Shells and Stones!

Four years ago, I noticed that a Bath graveyard was having an open day and went along. The Perrymead Roman Catholic graveyard was very pretty and I was captivated by a grave that stood out from the neat formality of the other resting places. On top of the green chipping covering, dozens of shells, stones and the occasional trinket were scattered. Perhaps the sea shells came from beaches that the person buried there enjoyed visiting. Relatives might have collected them and brought them here. Whatever the reason, it was very striking.

The Blue Angel

I thought I would share some more views of the Blue Angel. I think she is beautiful. What a wonderful memorial!

Leaning just a Little!

In one part of Bath's Locksbrook Cemetery,  it is really confusing to find a large open area where the graves are either collapsing or the headstones are leaning at crazy angle. I have no idea why!

Safe in the arms of Jesus

Sweet Memories of Jessica Maria Barosso, fell asleep Oct 6 1947 aged 7 months.

Fading Angel

There are many, many Angels marking graves in Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath. This one surprised me as I don't think I have come across another where the face is fading away. The most recent inscription on the grave is that of Florence Mary Taylor who died on 13 June 1942 aged 68. It is much earlier than that.

One Man's Dream

Today, I visited an extraordinary cemetery on the north side of Bath. I passed it dozens of times in the past without realising it was there. A chance search on Bing [the newest search engine] for Somerset Victorian Cemeteries provided details of the Lansdown Cemetery.

According to the Beckford Tower Trust who have published a handy illustrated TombTrail, the wealthy collector, author and builder of Towers, William Beckford (1760-1844) created a picturesque landscape garden behind his house that climbed Lansdown, culminating at Beckford's Tower. After his death, his daughter gave the tower and gardens to the parish of Walcot for use as a cemetery. Since 1848, more than 8,000 burials took place. In 1992, it was closed and only burials in existing family plots are allowed today.

The entrance gateway (pictured below) has two doors either side of the main gateway. One has the powerful inscription 'The Gateway of Death' above it. The other carries the word 'Resurgent'.

Phoenix Rising!

I was revisiting a series of photographs that I took a few months ago in the spectacular Bath Abbey Cemetery.  I was intrigued by what I took to be a large bird atop a large column that marked a grave.

Closer scrutiny revealed it to be a representation of a Phoenix - the mythical, sacred firebird. The reason for its inclusion became clear when I looked at the inscription on the grave. It marked the grave of John Monk Lambe who died in 1865. The inscription noted that he was formerly a Paymaster in the Royal Navy who served on HMS Phoenix - a wooden paddle sloop launched in 1832, converted to screw propulsion in 1845, and sold in 1864. I wonder if his will included a request for a phoenix rising from the ashes be included on his memorial?

Tomb at centre of Victorian Poisoning Allegation

Lt General George Dick

This first photograph from my visit to Abbey Cemetery in Bath shows the tomb of Lieutenant General George Dick with its distinctive red cross. Dick's was the third burial to take place in the cemetery which opened in 1844. He lived with his two daughters in Bath and after his death, his son, George sailed home from India to find he had been cut out of the general's new will, written shortly before his death.

An unsightly spat took place with allegation and counter allegation appearing in the local newspapers. When George accused his sisters of poisoning their father, an exhumation was arranged. Two coroners, solicitors and doctors and a jury attended, as did the general's butler who had the unpleasant task of identifying the body. The tomb was removed and the lead coffin recovered to the cemetery's chapel where a post mortem was carried out. There was much surprise at how little decomposition had occurred in the seventeen months since General Dick was buried.

The next day, an inquest heard that there was inflammation in Dick's digestive tract. Was it caused by arsenic, prussic acid or strychnine? The jury couldn't decide, returning a verdict of death from inflamed stomach and bowels, but with no evidence to show how. The press quickly lost interest, George returned to Calcutta and his sisters retired to Devonshire. The general's body was reinterred and remains undisturbed to this day.

Striking figure weeps over Grave

I was photographed a small angel standing sentinel over a grave at Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath when I my camera refocused itself to reveal an absolutely stunning weeping figure reclining on a large memorial. The grave marks the deceased members of the Klinker family. I make no apology for including so many shots of the figure, but each gives a different view of her . . . The close up portrait appears to show a single tear that has been shed.

Dove is a witness to Grief

When I first saw this memorial at Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, I was struck by the scene of grief it had captured. The weeping figure hangs from the cross while staring heavenward. I though the cross was topped by a slightly malevolent bird of prey, but closer scrutiny revealed it to be a dove offering down a floral tribute to the figure. What surprises me is how threatening the doves wings are. You can really feel the grief that must have been felt by the family.

The Blue Angel

A recent post of a photograph of a blue angel in Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath asking whether readers preferred the colour or black and white version of the shot, raised a question from Margaret Pangert who asked what the orginal colour was. The colour version was exactly as photographed and had not been manipulated at all. Here are three more photographs of the same angel which gives a better idea of her location. She is mounted on top of a large sarcophagus style tomb commemorating a Lieutenant General in the British Army who died in the 1840s. I am not aware of the significance of the banner she appears to be studying. Please remember to click on the photographs for an enlarged view!

Monochrome or Colour?

A Photographic Dilemma

In these days of digital photography, it is easy to switch a digital image from colour to black and white with just a couple of clicks of the computer mouse, assuming of course that you have the right software to be able to do it.

On my short visit to Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, I took around 450 photographs - just a snapshot of the grave art treasures it contains. One in particular caught my eye - a striking, seated angel on a sarcophagus tomb. People often say that black and white photographs are more atmospheric. With this shot, I am not sure. I think both work very well. Which do you prefer - colour or black and white?

Two Little Angels mark Terrible Tragedy

Two little angels mark the graves of two young girls who were brutally murdered by John Straffen in Bath in 1951. Five-year-old Brenda Goddard lived with here foster parents and, according to Straffen's police statement, he saw her gathering flowers and offered to show her a better place. After lifting her over a fence into a copse, he strangled her and when she did not scream, bashed her head against a stone. He made no attempt to hide the body and went on to visit the cinema.

On August 8, he met nine-year-old Cicely Batstone at the cinema. He took her first to see another film at a different cinema and then took her on a bus to a meadow on the outskirts of Bath. There he strangled her to death. This time, there were many witnesses who had seen him with the girl and he was quickly arrested.

At a subsequent murder trial, an expert witness said: "In this country, we do not try people who are insane. You might as well try a babe in arms. If a man cannot understand what is going on, he cannot be tried. The jury formally returned a verdict that Straffen was insane and unfit to please. He was committed to Broadmoor - then a 'lunatic asylum for the criminally insane'.

He was the longest serving prisoner in British legal history. He briefly escaped from Broadmoor in 1952 and killed again. This time, he was convicted of murder. Sentence, due to his mental state, was commuted to life imprisonment and he remained in prison until his death more than 50 years later. A lengthy account can be found on Wikipedia here.

Postscript

Next to the two graves is a decaying bench (below). It has seen better days, but I would imagine that for years, the relatives and visitors to this spot in Locksbrook Cemetery sat for hours and grieved. It is a shame that the authorities haven't restored it, so it can be used once more as a site for comtemplation. Perhaps, I should contact them? What do you think?

Is this the Longest Family Grave?

During yesterday's visit to the Victorian Locksbrook cemetery in Bath, I came across this grave. I approached through graves to the right of its headstone, and it was only when I turned round that I realised just how remarkably long the grave was! I walked to its end so that I could capture this image for you. Aside from mass graves for disaster victims, have any of you seen a family grave of this length? Please let me know.

By way of historical interest, the headstone records that four people are buried in the plot. George Annersley Phayre [Captain Royal Navy], his widow, a daughter and the quaintly described 'third' daughter. Phayre was commander of the paddle sloop Basilisk which was one of a fleet of Royal Navy ships sent to North American waters because of the Trent Affair in 1861.

The Trent Affair has been described as the most serious diplomatic crisis between Britain and the US federal government during the American Civil War.removed It came about when the US Northern navy stopped the British merchant ship, Trent in neutral waters and seized two Confederate emissaries [to London and Paris].

Writing in the online Canadian Encyclopedia, author Robin W Winks records that news of the seizure and violation of British neutrality was greeted by demands for apologies from the US and for its surrender of the diplomats. For a while, was appeared possible between Britain and the North, with Canada likely to be a battleground. The crisis passed when the North returned the Confederate commisions some seven weeks later. No apology was given . . .