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Tales Behind the Headstones
| Posted on July 1, 2009 at 7:58 AM |
My son and I were in the closed graveyard at St Mary & St Margaret's Church Castle Bromwich a few weeks ago when we were approached by somebody who had come to view the graves. During the course of the proceeding conversation, he informed us that he was something of a connisseur of graveyards and that in his opinion, Castle Bromwich ranked as one of the best.
To those who view the garveyard only when the grass cutting is overdue or when the brambles are taking over despite volunteers' efforts to eradicate them, this might seem a somewhat strange opinion; but to anybody who spends any time looking at the headstones the poignant glimpses into past lives and deaths bear witness to his views. The tragic lives of those killed during world wars one and two, many buried many miles from home; the stories of children swept away by illness or killed in accidents; and the devastation of families almost obliterated by the flu pandemic. Over the coming weeks some of these stories will be published in the History section of this website, starting with the story of Captain Edwin Tufnell Hayne.
Graveyards give a fascinating insight into the changing social attitudes, life opportunities and beliefs about death and what comes after. A glimpse around Castle Bromwich graveyard shows many 19th Century inscriptions along the lines of "Peace, perfect peace." A typical inscription for a man lists his occupation or achievements in life such as the inscription for Alderman Clayton whereas women were generally referred to as wife or mother.
Similarly the gravestone for Edwin Kempson lists him as Curate and details his professional development, but merely describes Mary as his wife.
Over the years different materials have been favoured for the manufacture of gravestones and this is clearly illustrated in the Castle Bromwich graveyard with early stones being fashioned from limestone and standstone and more recent from marble. The symbols used on the garves has also changed over the years with the early use of crosses being supplemented with books, flowers and even celtic symbols.
Ivy, evergreen and fruit depicting the memory of the person will never fade away.
A lily piety and purity.
A book - a sign of faith and a book of life.
People travel thousands of miles to visit famous cemeteries such as Arlington, but those closer to home are equally as poignant and fascinating.
Categories: Heritage & Tourist Guide
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4 Comments
As a boy I also used to like looking through the St Mary & St Margaret's Church cemetay at the headstone insciptions. In particular, I looked for the oldest and most legible. Can someone tell me the oldest headstone in the cemetary?
Thanks
Mike
It's probably not as old as you would expect. Castle Bromwich was a chapel in the parish of Aston and until 1810 all burials had to take place in Aston itself. According to the place name gazetteer, in 1810 permission was given for a graveyard to be laid out opposite the church in Castle Bromwich and so burials began.
Most of the older stones have been damaged by acid rain and are difficult to read. I belive that a local historian has a record of what could be discerned in the 1970s. I'm told that the oldest stone is a memorial to Mary Leake who died in 1817. This stone is by the wall that divides the cemetery in two, but very difficult to read. Her descendents have placed an additional memorial inscription on another later family grave in another part of the graveyard.
Inspiration Alley says...
Just to add further that according to Jerry Dutton and Colin Green in their book Castle Bromwich in Times Past Part 2, no burials were allowed in the graveyard until 1815.
Thank you so much for your reply.
A surprise yes? I would have thought the oldest would habve been much oldest discernable headstone would have been much older than 1817.
Your reply now clears up something that I have wondered about for so many years.
Cheers
Also to Inspiration Alley 10 hours ago.
Thank you to you for your input.
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