I have
scoured our local cemeteries and found only two headstones bearing a skull –
and I had to take a really close look at one of them, as it isn’t particularly
obvious! The use of the skull icon on a gravestone was really just a reminder
of how short life was (and still is) and presents the idea of living life
wisely.
What you see in the gravestone here is two upright stones, back to back. Both are made from Swithland slate, although not from the same quarries, as the colours are quite different. The headstone in question is a little shorter than its companion. The transcription reads:
Beneath
lie the
remains of
Tho. Farmer
Who departed
this life
on the 28 th
of Dec 1794
aged 70 years
The stone is divided into two, with the expectation perhaps that Thomas’s wife would be remembered on the right-hand side: perhaps because there were two wives, this is why they appear at the bottom of the stone.
ALSO near
this place were interred the Bodies of
Clare Farmer his first Jan 25 th 1778 aged 5?
wife who died
And Elizb his second Aug 20 th 1791 aged 50
The skull is
incised at the top of the stone, in the middle, and is accompanied by the word ‘Mortality’.
Looking very carefully, a couple of crossed bones can also be seen. This is more obvious when looking at a drawing probably done by a member of the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society.
The second skull was found very low down, at the bottom of the gravestone, such that I very nearly missed it altogether. It commemorates Sarah, the wife of William Hoope, as well as William himself. The inscription is a stark reminder of how difficult past times were for people, and how much things have changed. The inscription reads:
In
remembrance of
Sarah wife of
William
Hooper (draper)
who died in
child-bed on the
24th July
1805
aged 37 years
Also
William
Hooper
who died 5th
November
1823
aged 65 years
Sadly, I have no idea if the baby survived, so have not been able to follow the fortunes of the family.
And so the 31 Days of Graves challenge comes to an end! Thank you for staying with me over the past month!
See you again soon.
____________________________________
Posted by lynneaboutloughborough
With apologies for
typos which are all mine!
_______________________________________________
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