Cemetery Exploration: May 2016

Tuesday, 31 May 2016

St James the Great, Colwall, Herefordshire

Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project

St James the Great, Colwall, Herefordshire

St James's has an aisled nave with no clerestorey, a chancel with a north vestry and organ room and a tower at the west end of the nave, south of the south aisle. The nave arcades are of five bays; the south arcade dating from the 13th century and the north from 1880.

This fine brass of 1590 commemorates Elizabeth Harford with her six sons and four daughters. This was one of the most difficult memorials we have ever tried to photograph. The combination of a highly polished brass plaque and the protective glass screen made life very difficult!

How quickly did you notice the mistake in the inscription?

We like memorials that are intended to reflect the life and personality of the deceased.

James Mason died "at the venerable age of 99 years."

Edward was Rector of Colwall "for a few months until his death".

Aged 100.

Geoffrey Redmayne died on his fourteenth birthday while he was away from home at boarding school.

Claire Christine Nicholson and Martin Piers Nicholson - Ticklerton (Shropshire) and Daventry (Northamptonshire), United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on March 10th 2015.

St Mary, Clifford, Herefordshire

Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project

St Mary, Clifford, Herefordshire

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Almost on the border with Wales this church stands high on a wooded hill with views to the River Wye.

There were a number of impressive monuments inside the church.

A father and son both awarded the Military Medal in World War 1 and World War 2 respectively.

John Beavan had two wives, both called Mary.

Clara was only 36 when she died having only survived her husband by 26 days.

A wheelwright.

John Powell died from yellow fever during the attack on Santa Domingo in 1796.

Doctor Oscar Bagster Trumper is recorded as having died from pneumonia - "the captain of the men of death" - on Boxing Day, 1932.

Claire Christine Nicholson and Martin Piers Nicholson - Ticklerton (Shropshire) and Daventry (Northamptonshire), United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on February 17th 2015.

Monday, 30 May 2016

St Lawence, Canon Pyon, Herefordshire

Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project

St Lawence, Canon Pyon, Herefordshire

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The village name derives from the nearby Pyon Hill. 'Pyon', meaning "island of gnats" is unusual and is not used anywhere else in Britain, with the exception of the nearby village of King's Pyon, on the other side of the hill. The 13th-century church of St Lawrence is a grade I listed building.

We took this photo exactly 263 years after Joseph Munn was buried.

Aged 104.

This unusual memorial contains an engraved image of the deceased.

Martin Nicholson - Shropshire, United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on July 15th 2014.

St Michael and All Angels, Castle Frome, Herefordshire

Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project

St Michael and All Angels, Castle Frome, Herefordshire

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The Church of St. Michael is almost entirely Norman, discreetly restored in 1878. It has three medieval bells, sadly not ringable at the moment. The church’s crowning glory is undoubtedly its 12th century font, carved from a single piece of rock and described by Pevsner as "one of the masterworks of Romanesque sculpture in England".

An alabaster knight and his wife with their offspring represented around the sides of the monument. Dating to about 1510, the chest tomb of Sir Richard and Lady Croft, transferred from a now-demolished side chapel to the north of the chancel, is clearly reassembled from badly aligned parts of the original.

Martin Nicholson - Shropshire, United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on September 29th 2014.

Sunday, 29 May 2016

All Saints, Clehonger, Herefordshire

Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project

All Saints, Clehonger, Herefordshire

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The church has sections built in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. Some rebuilding was carried out in the 17th century and restoration in 1956.

Re-set mid-C14 altar tomb with big effigy of Sir Richard Pembrugge in armour with a dog at his feet and angels at his head.

Small altar tomb, possibly for his wife, Petronilla, has delicate effigy with gown and belt, the head on cushion flanked by angels, a bird at her feet.

Alice Davies was a church organist for 48 years.

Aged 101.

HMS Ambrose (shore establishment) was the Dundee submarine base during World War II. The Dundee International Submarine Memorial has been built there to commemorate the submariners lost during the war from Dundee.

Aged 101.

Aged 94 3/4.

Three brothers who were drowned in the River Wye.

Died as the result of a "fit of anger by a fellow servant".

Two unusual given names - Hywel and Derrington.

Claire Christine Nicholson and Martin Piers Nicholson - Ticklerton (Shropshire) and Daventry (Northhamptonshire), United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on May 30th 2015.

St John the Baptist, Byford, Herefordshire

Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project

St John the Baptist, Byford, Herefordshire

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St John the Baptist Church is surprisingly long. Most is Norman and medieval though the West tower is 18th Century. There is a narrow 13th Century richly moulded arched doorway and the West door swings open on strap hinges 700 years old. The aisle has a double lancet window that has been repaired with coffin lids and in the chapel, as well as wall paintings, is a 15th Century stained glass window depicting five mothers with their children.