Tombstone Tuesday: The Rose Memorial

Although this isn’t a tombstone over a grave as such, it is three tablets of gravestones actually high on the wall of St. Nicholas Church, Lower Winchendon, Buckinghamshire which are inscribed with many details about various members of the Rose family who are buried “in the Vault beneath”.

As they are high on the wall it is difficult to photograph them clearly enough to be able to read the inscriptions, but we also took a video film of this and I was able to transcribe it from that.

Photo in my collection but taken by R. Herbstreit - copyright 2010

The transcription for this Memorial is as follows:

Rose Memorial in St. Nicholas Church, Nether Winchendon, Bucks

 

(1st Tablet)

 

In the Vault beneath was

deposited the remains of

Susannah

Wife of Mr. Thomas Rose Esq

(unreadable)

also of Jane (unreadable)

(unreadable)

(unreadable)

also of John, son of John Rose

of Grey’s Inn, London, Gentleman (unreadable)

of the said Thomas and Susannah Rose

and Elizabeth his Wife

(unreadable)

(unreadable)

Aged 8 months

also of Catherine the only child of

the said Jane by her (unreadable)

and died the (unreadable)

Aged 2 Years and ? Months

also of Mary Lowe(?) (unreadable – possibly the daughter of)

Thomas and Susannah Rose

of The Temple, London

who died the 22nd of December 1800

Aged 29 Years

________________________________________

The Remains of Elizabeth second Wife of

the said Thomas Rose who died

the 24th of March 1800 aged 60 Years were

her own desire to be interred near her Relations

on the South Side of the Church Yard

________________________________________

The said Thomas Rose died ye 3rd February 1809 Aged

68 Years & his Remains are deposited in the same Vault

All the Sons of the said Thomas and Susannah

namely Thomas, John, Richard, William and Joseph

and their fourth and youngest Daughter Anne who

married Mr. Richard Rose Junr. survive them

Their eldest Daughter Elizabeth who married

Mr. Thomas Randolph died the 2nd of December 1798

Aged 36 Years and was buried at Long Crendon.

　

(2nd Tablet)

 

In Memory of

Mr. Thomas Rose

eldest Son of

the late Thomas and Susannah Rose

who died a Bachelor

the 27th(?) September 1810(?)

Aged 49(?) (could be 19?)

And of

William Rose

Their Fourth Son

who died a Bachelor

the 14th of July 1833

Aged 39(?) Years (could be 59?)

And of

Richard Rose

Their Third Son

died the 15th of June ?

Aged 71 Years

John Rose, Their Second Son

Died 4th July 1842

Aged 74 Years and was buried

near his wife at Saint Clement’s

Danes, London

_________________________________

(unreadable)

The remains of

(unreadable) Constance Rose

Eldest daughter of William

Rose Esquire and Martha his wife

who died 30th September 1854

Aged 13 Years

He was the Youngest Son of

Joseph and Louisa Rose

This William Rose

A Barrister of the Middle (could be Temple?)

Died 30th April ?? Aged 44(?) Years

leaving the said Martha his Wife

and eight surviving children

His remains are in the same Vault

____________________________________

　

　(3rd Tablet)

 

Anne Youngest Daughter of the said

Thomas and Susannah Rose

and wife of Richard Rose Junr.

Died 13th(?) November 1818(?) Aged 40 Years

William Second Son of the said

Richard and Anne Rose

Died 15th(?) August 1804 Aged 6 months

Four children of Joseph Rose

(youngest son of the said

Thomas and Susannah Rose)

and Louisa his Wife died in infancy viz.

Harriet Elizabeth 26th April 180?

Aged 11 months

Mary 5th(?) December 1805 Aged 5 months

Thomas Joseph 16th(?) June 1807

Aged 4(?) months

Louisa ? January 1815 Aged 6 months

Three other children of the said

Joseph and Louisa Rose viz.

Anne who died 21st(?) Novr. 1829 Aged 18 Years

Susanna Louisa who died 17th Oct 1831

Aged 28 Years and

Jane who died 3rd July 1833 Aged 25(?) Years

and their Mother the same Louisa Rose

who died 29th Febry. 1832 Aged 53 Years

was buried in a Vault in St. Mary’s Church

Aylesbury

Their Father the same Joseph Rose

died ? Oct(?) 1858 aged 30(?) Years and

was buried in the Vault in this Churchyard

 

There is a tremendous amount of information on these stones, even if some of it is difficult or impossible to decipher.  And the naming of all the different children for different couples is just so very helpful too.  If only many other tombstones were this informative!!　

Ancestors at Rest – Places I “look after”!

St. Nicholas Church, Lower Winchendon, Buckinghamshire

Original photograph in my private collection, taken by me in 2000, copyright 2010

Because most of my family history research is in Buckinghamshire and particularly one village, Lower Winchendon (I think its ancient name of Nether Winchendon sounds so much nicer), I will be adding posts and photographs here at this blog concerning the churchyard etc., of St. Nicholas in that village.

According to the history of this village, the Church has probably formed a major part of village life for at least 1,000 years.  The Church’s Parish Registers start at 1562 so although not too big a churchyard, there have been quite a number of people buried there!

Having visited this village and churchyard several times over the years (I live too far away to go on a regular basis) Nether Winchendon today is an obvious medieval village with a smallish population.  It is lovely there, and it is as if time has stopped still.  You feel like you have been transported back to the time your ancestors were there!!  These days there is no pub, no shop, or school although the Censuses show the village had these then. The Church seems to be the centre of the community as it has probably always been.

The village’s name of  ‘Winchendon’  is an original Anglo Saxon name, and means something along the lines of  ‘hill at a bend’.  Lower Winchendon and Upper Winchendon were both recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and were  known as Wincandone.

Because of  the family history research for my partner Paul, I am also interested in the fairly local to us churchyard at Mithian, Cornwall.  Again, the interest mainly stems from the fact that some of Paul’s ancestors are at rest there, but I will also be including photos and details of graves, monuments and history etc., concerning all the others at rest there.

St. Peter’s Church, Mithian, Cornwall

Original photograph copyright Mark Charter - http://www.flickr.com/people/markcharter/

Sadly, the church is now closed.  I believe the roof was in a bad way and so it had become unsafe for anyone inside the church.

This is a much newer church compared to that at Lower Winchendon mentioned above, as the parish was formed in 1847 from the parishes of several places such as Kenwyn, Kea and partly from Perranzabuloe and St Agnes, because of the quickly growing population in the area. The church and churchyard can be found midway between the villages of Mithian and Blackwater. Mithian is considered to be one of the oldest villages in Cornwall.

Although St. Peter’s Church is fairly young  (compared to many) there has been ancient chapels in Mithian from the ancient times.

A year or so ago, after the Church was closed there were plans to convert it to residential use!!  I do not know whether this is still going ahead, but it certainly makes me wonder what will happen to the churchyard and all those resting in it?  I am sure that if someone is going to turn the Church into a house they probably will not want to be surrounded by graves and the continuous comings and goings of those descendants and relatives of more recent people at rest coming to visit, tidy up, place flowers and so on.

I have always found this particular churchyard slightly wild as it has not been immaculately kept, but very pretty at certain times of the year.  Springtime when the whole churchyard is covered in primroses is a delight to see.  And it is always so peaceful there so I am hoping that maybe one day they can find the £800,000 + that they need to put the church right rather than have it turned into a house.