Sorrow recorded on Stone

I saw this Gravestone in Preston Cemetery and found myself thinking about the sorrow that must have been felt by the Greenwood family. So many young ones spent but a short time on earth!

A Matching Pair

When I visited Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath last Summer, I was surprised to find two matching gravestones almost side by side. The first dates from 1906 while the second is from 1908. Perhaps it was the same stonemason working to some form of template?

And then I took some close ups of these works of art:

It was only today, when preparing these for posting, that I realised there were subtle differences.

On the first stone, I cannot tell whether it is male and female hands, but it most certainly is on the second. Then there are the fingers curled round at the bottom of the clasped hands - the first has four while the second only has three. And the flower at the top has subtle differences - especially noticeable with the leaves coming off the stem below the flower . . .

There are probably more differences. How many can you see?

Hands clasped in Memory 2

Since my last post, I have revisted the folder of photographs taken in Fleetwood Cemetery and think I may have found two female hands clasped on a gravestone. The clothing on the wrist of the hand on the right is slightly worn, but sufficiently 'frilly' to look feminine. I compared it to others in the same cemetery and the only other variation from the jacket sleeve with shirt cuff bearing a cufflink was what seemed to be a knitted [perhaps Fairisle?] pullover sleeve. The latter being a popular item of clothing among males working in the then Fleetwood fishing fleet.


It is quite an interesting gravestone and besides, possibly, hiding some tragic event, it also demonstrates the potential for confusion when first read.

Robert C Stirzaker
Son of John and Mary Stirzaker
Who died February 28, 1893
Aged 24 years

Also Martha, Wife of Robert, the aforsesaid
Died April 6, 1893, aged 25 years

Also Daniel C Stirzaker, their son
Died October 3, 1893, aged 23 years

. . . . . .

Also the above John Stirzaker
Who died February 5, 1907
Aged 69 years

Also Mary Stirzaker
Wife of the Above
Who died May 31, 1911
Aged 72 years

Once we have worked out that Daniel is the son of John and Mary and not of Robert and Martha as the inscription seems to indicate - the confusion - we are left with the fact that a man, his wife and his brother died within a few months of each other.

I have not looked at Census Returns or Death Certificates, but Margeret Pangert is fond of inviting people to use their imagination to come up with a reason for something. So I'll start:

I immediately thought that illness might have been involved - husband and wife - and maybe the brother killed himself in grief. Then, I thought that, perhaps, the brother had an affair with the wife, the husband killed himself and the errant wife couldn't live with her guilt . . . Maybe, then, the guilt of unintentionally causing the deaths of the other two weighed heavily on his mind . . . ?

That's my thoughts, but my writers' imagination has probably worked overtime. What do you think happened?

A Boy with a Lamb

About three weeks ago, I visited Blackpool and, while there, I took the opportunity to visit the former fishing port of Fleetwood. The town has a large cemetery which is the oldest and largest cemetery in the Borough of Wyre. It opened in 1841 with the first listed burial taking place in 1845.

The cemetery covers 16.9 acres and contains areas for Church of England, Non-Conformist and Roman Catholic interments, with special areas designated for the interment of cremated remains. More recently, a Baby Section and Garden of Remembrance have been created.

I spent three fascinating hours there and can confirm the cemetery's graves are a rich source of grave art and symbolism. From time to time, I will share some of what I found in the pages of this blog.

One of the most striking memorials is in memory of a five-year-old boy, Ian Donald Murray, who died August 4, 1935. The grave is topped by the seated figure of a child. A lamb is sat beside him and he is cuddling it. It is possible that the figure is based on a likeness of the deceased child, but the representation looks older than a child of five. What minor catastrophe struck the grave, I do not know, but the feet of the figure are missing.