit of the 2013 season. The cemetery is well maintained and despite being situated in a major town it was surprisingly quiet. The chapel and ground was consecrated May 23rd 1850 and the cemetery was officially opened June 10th 1850.
 
 
Albert Willits was a policeman "shot in the execution of his duty" in 1925.
 
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