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)”
This stone was readable in 2006 but no more; one day we’ll get that fixed, but for now, at least we’re able to tell the stories of those here. This grave in fact links back with another, shorter story- that of John and Mary Scholfield and their granddaughter Mary Halstead. Mary, you see, is the …
Read more “42.53 – John, Sarah, and John Sutcliffe Halstead (turned over)”
“In hope of a blessed Resurrection”…this story is short, as the longer story sits in between the two generations buried here. John Scholfield was an 18th Century baby, born at the tail end of 1799 in Walsden. He was a stonemason. That’s all we know about him really, as he wasn’t a major player in …
Read more “43.6 – Mary and John Scholfield, and Mary Halstead”
If you’ve ever had a pint at the Black Swan that was, or the Polished Knob that is, then next time you’re there raise another to this publican family who did their best by the place through good times and bad. This story begins with two Greenwoods – Robert, who was born here in Todmorden …
Read more “43.8 – Robert, Fanny, Henry, John, Sarah and William Greenwood”
Poor William Smith. Initially we knew nothing about him that wasn’t on his death registration. He was a warehouseman, he lived at Knowlwood at what was once called Butcher Hill, he was 58 years old when he died on June 10th 1841…and his cause of death was “visitation of God”. What more can we say? …
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 …
Read more “43.23 – Ebenezer, William, James and Susan Fielden (inaccessible)”