Graves Project

GRAVESTONES

ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, CROMHALL

Many of the gravestones and “Table Top” tombs at the top end of the Churchyard between the War Memorial and the Church porch date from the 18th & 19th C.

The effects of weathering, frost damage, lichen, moss and ivy have played their part in defacing the epitaphs of those who died and were buried in the churchyard.

As many Gravestones from this period are almost illegible I was asked by the Churchwardens to make a photographic record and post it on the Church website.

The names from the 18th & 19th C are familiar to those who have lived in the area for some time….Cullimore, Drew, Hobbs, Jotcham, Marklove, Phillimore, Pick, Pullin, Wicks, Young. Maybe some are related to those of an earlier century at rest in the churchyard.

The ages of the deceased provide an insight into the social history of the 1800s.
Married women dying in their late 30s/early 40s. The impact of infant mortality.
Men surviving into their 80s (no pensions then!).

While this is primarily a record of what is left of our heritage it excludes more recent graves as their condition is generally good. There are a few from the early 20th century where this is not the case and they have been included.

My task as photographer is to concentrate on making the epitaphs as legible as I can which means that backgrounds may be over exposed but sufficient to give a guide to where they are in the churchyard. As some gravestones are very difficult to read largely due to weathering or lichen I have attempted to decipher the basic information and set this out as :

SURNAME (1st name Age if over 70 or an early death) Year of death

At least it should be possible to search this site without the difficulties I found in capturing the information! For those curious to pursue on foot you should be able to find the gravestones you are interested in between the War Memorial and the Church.

Simon Nieboer
Former resident of Cromhall (1970 – 1999)