Milborne Port, Somerset - St John the Evangelist

The church of St John the Evangelist is a cruciform church of late Anglo-Saxon date and parts may well span the Norman conquest.  The church was part of the original endowment of Cirencester Abbey by Henry I, and held by them until the dissolution of the monasteries.

"Departed 33 years too soon" - does this mean that John had wanted to live for 100 years?

An elaborate memorial to the Medlycott family

Kingscliffe, Northamptonshire - All Saints and St James

The tower is the earliest part of the church, built in the first half of the 12th century. The broach spire was added in the 13th century and the rest of the church dates mainly from the 15th century. There may have been an earlier Saxon church on this site, round headed windows can be observed in the north and south walls of the tower with their Saxon-style centre shafts and capitals. Similar windows have been blocked in the east and west walls. 

Ventross is an unusual first name.

The names on this gravestone have been cut out and re-engraved, probably because of spelling errors.

Willis Attkins was a surgeon and apothecary.  Ann, his relict, died in 1781.  I still do not know whether the words "relict" and "widow" have different legal meanings or not.

The Attkins family obviously had several generations of practicing apothecaries.

Kingscliffe Cemetery, Northamptonshire

1st gravestone:  Aged 100 years.

Apethorpe, Northamptonshire - St Leonard

The present church was built in the late 15th century, probably on the site of an earlier Norman one.  It is unexceptional architecturally, and unfortunately it was locked on the day of our visit so that we were unable to see the spectacular monuments inside to Sir Anthony (d. 1617) and Lady Grace Mildmay (d. 1620).

1st gravestone:  Michael Raymer O.B.E. had a career in H.M. Colonial Service, serving in Nigeria, Falkland islands and Fiji.

A very clear instruction - "Behave".

Woodnewton Cemetery, Northamptonshire

"Gardening in Heaven"

Aged 100 years.

A dahlia grower, with a picture of a dahlia on his gravestone.

Woodnewton, Northamptonshire - St Mary

 The church of St Mary dates back to the 11th, 12th and 13th  centuries. In the 17th century the north aisle and transept were demolished, and the tower was rebuilt (the porch has a date marker of 1662).

Coco the Clown was the most famous clown in the UK in the middle of the twentieth century.

Daughter of Coco the clown and his wife Valentina.

Eusebius is a very unusual name.

Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire - St Mary and All Saints

The beautiful Perpendicular style Church of St Mary and All Saints, with its distinctive tall tower, is situated above the River Nene at the village of Fotheringhay. The present church was built by King Edward III who was also responsible for the building of a college as a cloister on the church's southern side.  Fotheringhay Castle, no longer visible except as an earthen mound, was the site of the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587.

After building work was completed in around 1430, a parish church was added to the western end of the collegiate church with work beginning in 1434. The parish church still remains today.

This beautiful fifteenth century painted pulpit was a gift from Edward IV.

Memorial to Edmund de Langley, son of Richard Plantagenet, third Duke of York and his wife Cicely, and to Edward, second Duke of York who was slain at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Richard Plantagenet Duke of York, Nephew to Edward Duke of York and Father to King Edward 4th was slain at Wakefield in the 3rd year of Henry 6th 1460 and lies buried here with Cecily his Wife.

Cecily, Duchess of York, Daughter to Ralph Neville first Earl of Westmorland.

These two grand memorials were made in 1575.

Yarwell and Nassington Cemetery, Northamptonshire

The phrase "Her Charge" is one that we have not seen before.

Dick was a musician, composer and poet.

"An inspirational teacher to many".

Maybe "White" was a nickname by which the deceased was known to his friends.

I wonder what was the significance of the phrase "Force is no choice at all".

Wansford, Cambridgeshire - St Mary

St Mary's was formerly a ‘chapel of ease’ to St. Andrew’s, Thornhaugh, created for the convenience of parishioners residing in Wansford. Saxon in its origin, it probably dates from well before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Given the church’s dominant location above an important crossing point of the River Nene and at a nodal point of ancient highways, it is entirely possible that it has been a site of worship and veneration since pagan times.

Sometime during the 15^th century the church fabric fell into serious decay and the chancel collapsed, a state of affairs that pertained until 1902 when the chancel was rebuilt and the vestry and organ chamber constructed. Until then St. Mary’s competed for the title of the smallest church in England measuring just 30 feet by 25½ feet comprising the tower, nave and north aisle. The tower, just 8 square feet internally, can be accurately dated to the 1200s. The broach spire (a tapering, octagonal spire, via triangular faces, rising from a square base)  dates from about 1300.

Ouida is an unusual first name.

Albert and his wife Ann, married for 71 years, died just 4 days apart.  "In death they were not divided".

Easton-on-the-Hill, Northamptonshire - All Saints

The earliest surviving feature is the rear-arch of a 12th-century window over the S. arcade of the nave. At the beginning of the 13th century most of this earlier church was rebuilt: both chancel and nave were extended and an aisle was added on the S. In the mid 13th century a long chapel was added on the S. side of the chancel to which it was connected by an archway. In the 14th century a chapel with an almost square plan was built on the N. side of the chancel, and an archway was introduced into the N. wall which was almost entirely rebuilt at the same time. The N. aisle and arcade are also of 14th-century date. In the second half of the 15th century, the W. tower was constructed, and clearstoreys were added to the chancel and nave. Probably in the 16th century the S. chapel was divided by a cross wall, and a small doorway inserted in the chancel wall to provide access to the E. part.

Sir James Hunt was a barrister and judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

Aged 103 years.

 "Mary the Daughter of Thomas Brudnett citizen who by her last will gave ten pound to the poore of Easton A communion chalice to this church ten pound to the poore of Ketton where shee first drew breath and here expired it sept:20 1662".

Duddington, Northamptonshire - St Mary

St Mary's Church, a grade II listed building, is made of stone in the Norman and Early English styles.  It was built in the late 12th century, with additions in the next two centuries.  The chancel was rebuilt and the church restored in 1844.

Captain Jackson was killed on patrol duty in Cape Colony, South Africa in 1899.  Note how well his helmet and sword have been depicted.

Collyweston, Northamptonshire - St Andrew

There was a church here in the 11th century, but most of the structure dates from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The tower is perpendicular and three stage. 

The inscription on this gravestone has obviously been altered, but the end result is sadly indecipherable.

It is likely that Charles Posthumous Belgrave was born after the death of his father.  I have seen several other examples of the name Posthumous, and the feminine version Posthuma.

Bulwick, Northamptonshire - St Nicholas

A 13th century church considerably extended in the 14th century in the perpendicular style. 

Phillipa died aged 30 with her unborn child, who was named Florence, in 1996.

Memorial to Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon K.C.B.

Memorial to five members of the Tryon family who fell in the Great War.  They were (1) killed in action, (2) killed in action in the battle of the Somme, (3) died of wounds, (4) in command of a submarine sunk whilst on patrol duty, and (5) killed in action at St Audin.

 On the south wall stands the remains of a fine memorial c.1612 in the form reminiscent of an early 17th century fireplace.  Resting on the "mantel" is a stone oval containing the sitter's armorials, topped with an obelisk and to either side ribbons and tassels inlaid into the jambs.  Kneeling in the "hearth" are Sir Henry Fowkes and his wife, separate by a prayer desk.

Memorial to Guy Thomas Lewes Tryon, who died in "April 1901 aged 22 years of enteric fever at Harrismith, Orange River Colony when on active service with his regiment during the South African War".