Churchyard Heritage Project

St Mary’s Churchyard Project

A project to record the memorial inscriptions engraved on the headstones of those buried in St Mary’s Churchyard, Brixham has been completed. Nina Hannaford tells us more.

Adedicated group of volunteers has spent two years deciphering ancient and weathered headstones in beautiful St Mary’s Churchyard, carefully reading the inscriptions, recording the details and plotting the locations.  e initial remit for the lottery-funded project was to focus on the Victorian memorials. However, the churchyard covers nearly three acres over various plots and contains headstones from early 1700 to the present day.  e volunteers quickly discovered that each plot contained burials and dates ranging over 300 years, and rarely in neat rows.  erefore, a decision was made to complete the huge task of recording all the memorial inscriptions in the churchyard.

During the Second World War some of St Mary’s Churchyard records were destroyed in the ‘Exeter Blitz’.

 e Churchwardens were frequently being asked the whereabouts of family plots recorded in the church burial records, but they were not in a position to provide information on the locations.

To start the recording process, the church and churchyard were divided into twelve di erent areas, each given a number. Each row of headstones was given an alphabetical reference. However, as few rows are straight, some estimation was required. Each burial plot was then given a number, whether there was a memorial stone there or not. Used together, these co-ordinates have given each burial plot a unique reference. Recorded on a database, every name is now searchable, o ering family researchers a unique plot reference to be able to  nd any headstone of interest.

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 e reading and recording of the memorial inscriptions presented the group with many problems. Some headstones and tombs of slate, granite and limestone were neglected and overgrown with ivy and lichens. A number had been broken and only fragments remained.

Ivy and brambles were cut back; volunteers took mobile phone photos to see stones hidden in hedges and at precarious angles; archaeology trowels eased turf away from kerbs. Scattered broken fragments were collected and like a jigsaw, pieced together to read.

As time went on, volunteers found that being able to read the headstone details was very much dependant on available light at di erent times of day.  e stones, once cleared of overgrowth, would be rinsed with rainwater.  en, it was discovered that by using a tin foil baking tray, re ected light was played upon the stone mason’s script, revealing previously illegible wording.

A further problem that challenged the hardworking volunteers was that the digits 3, 5 and 8 along with 1 and 4 could be di cult to distinguish. Having recorded the memorial inscriptions ‘in the  eld,’ the details were checked with burial registers made available online from various sources, and with the General Registry O ce lists where burial records could not be found.

 is approach led to another problem. Sometimes the name spellings and dates contained in the records were di erent to those recorded on the stones. A decision was made to record the memorial inscription details and make a side note of any di erences.

All relevant information from the memorial inscriptions was recorded where they exist. Surname,  rst name, middle name, date of death, age, relationship to others on the stone along with any other details about their life or death. Online genealogical sources such as census returns were used to con rm illegible or nearly illegible inscriptions. A note was then made to highlight the fact that the information had come from registers rather than the actual headstone.

Once all the headstones had been read, recorded, checked, returned to and checked again, the information was added to a spreadsheet to create a full database of all the memorial inscriptions in St Mary’s Churchyard.  ere are over thirteen thousand names recorded.

 ese include: rich, poor, young, old, war dead, sailors who died in far away places and at home, a Norwegian sailor who died in the Bay, Charlotte Dix, a former slave from Jamaica who married a wealthy Navy Captain and William Hodges, the o cial artist on Captain Cook’s second voyage.

Anyone wanting to pay respects at their family’s grave will now be able to  nd the exact location and family historians can  nd their ancestors. Where it is recorded, researchers should be able to search for those lost at sea, killed in action, died of cholera etc.

Every e ort has been made to make sure the details are as accurate as possible but any errors may be ours or due to the original stonemason!

Details of all the memorial inscriptions and their locations are printed in a bound book and kept for posterity in the church. A map of the site showing the plots can be viewed on the Lych Gate. Copies are also available for reference at Brixham Library and Museum, Torquay Library local studies and Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter.

A scale model of St Mary’s Church has been built and is on display inside the church along with a painting of a Victorian aerial view of Brixham’s wonderful Cowtown. Online access to the searchable database will also be available through Devon Family History Society, and websites such as Genuki.org.uk and brixhamstmaryschurchgraveyard.org.uk  “ Recorded on a database, every name is now searchable, o ering family researchers a unique plot reference to be able to  nd any headstone of interest.