Lynne About Loughborough

Friday, 16 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 16 Animal

So, today I’m going on a bear hunt!!! Well, maybe not, but an animal hunt at least! Another tricky challenge!! The majority of animals I found in our local cemeteries were birds, and mostly doves at that. But, let’s begin with a real animal …

I have spent quite some time trying to work out exactly who James Ball was, but having identified several possible candidates, I have convinced myself that I really don’t know. From the inscription on the headstone, we know that James died aged 63, on 5th January 1899. I have managed to establish that his widow, Ellen Thirza, who was born around 1848 in Devon, lived on Beacon Road, certainly between 1901 and 1911, in a house with 8 rooms, some of which she let out. Again, we know from the headstone that Ellen died on 8th October 1921.

Military graves feature as a theme on a later day in this challenge, but since the Leicestershire Regiment have as their insignia a tiger, I thought it was relevant to include one military grave under the theme of animals. This particular gravestone commemorates Serjeant William Kilgour Miller, who was originally from Edinburgh. You can find a more complete biography of William on the Loughborough Roll of Honour.

The badge of the Leicestershire Regiment is a tiger. Apparently, this was awarded to the regiment in 1825 as a result of the role they had played in India, from about 1804. The inscribed tiger on the headstone has the word ‘Hindoostan’ in an arc from his head to the start of his tail, and the word ‘Leicestershire’ in a scroll underneath the body. I believe this earned the regiment the nickname ‘The Tigers’, and it is this name that connects to the Leicester rugby team. There’s plenty of information about all this out on the internet – see notes below.

I promised you doves, so the next few photographs include doves, bearing olive branches

Finally, had it been daytime, I would have spotted plenty of squirrels, but here's a photograph from the new part of the cemetery on Leicester Road, where one evening, on my walk back from Charnwood Water, I spotted a couple of woodpeckers.

See you tomorrow!

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Notes

Some links to websites regarding the Leicestershire Regiment:

The Imperial War Museum

History of the Regiment by the Regiment themselves

The National Army Museum

The long, long trail

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). 31 Days of Graves Day 16 Animal. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/10/31-days-of-graves-day-16-animal.html [Accessed 16 October 2026]

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Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Thursday, 15 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 15 Saint

I’ve spent quite a lot of time over the past few weeks having a really good look around our local cemeteries, on the hunt for graves that fit a specific theme. Now, you’d think, wouldn’t you, that there might be mentions of saints, or perhaps statues representing saints? I found angels, I found women, and I found things that could well have been saints, but I was unable to work out which particular saint was represented.

I was struggling a bit with this theme, until I decided to branch out from our Anglican cemeteries, and headed off down Ashby Road to St Mary’s Catholic church. I wasn’t feeling particularly hopeful, as having spent a good deal of time walking up and down Ashby Road [1], I’d never spotted a graveyard at the church. However, I was not disappointed with my visit!

No, there wasn’t a graveyard, but, along the perimeter of the church facing Hastings Street stood three memorial stones.

The stone to the right commemorated Thomas and Francis Reaney, while the one on the right was the one that really caught my attention.

The inscription reads:

Of your Charity

Pray forth Repose of the Soul of

Francis Heap,

who departed this life,

on the feast of Saint Mary Magdalen,

July 22nd 1852:

being the 26th Year of his Age

We have loved him let us not forsake him until by

our prayers we have introduced him into Eternal

tabernacles.

Requiescant in pace.

Thank you for reading the blog!

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Notes

[1] One of my earliest posts to this blog was about Ashby Road, and I've revisited the street and written about its houses (odd numbered, and even numbered), and its shops.

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). 31 Days of Graves Day 15 Saint. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/10/31-days-of-graves-day-15-saint.html [Accessed 15 October 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Wednesday, 14 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 14 pre-1700

There are probably only about five gravestones in the churchyard of All Saints with Holy Trinity that are earlier than 1700. As such, they take a bit of finding! I have only one example to share with you today. The stone is laid flat, forming part of the path around the perimeter of the church, thus it is very badly worn.

The first line of the epitaph is unreadable:

…

body of WILLIAM

HUBBARD Iron-

monger who

died the 4th day

of September 1690

Aged 59

Please pop back to the blog tomorrow for another instalment of 31 Days of Graves!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). 31 Days of Graves Day 14 pre-1700. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/10/31-days-of-graves-day-14-pre-1700.html [Accessed 14 October 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Tuesday, 13 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 13 Famous

Famous? So what really is the definition of famous? How do I select memorial stones to share with you? We could mean people who are nationally well-know, or people who are well-known in their field, or people who are well-known locally. Here’s my selection.

Let’s start with James Logan, a footballer from Scotland, who played for Notts County, scoring a hat-trick for them in 1894. Jimmie, as he was known, died of pneumonia probably as a result of playing in the pouring rain in Loughborough in the 1896 season. He was buried in a pauper’s grave in the old cemetery on Leicester Road. In 2024, after a lengthy campaign and period of research, an engraved stone was erected in his memory. You can read more about this on the BBC Sport webpages.

In the same cemetery is the grave of Herbert Schofield, and his wife, Clara. Schofield was Principal of the Loughborough Technical Institute and awarded an MBE in 1917 for his services to education (in the main, the training of people in the manufacture of munitions) the First World War. That is a huge simplification of a long and busy life, which I promise I will do more justice to in some form or other at a later date. Here is his memorial

My third choice of memorial stone can be found in the churchyard of All Saints with Holy Trinity, and was erected in memory of William Woty, born in Hampshire circa 1730, moved to work in London, and then found himself in Loughborough. Woty was a legal clerk, but also wrote poetry. He was a companion and legal advisor to the 5th Earl Ferrers, Washington Shirley, of Staunton Harold. The incised picture at the top of the gravestone is a couple of books, one being open, a quill pen, and an ink vessel.

My final choice comes from further afield, from the derelict All Saints church at Dishley. Lying flat on the ground in the area which would have been the siting for the altar, the dry memorial stone to Robert Bakewell, died 1778 is probably the father of the Robert Bakewell, the well-known agriculturalist. The equally unreadable wet stone is, I believe, the memorial to the latter. Both were taken in 2024. The modern plaque is wall-mounted, and was taken in 2025.

There are a couple of earlier blogposts related to Robert Bakewell - the 300th anniversary of Bakewell's birth; photographs of his home, and a little bit about the man.

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). 31 Days of Graves Day 13 Famous. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/10/31-days-of-graves-day-13-famous.html [Accessed 13 October 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Monday, 12 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 12 Mistake

Spotting a mistake on an engraved headstone must be one of the most difficult things to do, as unless it’s an obvious spelling mistake, it might not be apparent that it’s a mistake. And, of course, spelling changes over time, so what might have been ‘correct’ last century, might not be today.

I have no personal connection with any of the memorials I have been looking at for this challenge, so I am not going to be aware if there is perhaps a mistake with birth or death dates, unless I delve into the history of the person commemorated, which I haven't always got time to do.

So, I decided to take a different approach …

Firstly, here’s an example of how spelling has changed over the years.

Here

lies the body of

Mary the Wife of

Joseph Brookes

of the Forrest Lane

She departed this Life

The 8th day of March

1746-7 Aged 32 Years.

Forrest Lane was most definitely once known as this, but it is now familiar to us as Forest Road. What I can’t quite explain is the hyphen in the year of Mary’s death – 1746-7. At first glance, one would think it’s to do with the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, but that happened in 1752 (although the legislation to make the change was passed in 1750). It is more common, I believe, to use a forward slash to indicate a date falling around the time of the change, or a fraction, usually 1/2, a system that is referred to as double dating. Perhaps this memorial stone to Mary Brookes wasn’t made at the time of her death, but perhaps later, maybe when her husband, Joseph, died? Hmmmm, a bit of a puzzle.

Of course, it might be possible to prevent mistakes being made at the point at which the stone is being engraved. When the headstones were installed, they were standing upright, with a portion being buried in the soil, deep enough to anchor the structure. It was therefore ideal for the stonemason, or more likely the apprentice, to practice on the area which would be buried. Of course, since the re-arrangement of the headstones at the church of All Saints with Holy Trinity, some of these stones are now lying flat, and those practice engravings can now be seen. Here’s a couple of examples: in the first, the engraver seems to have practised the whole of the alphabet, while in the second example, only selected letters have been tried out.

Thank you for reading the blog! I have no doubt that I have made some spelling errors, or more likely missed out some words, trying to type too quickly!

Pop back tomorrow for more grave stories!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). 31 Days of Graves Day 12 Mistake. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/10/31-days-of-graves-day-12-mistake.html [Accessed 12 October 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Sunday, 11 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 11 Interesting Epitaph

Numerous of the gravestones I looked at could fall into the category of bearing an interesting epitaph, so it was quite difficult to make a choice of what to include.

Below is the memorial to William Howard Rendall Gibbs, found in the old cemetery on Leicester Road. William’s parents, William John and Edith Elizabeth, nee Bromhead, were married at Emmanuel church on 27 April 1887. William was a coal and builder’s merchant, along with some of his brothers, who had their business on Station Street. The family lived at West Leigh, No.115 Ashby Road, a home with 10 rooms. Edith died in 1914, and William married again, to Gertrude, and he himself died in 1938, leaving quite a substantial sum of money. Sadly, their only child, William Howard Rendall Gibbs died in Bedford on 17th November 1905, aged 17.

Here’s the full inscription

To the

Precious memory of

Our only child

William Howard Rendell Gibbs

Born on Good Friday March 30th 1888

Passed into eternity Nov. 17th 1905

“Thine for ever may we be”

Also sacred to the memory of

Edith Elizabeth Gibbs

Beloved wife of

William John Gibbs

Born July 18th 1855 died July 21st 1914

“His banner over us is love”

In loving remembrance

William John Gibbs

May 26th 1859

August 21st 1938

Also Gertrude beloved 2nd wife of the above

Died November 9th 1952 aged 70 years

The following memorial to Marguerite (Rita) Williams, also in the old cemetery on Leicester Road, says:

In cherished memory of

Marguerite,

(Rita)

The loving wife of the

Rev. W. Charles William

Wesleyan Methodist Minister

Loughborough

Lifter higher

April 3rd 1900.

She was always pleasant.

She “was not. For God took” her.

Over in the churchyard at All Saints with Holy Trinity on Steeple Row is a memorial to Elizabeth, wife of Richard Nicklinson, and to Richard himself. Richard and Elizabeth Chapman were married at All Saints church on 18 June 1809.

Richard had been an apprentice to master grocer, John Toone, a few years earlier. By 1832 he owned a property on Mill Street (now Market Street) which was let out to Edward Chesterton. In 1835 Richard was listed in a trade directory as a brush maker, Secretary of the Permanent (subscription) Library on Baxter Gate, and an oil and colour man working on Baxter Gate. In 1841, Richard was a brush maker, and had a freehold property on Baxter Gate, again let out to Chesterton, although Richard was also conducting his business – as a brush maker, and a dry salter, from Baxter Gate, as well as being an insurance agent for the Manchester, based on High Street.

A couple of years before his death, Richard was a brush manufacturer, an oil and colour man, and an agent for Pelican Life and Manchester Fire Offices, his business still being based on Baxter Gate.

The full inscription reads:

In memory of

Elizabeth

Wife of

Richard Nicklinson

And daughter of

Samuel and Elizabeth Chapman

After a long and painful affliction

She died at peace with God

And all mankind

An humble following of her Saviour

On the 24th day of May 1850

Aged 603 years

Also of

Richard Nicklinson

Husband of the above

Who died March 21 1856

Aged 72 years

He was much respected by a nume

rous acquaintance both rich and

poor, the latter of whom he was a

sincere friend and helper.

Also sincerely mourned by

those to whom he had been

a friend and father.

The following memorial stone, also in the churchyard of All Saints, needs no explanation. It is hard to read due to weathering and the weather.

Transcription of the inscription

The

Lord gave and

the Lord hath

taken away;

Blessed be the

name of the

Lord

In memory of

HANNAH, wife of John TROTH,

who died in child-bed, July

25th 1826, Aged 30 years

A loving Wife, a Friend sincere,

Seven Babes with her lie Bury'd here;

A Christian faithfull just and true,

who liv'd and die'd with Heaven in view,

In Christ the Lord she put her trust,

Now Earth to Earth and Dust to Dust

But e'er she'd been a Wife seven years,

She was took from this Vale of Tears;

The seventh Infant ne'er was bom,

But caus'd her Death, and Friends to mourn,

But now she's Bless'd, among'st the just,

Earth to Earth and Dust to Dust.

Not all her Friends nor Doctor's art,

Could to her aid or help impart;

But when the Trumpet's hallow'd sound

Shall thro' Death's silent Vaults resound;

She'll rise! triumphant with the just

Awake to life - and quit the Dust

How lov'd how Valu'd once; avail'd thee not.

By whom respected, or by whome begot:

A heap of Dust alone remains of thee

is all thou art - and all ¬the proud shall be

This Stone was erected by her surviving

... ... ... solemn …

Finally, this memorial stone to John White was originally in the churchyard of the Wood gate Baptist Chapel, but now stands in the grounds of the Old Rectory. I haven’t researched John White of Cotes, so here is my photograph, and my transcription of his memorial:

Beneath

Are deposited the mortal remains of

John White of Cotes

Who during a period of more than

forty years was a regular mem

ber of the Christian Church as

sembling in the adjoining Chapel

his attachment to the Redeemer’s

cause was sincere and unabated

his zeal for its advancement was

manifested by personal assertion

and pecuniary sacrifices. In tend

ernes of conjugal and fraternal

affection and the punctual dis

charge of the relative and special

duties few have exceeded him.

The stroke by which he was sep

arated from his affectionate fam

ily, his brethren and a wide circle

of friends was awfully sudden

being summoned to an exchange

of worlds by an apoplectic seizure

under which on the 27th of

January 1825

The remainder of the inscription is beneath the soil, but I did find something on the internet which might be the completion of it:

“in the 62nd year of his age, after an affliction of a few hours only he sank late the arms of death.”

These are just some of the unique memorials to be found in our cemeteries.

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). 31 Days of Graves Day 11 Interesting Epitaph. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/10/31-days-of-graves-day-11-interesting.html [Accessed 11 October 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Lynne About Loughborough

Pages

Friday, 16 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 16 Animal

Thursday, 15 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 15 Saint

Wednesday, 14 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 14 pre-1700

Tuesday, 13 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 13 Famous

Monday, 12 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 12 Mistake

Sunday, 11 October 2026

31 Days of Graves Day 11 Interesting Epitaph

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