Cemetery Sunday - Blanket of Snow

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Cemetery Sunday - Fading

 

 

Sandstone weathers over time, leaving some gravestones completely indecipherable.  It is such a shame that there names and the historical information is now lost.

 

The only information readable on the gravestone above is John Pearce.

 



Above is the gravestone of the Brill family.  The only name that remains readable is that of young Arthur William Brill, son of John and Florence Jane Brill of Norden Farm. 

"Born March 18th 1892.  Died Jany 5th 1894. - The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away.  Blessed be thy name of the Lord."

Unfortunately the name of the person memorilised above young Arthur is now completely lost.

By photographing the older gravestones, I hope that in some way I am preserving the information for many many years to come.  Once it has worn away, it is gone forever.


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Cemetery Sunday - Together #2

After taking a picture of the two gravestones sharing a secret here, I vowed to go back to All Saints Cemetery in Maidenhead Berkshire and find out who was buried there and whether they were related in any way.

The left stone:  "George William Harrison who departed this life 13th May 1895 aged 68 years - Cecil Eliza Harrison loving wife of the above who died February 2? 1918 aged 86 years."

George was a railway clerk and moved with his wife from London to Maidenhead in the early 1890s.  Possibly to work with Maidenhead's railway.  Cecil continued to live in Maidenhead until her death in 1915.


The right stone:  "In loving memory of Sarah Elizabeth Broad.  Who died August 17th 1896 aged 42 years - Also Sovaness John Broad husband of the above.  Who died Febry 14th 1904 aged 60 - Also Eliza Wheeler who died Jany 11th 1911 aged 86."

Sarah Elizabeth Broad and her husband, a coachman, lived in park street from 1881 until her death in 1896, where Sovaness continued to live with his mother-in-law Elizabeth Wheeler until his death in 1904.  Elizabeth Wheeler followed them to the grave in 1911.

I have found no connection between the two families, other than they are buried next to each other.


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Eliza and William Deacon - Hotel Keepers of Berkshire

(C) Nicola Carpenter 2012

Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries. The singular term is a taphophile.


Monument to Eliza and William Deacon, St Luke's Churchyard, Maidenhead Berkshire.

"In loving memory of Eliza Deacon who died 11th February 1886 aged 57 years.  She looked well to the ways of her household.

Also William Deacon who died 10th September 1894 aged 59 years.  His end was peace."

Eliza Deacon was born Eliza Harman in 1828 in Bray Berkshire to Richard Harman, a labourer and Sarah Skinner.  In 1851, 22 year old Eliza was a house servant for the Gilpin family at The Grange, Hockliffe Bedfordshire.  Eliza married William Deacon in Westminster Middlesex on 12th November 1866.  Eliza was William's second wife, together they had a son James Henry Deacon in 1870. 

William Deacon was born in 1835 in White Waltham Berkshire to Thomas Deacon, a horse breaker and his wife Elizabeth.  In 1856 William married his first wife Mary Woodhouse and together they had four children, William, Thomas, Mary Selina and Emma Esther.  Mary seems to vanish completely after the 1861 census, however I have been unable to locate a death for her.  In 1871 William can be found with his second wife Eliza running The Ray Thames Hotel in Ray Mead Road, Maidenhead Berkshire.  1881 find the family still at the hotel in Ray Mead Road, now named The Ray Mead Hotel.

After Eliza's death in 1886, William married Elizabeth Ann Aylett in 1888 in Colchester.  In 1889 William and Elizabeth moved to The East Arms Hotel in Hurley Berkshire, three years before William's death, they can be found there on the 1891 census.

Elizabeth continued to run the East arms Hotel after her husband's death until the late 1900s.  Unfortunately I cannot find out what happened to Elizabeth after 1917.

(C) Nicola Carpenter 2012

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Cemetery Sunday - A. H. Gosiewski, Pennine Aeroplane Accident in World War Two

 

Antoni Henryk Gosiewski was born Poland on 12th January 1900.  Sometime after the outbreak of World War II, Antoni joined the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary).  Some of the duties for ATA personal was ferrying new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly points and transatlantic delivery points.

Second Officer Antoni Henryk Gosiewski

It was during one of these flights that poor Antoni met his death.  On 19th December Antoni was ferrying a Miles Master W8479 between Reading and Leuchars Airfield, via Shewsbury, when he encountered bad weather over the Pennines causing him to fly into the summit of Arant Haw due to poor visibility.

Miles Master Aircraft

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Cemetery Sunday - War Memorial - Charles and Edward Turner

Maidenhead War Memorial

 

 

"Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore."

 

 

Today I wanted to post about two members of my husband's family and their scarifice in The Great War.

C. W. Turner - Charles William Turner was born in 1898 in Boyne Hill, Maidenhead to Walter Thomas Turner, a general labourer and his wife Jessie Rebecca White.

E. H. Turner - Edward Horace Turner was born in 1890 in Boyne Hill, Maidenhead.  He was the elder brother of Charles William.

Charles William of the Machine Gun Corps died of wounds received in battle on 30th March 1918 in France.  Charles is buried in Duisans British Cemetery.

Edward Horace of 1st Battalion of Royal Berkshire Regiment was killed in action aged 24 on 3rd November 1914 in France.  Edward is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium.

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Cemetery Sunday - Together

Two gravestones share a secret at All Saints Cemetery, Maidenhead Berkshire.

 

 

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Cemetery Sunday - Roman Numerals

"Sacred to the memory of Mr. Thomas Smith

many years the landlord of the

Bull Inn Bisham

who died February the 1 - 1833 In the LXIX (69) of his Age.

Also

Elizabeth Smith

Wife of the above

who died Jaunuary the 25- 1849

In the LXVIII (68) of her Age."

Dray carts outside The Bull Inn (right)
(c) English Heritage

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Cemetery Sunday - Verse

"Here lieth the body of Elizabeth Rolls who died May 4th 1777 aged 21 years

Grieve not for me my mother dear, I am not dead but Sleeping here.  Your great Afflictions pray restrain.  For we in Heaven may meet again."

"In Memory of Stephen Mason who died April 13th 1800 aged 35 years.

Early in life I left my wife, And my children dear; Unto my God and Great Redeemers Care."


They don't write verse like that anymore.  Two examples of beautiful verse on early gravestones at All Saints Churchyard, Bisham Berkshire.



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Cemetery Sunday - Grave Offerings

During my time photographing cememtery and graves have have come across many 'grave offering' and personal items.  Some are more usual than others, flowers, toys for children and babies and even the occasional windmill.  The other day I came across a mug happily sitting in a little alcove on a gravestone.  I wonder if the mug had special meaning to whoever left it behind.

Below are some examples of the other grave offerings I have come across.



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Cemetery Sunday - Celtic Cross

Legend tells how St. Patrick, whilst preaching to a group of people he wished to convert to Christianity, was shown a sacred standing stone that was marked with a circle symbol of the moon goddess. Patrick then made the mark of a Latin cross through the circle and blessed the stone making the first Celtic Cross.

To the Christian and Catholic faith the Celtic Cross symbolises the enteral endless love of God as shown through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  But what ever their meaning, I find Celtic Crosses to be some of the most beautiful cemetery art.

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Cemetery Sunday - Cliveden War Cemetery

 

 

Cliveden War Cemetery was built in the grounds of Cliveden House in Taplow Berkshire and contains 40 World War I burials and 2 World War II burials.  The burials are predominately Canadian.

At the out break of World war I, Waldorf Astor, the owner of Cliveden at that time, offered the use of some of the grounds to the Canadian Red Cross for the building of the HRH Duchess of Connaught Hospital.

Waldorf Astor gave up the use of his Italian Sunken Garden to be used as a burial ground for the men who were treated at the hospital, but did not survive their injuries.  The Bucks Herald reported on 12th April 1919-

"Sir Robert Borden, Canada's Premier, came down to Cliveden, near Taplow to perform the ceremony of unveiling a Canadian Red Cross memorial.  It is a female feature representative of Life, and bears an inscription beginning with the words, 'The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God.'  In the Italian Garden in Cliveden is the cemetery in which are interred the bodies of the heroes of the war who died in the Canadian Hospital adjoining.  In four years no less that 24,000 patients passed through this hospital, provided by Major and Mrs. Astor in their beautiful grounds close to the Thames, one of the most charming spots in the most lovely reach of that river."

At the end of the hostilities the HRH Duchess of Connaught Hospital was dismantled.

At the outbreak of World War II the Astors again offered the use of the land for the rent of one shilling a year to the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital was built.  After the war the hospital was donated to the UK to use as a general hospital and research centre.  Sadly in 1985 the hospital closed and remained empty and derelict until 2006 when the buildings were demolished to make way for a housing estate.  A large part of Maidenhead and Taplow's history was lost.

This post is dedicated to those brave men and women who gave their lives so that we could live ours.

 

 

 

 

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Cemetery Sunday - Gardens Of Rest

 

 

Braywick Cemetery in Berkshire opened in the July of 1953 and was set out as a lawn cemetery with specific sections for different religions; Church of England, Non Conformist, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and a section for the burial of babies and children.

 

The Gardens of Rest are for the interment of cremated remains. 

 

Cremation has been around for centuries, but fell out of favour in Great Britain when Christianity came to its shores.  However interest in cremation was reawakened in Victorian Britain when it became apparent that local cemeteries and churchyards were running out of space.  Cremation finally became legal in Great Britain in 1882.  On the 26th March 1885 he first 'legal' cremation took place, that of Mrs Jeannette Caroline Pickersgill at Woking Crematorium, Surrey England. 

The Hampshire Advertiser reported on Sunday 28th March 1885-

 

"Cremation In Surrey.

 

On Thursday morning the crematory erected at St. John's, Woking, Surrey, was made use of for the first time, the body reduced to ashes being that of Mrs, Pickersgill of Clarence-gate, London.  It had previously been subjected to an autopsy. The deceased was well know in literary and scientific circles, and expressly stipulated in her will that her body should be cremated.  With a view to this she had previously become a subscriber to the Cremation Society of England.  The cremation, which lasted one hour, is said to have been eminently successful from every point of view." 

 

Two further cremations took place that year.  Those of Mr Charles W. Carpenter in October and Mrs Grattan in December.  Ten cremations followed in 1886.  Today cremation is a popular alternative to full burial and there are many crematoriums around the country.