The Denhams were an unlucky lot, all with early deaths – even by the standards of the day. They’re possibly the most unlucky family in this graveyard, even those who aren’t buried here. The fact that their stone was roughly laid flat by shattering the base only underlines the point. Olive Webster was a year …
Read more “41.58 – John, Olive, Sam, Tom, Sarah and Annie Denham”
There are two names on this stone, a father, and his son, but only the father is actually in the grave. His son, Peter who is named died at sea, so has no known grave, which is why he is remembered here. The sole occupant of the grave, James Stuttard, was born in Oldham in …
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”
The people above are buried here, under this lancet-laid-flat in the lower yard. Emma Jane is last in the title of this story but she’s the thread that ties everyone else together. This grave contains her first and third husbands and her two sons and a daughter in law, as well as four unnamed infants. …
You often find yourself feeling sorry for the last person into a grave, and this grave is certainly no exception. Ingham Proctor, or Procter, was born in 1815 in Worsthorne, outside Burnley, to Robert and Mary (Ingham – hence the name) Proctor. The area the family lived in was Hurstwood, where the reservoir is now, …
Read more “46.51 – Ingham, Robert and Sarah Proctor, and Mary Heap”
This stone now lies flat, but the grave it marks is one of the “sweetest” graves at Christ Church. This confectioner, his wife, and two of their sons helped keep the town supplied with biscuits and candies. Abraham Crossley was born in Todmorden in 1832 to Abraham and Esther (Haigh) Crossley. Abraham Sr. was a …
Read more “38.14 – Abraham, Margaret, Esther, Mary, Deborah, William, John and Mary Jane Crossley”
These two graves aren’t strictly side by side – at least we don’t think they originally were, even though now their stones are – but they contain the majority of a large family unit; that made up of Thomas and Sarah (Stansfield) Scholfield, their children and a grandchild, and Sarah’s brother and sister-in-law Barker and …
Some gravestone epitaphs leap out at you and scream that there’s a story to be told here. There’s certainly one here. George Brammah was born in 1835 in Cudworth, near Barnsley. His father George was a quarryman and no doubt was working in one of the many mines or mine-adjacent industries in that part of …
This story was told on our Remembrance Sunday 2023 tour. This is another tale that is about a family, not just a soldier. As often happens, it is filled with tragedy, and not a little graphic detail. Reader discretion is advised. John Albert Barker was born in 1882 to John and Susannah (Marshall) Barker. Susanna …
This story was told on our Remembrance Sunday 2023 tour. This is a story of not just a soldier, but an entire family that were drastically affected by the events of WW1. But let’s start with the birth of a little boy that would one day die for his country. George William Rohrer was born …
Read more “15.4 – Margaretta, George, Leopold and Sarah Mary Rohrer”