43.23 – Ebenezer, William, James and Susan Fielden (inaccessible)

This is one of the most frustrating stones at Christ Church. The names here were taken in the 1980s by the ACT team who came through and cleared brush, but between then and 2006, someone built a bloody great retaining wall overtop this stone and the Ogden stone next to it, carelessly (callously, thoughtlessly, extremely stupidly…you get the drift) covering the top half of the stone so that we can’t check the names, dates, or other details.

Thanks to Helen Bayes on Ancestry who has researched this family extensively and provided the lineage we needed to determine who was related to whom.

The story begins with Joshua Fielden and Elizabeth “Betty” Haslam of Bolton. Joshua hailed from Tod originally, of course, but had moved for work. Not like most working class people who moved for work though – in fact he wasn’t working class at all, but was the grandson of Joshua Fielden who owned Platt House and, at one time, most of what is now Centre Vale Park. The younger Joshua and Betty married in 1792 and had nine children, returning to the area sometime between 1798 and 1801. James, who’s buried here, was born in 1802, and William, also buried here, in 1809. William would be Betty’s last child; she died two months after he was born.

James went to Skircoat for work at some point and in 1828 he married Susan, sometimes Susanna, Sutcliffe of Todmorden. They were living in Todmorden again by 1832 when their first child, daughter Alice Maria, was born. Ebenezer came next in 1833 but his life was short indeed. He was only 22 weeks old when he was buried here (for the first time).

The year before, William had married Martha Barraclough of Halifax, and while James and Susan were mourning he and Martha were celebrating the birth of their daughter Zillah Matilda. Now there’s a name! She would be the couple’s only child, though, because in 1835 William died at the very young, even for then, age of 25. He was buried here (for the first time) with his nephew.

James and Susan went on to have three more children, and James became a grocer and draper, using his textile knowledge to inform him on the finished fabrics and how to tell them no doubt. Certainly he was doing well enough to purchase exclusive burial rights to a grave and to have a stone put onto it. By 1861 he had rebranded as a bookseller and homeopathist and it was just him, Susan, and their two daughters at home. Homeopathy was even more popular then than it is today, which makes sense as it promised cheaper and more “trustworthy” ways of seeking relief from illnesses and ill health. In the days before occupational sick pay you only needed one unlucky incident or a week without work to lose your livelihood completely. He will definitely have done well.

They had moved to Eagle Street by now but still maintained their shop on North Street, aka Burnley Road. But their short story is now at an end. James died on December 1st 1867 and was buried here…for the first time. Susan followed him on November 4th 1869.

The Fieldens were buried here twice; we are confident we can reverse the second burial. It’ll take time and effort (and official permission) but we have high hopes.