This simple flat ledger belies its owners – these Holts were perhaps the most well-off Holts in the graveyard, at least in the public area. Not everyone here was the manager of Waterside Mill and lived at Dawson Weir, after all. Those of you who aren’t keen on the Fieldens, browse to another story, sharpish! …
For the past 2.5 years we have used an old, rickety shed which is perched at the back of the upper slope, below the church itself, as a toolshed. Once it served as the storage shed for the school’s gardening club, but the club folded, the graveyard became overgrown, and the new owners of the …
More Hiley/Highley graves which link to one another here in the graveyard; this one features the parents and siblings of Charles Hiley at 43.52. This branch of Hileys (or Highleys, depending on who wrote the name down at the time) were firmly Lumbutts and Causey Wood stock, but they hadn’t always been this way. John …
Read more “43.ii – James, William, Thomas, Hannah and John Hiley”
We know little about these servant Kershaws, only little glimpses, and most of those only afforded at death. Samuel and Ann Kershaw (both were born Kershaws) were married in January 1822 at St. Chad’s in Rochdale. Samuel was a Rochdale lad, or at least living there, and Ann was a Tod lass from Toad Carr. …
All five buried here, their names too painful or expensive to record; but remembered nonetheless. Of this couple, Ann came first. Ann, or “Nanny” as she was nicknamed, Lord was born around 1803 in Sowerby. John Turner was born four years later in Walsden. Either Ann or her family made the move down to Todmorden …
Read more “43.0 – John and Ann Turner, their five infant sons, and Maria Thomas”
Not all stories are long – not every question can be answered. There are some guesses we can make about Mary here, but they’re guesses. We think that she might have been Mary, aka Mally, Hollingrake of Heptonstall. We know she was born around 1807; so the Mally Hollinrake who was baptised at Cross Stone …
Older graves are fun because they’re often the places where you learn about seeds getting planted for other, later burials. That’s a clumsy way of putting it, but you’ll see what we mean. John Whitaker was born in Littleborough around 1794. We don’t know who his parents were, only that he and his brother James …
This grave holds two parents and commemorates three unnamed infant sons. We did our best to try and identify these children but sadly weren’t able to; they must be buried elsewhere, which is common, although usually where they’re buried is also mentioned. We have some theories about why this might not be… John Holt was …
A ne’er-do-well rests here, although whether it was by design or by bad luck is unknown. We can’t know how hard William actually tried. In fact as far as can be figured, William was doing his best. He was born in 1790 at Burnt Acre (right on the border between Erringden and Stansfield, in Eastwood) …
The second of our wall-straddled graves at the back of the yard, just below the church itself. Who were these Ogdens? Thankfully a descendant has done a heavy amount of research into this family and shared it with us so we can publish it here. This grave contains the children of Joseph and Hannah (Haigh) …
Read more “43.22 – Nathan, Reuben, John, Hannah, Susy and Mary Ogden (inaccessible)”