A skull and cross-bones as part of a memorial

 

Holy Trinity, Sidbury, Shropshire

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There was lots of herringbone stonework on the walls of the church.

 

 

We cannot ever recall seeing a skull and crossbones inside a church before.

 

 

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A military grave that appears to be incomplete

 

St Luke, Hodnet, Shropshire

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The church has an unusual octagonal tower and the graveyard is very much

larger than is apparent when looking from the road.

 

 

Wren Celia Elizabeth Dodson was killed in a road accident on May 29th 1966. Her memorial appears to be incomplete - "Dearly loved daughter of ...".

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The grave of a "sin eater"

 

St Margaret, Ratlinghope, Shropshire

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A small and very remote church on the site of a 13th century priory.

 

 

 

The grave of Richard Munslow a sin-eater who would take on, by means of food and drink, the sins of a deceased person, thus absolving his or her soul and allowing that person to rest in peace.

 

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Mary Hill (née Chambre) was the mother of 16 children.

St Chad, Prees, Shropshire

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This church had interesting memorials both inside and outside the building.

 

 

Mary Hill (née Chambre) was the mother of 16 children. He husband's memorial, also inside the church, has a very impressive carving of a row of mourners

 

 

 

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Died from the "excruciating agonies" of kidney stones.

 St Peter, Cound, Shropshire

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A very large church for such a small village. Unusually the church was constructed from a different stone than that used for the nearby houses.

 

 

Kidney stones can cause extreme pain which begins suddenly when a stone moves in the urinary tract and blocks the flow of urine. Many experts regard the pain from kidney stones to be worse than that associated with giving birth.

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We love memorials that include lots of family history.

 

All Saints, Culmington, Shropshire

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The top of the tower was of a very modern design. The external walls of the church had sections of a herringbone pattern which is usually indicative of a very old building.

 

 

We love memorials that include lots of family history.

 

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This married couple died on consecutive days.

 

St Swithin, Clunbury, Shropshire

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After four unsuccessful visits to churches west of Craven Arms it was a relief to

find some graves worth recording for our survey.

 

 

This married couple died on consecutive days. Note how the word divided

has been engraved as devided.

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The most derelict chapel we have surveyed

 

Jezreel Chapel, Goginam, Ceredigion, Wales

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This is the most derelict chapel we have seen. There was another unused

chapel almost opposite this one.

 

 

 

 Somehow it felt appropriate that this, Welsh language, stone had needed to be repaired.

 

 

If your surname is "Owen" why would you give your son the first name of "Owen" as well! 

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David and Ellen Rees lost six children before their sixth birthday.

 

Aberystwyth Cemetery, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales

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We went to this cemetery on our way back from a family wedding. Unsurprisingly there were many graves with a nautical theme which made for a particularly memorable visit.

 

 

David and Ellen Rees lost six children before their sixth birthday.

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A genealogical and gravestone mystery

 

St David, Capel Bangor, Ceredigion, Wales

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The entire site seemed very uneven and there was a massive and steep drop at the far side.

 

 

 

The name, age and date of death all appear to have been modified. What I would

like to know is why? The first name has been very neatly removed but with

no sign that a replacement piece of slate was ever inserted but the other

details do look as if replacement engravings were created.

 

 

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A skeleton in a 14th century tomb.

 

St John the Baptist, Mamble, Worcestershire

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The church dates back to about 1200 with 14th, 16th and late 18th

century alterations and additions.

 

 

In the south aisle there is a 14th century tomb chest recess with a recumbent

 carved skeleton. A member of the Blount family, it was moved from a

tomb chest in the Blount Chapel.

 

 

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Mother, Father and infant son all killed in an accident.

 

Pennygown Cemetery, Isle of Mull, Scotland

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This is the sort of place I would like to be buried. No traffic - just the noise of the wind and the birds!

 

 

Three members of the same family killed in a road accident. Very sad.

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The mason had to re-engrave the date of death

 

St Michael, Forden, Powys, Wales

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Unusually the bell tower is sited at the side of the church rather than at the end.

 

 

The mason made a mistake with the date of death and had to re-engrave the numbers.

 

 

 

 

The Forden Union workhouse later became Brynhyfryd Hospital and provided care mainly for the elderly. I found it very sad that so many residents were buried in unmarked graves.

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Visited - May 2013 

 



The deceased alias was reported on his memorial.

 

St Michael and All Angels, Kerry, Powys, Wales

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Most of the site was well maintained but one part around a war grave was a wilderness.

 

This is the first time we have seen an alias recorded on a gravestone.

 

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The mason had to squeeze the word "Parish" into a very small space

 

St Beuno, Berriew, Powys, Wales

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St Beuno is the patron saint of sick children. He was born at Berriew, where

the church is named in his honour. He died in 640.

 

 

The mason made a mistake in the engraving and so had to squeeze the word "Parish" into a very small space.

 

 

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A memorial in the shape of a bird-bath.

 

St Llonios, Llandinam, Powys, Wales

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The church was perched on a hill and had lots of slate graves - our favourite

kind because they remain readable for hundreds of years.

 

 

A memorial in the shape of a bird-bath.

 

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Two letters of the name Priscillah were added above the rest of the text.

 

St James, Wigmore, Herefordshire

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A piscina - used for doing the "holy washing up" - plus evidence of structural alterations can be seen in the external wall of the church.

 

The mason had to insert the last two letters of the name Priscillah above the rest of the text. We noticed that the adjacent grave used the spelling Priscilla.



 

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She died in childbirth at sea after the death of her husband

 

St Bartholomew, Richards Castle, Herefordshire

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St Bartholomew is a redundant church of an unusual design with a

separate tower about 10 metres away.

 

 

Octavia Constance Lavie died in childbirth while returning from India where her husband had died.

 

 

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A rather mysterious statue of two young children.

 

Hereford Cemetery and Crematorium, Hereford, Herefordshire

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It took the two of us 4 hours to check every grave. This is a well-run site and the grounds with neatly mown grass and attractively presented flower beds were a credit to all concerned. We strongly approve of their policy of providing detailed maps of the site and plenty of benches for visitors to sit on.

 

 

It is not entirely clear if these two children were fatally injured in the same incident.

 

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Mary Garner died "of a bleeding cancer"

 

All Saints, Long Whatton, Leicestershire

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We like churchyards that contain slate gravestones because they remain legible for hundreds of years.

Mary Garner died "of a bleeding cancer". This must have been a particularly nasty way to die in the era before widespread pain relief medication was available.

 

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