Stories Set in Stone by Jane Jones, Churchwarden
A stroll through the calm and peaceful St James Churchyard to enjoy the beautiful spring flowers is good exercise and a walk through the history of our small town.
In Medieval times, graves were marked with wooden crosses which have long since disappeared, but stones erected in the 17th and 18th centuries are chunky, their lettering handmade and charmingly uneven. Space was tight, chisels were blunt, and flowery prose was overrated. The inscriptions on the oldest stones are brief and businesslike: “Here lieth…”, “In Memory of…”.
By the 19th century, many monuments are still in local stone, mainly lias limestone and sandstone, but some gleam with polished granite, reflecting improved transport and Victorian flair for grandeur. Winged cherubs and poetic epitaphs bloom across the stone. Occasionally, a line of dry humour slips through - proof that wit, like hope, springs eternal.
This one from the stone of one John Dixon is a good example:
‘This monument stone will show where lies an honest man.
Let monarchs who are laid as low rise higher if they can.’
Some epitaphs glow with affection like this one on the stone of James and Ann Hancocks:
“Not gone from memory, not gone from love
But gone to our father’s home above.”
Perhaps the most touching aspect of the churchyard is its democracy. Grand chest tombs cluster in prominent spots - the Oldhams (think cement) near the Lych gate and the Smiths (think Dr Henry Lilley Smith, founder of the first public dispensary in the country) overlooking Warwick Street and towards his grand former home - now Warwick House. Over time differences soften, every stone, grand or modest, carries equal weight in telling the story of our community.
Whilst some stones disappear, and others become illegible, our church holds records of more than 11,000 burials - dating from the 14th Century – and almost 2000 burials of ashes. Earlier records are largely names and dates whilst those from the the 19th and early 20th centuries are beautifully recorded in leather-bound books with inscriptions and hand-drawn images of the stones themselves. From the mid 20th century onwards, we have records on computer which makes the information more accessible and certainly more secure.
Headstones hold valuable historic records that are beloved and valued by those who are compiling their own family histories. We frequently receive requests from far and wide for information from the records we hold. The last major update of our records was carried out more than 25 years ago by Southam WI. Members of the Southam Social Family History group have found burial records a valuable resource when compiling their own family histories. Some members are joining in with a project to update the records and digitise them so that they can be published online (with due respect to GDPR) and searchable from anywhere in the world. The project also includes taking photographs of every stone and making these available too. Southam WI is again helping with this project.
As well as the ‘fieldwork’, there is also the task of entering the data and uploading it which, happily, can be done from the comfort of an armchair. This project is being sponsored by the ‘Our Digital Ancestors’ group from ‘Caring for God’s Acre’. You can find out more about by visiting https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/our-digital-ancestors/.
If you would like to become involved with this project, our email address is [email protected] or you can call 01926 812413 or text or call 07768 090178. You will be made very welcome and full training will be given!
Southam Social Family History group meets on the second Monday of each month from 1:30 pm to 3 pm in St James Church Office, 74D Coventry Street, Southam CV47 0EA. All are welcome, it’s a great way to start building your family tree.