In Search of Gravestones Old and Curious Part 6

There are many instances in which the implements of his craft are depicted upon an artizan's tomb; these also for the most part being of the eighteenth century. In the churchyard at Cobham, a village made famous by the Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, is a gravestone recording the death of a carpenter, having at the head a shield bearing three compa.s.ses to serve as his crest, and under it the usual tools of his trade--square, mallet, compa.s.ses, wedge, saw, chisel, hammer, gimlet, plane, and two-foot rule.

FIG. 56.--AT COBHAM, KENT.

"To Richard Gransden, carpenter, died 13th March, 1760."

This one may serve as a fair sample of all the trade memorials to which carpenters have been, before all cla.s.ses of mechanics, the most p.r.o.ne. The carvings bear the same strong resemblance to each other that we find in other series of gravestones, but have occasional variations, as in the following specimen, which mixes up somewhat grotesquely the emblems of death and eternity with the mundane instruments of skill and labour, including therein a coffin lid to shew maybe that the man, besides being a carpenter, was also an undertaker.

FIG. 57.--AT BARNES.

"To Henry Mitch.e.l.l, died 1724, aged 72 years."

It was only to be expected that the prominent agriculturists of rural districts would be figuratively represented on their gravestones, and this will be found to be the case in a number of instances. The following ill.u.s.tration is from the churchyard of Frindsbury, a short distance out of Rochester and on the edge of the Medway meadows.

FIG. 58.--AT FRINDSBURY.

The inscription is effaced, but the date appears to be 1751.

The overturned sheaf presumably refers metaphorically to the fate of the farmer whom the stone was set up to commemorate. The old-fashioned plough is cut only in single profile, but is not an ineffective emblem. I imagine that the ribbon above the plough bore at one time some inscribed words which time has obliterated.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 58. FRINDSBURY.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 59. SUTTON AT HONE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 60. BROMLEY.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 61. BECKENHAM.]

The design invented by the sculptor at Sutton at Hone, near Dartford, is less original and also less striking.

FIG. 59.--AT SUTTON AT HONE.

"To Richard Northfield, died Oct. 19, 1767, aged 71 years."

In the case of John Bone, bricklayer, of Bromley, Kent, it would probably be wrong to a.s.sociate with his calling the tools engraved on his headstone. They were probably meant with the rest of the picture to represent the emblems of mortality.

FIG. 60.--AT BROMLEY.

"To John Bone, Bricklayer, died Dec. 14, 1794, aged 48 years."

There is, however, one stone which may be included in the category of trade memorials, though its subject was not a mechanic. Mr. John Cade was a schoolmaster at Beckenham, and appears to have been well liked by his pupils, who, when he prematurely died, placed a complimentary epitaph over his grave. The means by which he had imparted knowledge are displayed upon the stone, and below are the lines hereinafter set forth.

FIG. 61.--AT BECKENHAM.

"To the memory of John Cade, of this parish, schoolmaster. One skilled in his profession and of extensive ingenuity. As he lived universally beloved, so he died as much lamented, August 28th, 1750, aged 35 years. Several of his scholars, moved by affection and grat.i.tude, at their own expense erected this in remembrance of his worth and merit.

"Virtue, good nature, learning, all combined To render him belov'd of human kind."

Greenford, near Harrow-on-the-Hill, had quite recently a worthy inhabitant who was a gardener and presumably a beekeeper also.

Accordingly a beehive appropriately decorates his gravestone.

FIG. 62.--AT GREENFORD.

"To William King, upwards of 60 years gardener of this parish, died Dec. 16th, 1863, aged 84 years."

The next problem is rather more doubtful, and in considering the possibility of the memorial indicated being "professional," we must remember that the parish of West Ham, now a populous place, was quite out of town and almost undiscovered until a comparatively recent time.

Its eighteenth-century gravestones are consequently for the most part rustic and primitive. The skull and other bones here depicted, decked with wheat-ears and other vegetation, probably have some literal reference to the agricultural pursuits of the deceased, although of course they may be only poetical allusions to the life to come.

FIG. 63.--AT WEST HAM.

"To Andrew James, died 1754, aged 68 years."

CHAPTER V.

A TYPICAL TRAMP IN KENT.

This unpretentious work makes no claim to deal with the whole subject which it has presumed to open. Its aim is rather to promote in others the desire which actuates the author to follow up and develop the new field of antiquarian research which it has attempted to introduce.

As old Weever says, in his quaint style:--"I have gained as much as I have looke for if I shall draw others into this argument whose inquisitive diligence and learning may finde out more and amende mine."

This book, then, is not a treatise, but simply a first collection of churchyard curiosities, the greater number of which have been gathered within a comparatively small radius. It is only the h.o.a.rd of one collector and the contents of one sketch-book, all gleaned in about a hundred parishes. Many collectors may multiply by thousands these results, bring out fresh features, and possibly points of high importance.

Two chief purposes therefore animate my desire to publish this work.

One is to supply such little information as I have gleaned on a subject which has by some singular chance escaped especial recognition from all the mult.i.tude of authors, antiquarians, and literary men.

I have searched the Museum libraries, and consulted book-collectors, well-read archaeologists, and others likely to know if there is any work descriptive of old gravestones in existence, and nothing with the remotest relation thereto can I discover.[1] There are, of course, hundreds of books of epitaphs, more or less apocryphal, but not one book, apocryphal or otherwise, regarding the allegories of the churchyard. Can it be that the subject is bereft of interest? If so, I have made my venture in vain. But I trust that it is not so.

[Footnote 1: The Rev. Charles Boutell published, in 1849, parts 1 and 2 of a periodical work ent.i.tled "Christian Monuments in England and Wales," proposing to complete the same in five sections; the fifth to treat of headstones and other churchyard memorials, with some general observations on modern monuments. The two parts brought the subject down to the fifteenth century, and were so ably written and beautifully ill.u.s.trated as to intensify our regret at the incompletion of the task.]

The second object is to recommend to others a new and delightful hobby, and possibly bring to bear upon my theme an acc.u.mulation of knowledge and combination of light. Gravestone hunting implies long walks in rural scenes, with all the expectations, none of the risks, and few of the disappointments of other pursuits. From ten to fifteen miles may be mapped out for a fair day's trudge, and will probably embrace from three to six parish churchyards, allowing time to inspect the church as well as its surroundings. Sat.u.r.days are best for these excursions, for then the pew-openers are dusting out the church, and the s.e.xton is usually about, sweeping the paths or cutting the gra.s.s.

The church door will in most cases be open, and you can get the guidance you want from the best possible sources. A chat with the village s.e.xton is seldom uninviting, and he can generally point out everything worth your observation. But the faculty of finding that of which you are in search will soon come to you. In the first place, the new portion of a churchyard--there is nearly always a new portion--may be left on one side. You will certainly find no ancient memorials there. In the next place, you may by a little observation pick out the eighteenth-century stones by their shape, which is as a rule much more ornamented and curvilinear than those of later date. They may also be detected very often by the roughness of their backs as well as by their weather-beaten complexions, and with a little experience and practice the student may guess correctly within a few years the age of any particular one seen even in the distance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 62. GEEENFORD.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 63. WEST HAM.]

To tempt the reader therefore to take up the study which I have found so pleasant, so healthful, and so interesting, I now propose to place in order the proceeds of a few of my rambles, and shew how much success the reader may also expect in similar expeditions. His or her stock-in-trade should consist of a good-sized note-book or sketch-book of paper not too rough for fine lines, a B B pencil of reliable quality, and a small piece of sandstone or brick to be used in rubbing off the dirt and moss which sometimes obscure inscriptions. No kind of sc.r.a.per should ever be employed, lest the crumbling memorial be damaged; but a bit of brick or soft stone will do no harm, and will often bring to view letters and figures which have apparently quite disappeared. If a camera be taken, a carpenter's pencil may be of service in strengthening half-vanished lines, and a folded foot-rule should always be in the pocket. A mariner's compa.s.s is sometimes useful in strange places, but the eastward position of a church will always give the bearings, and a native is usually to be found to point the way. A road map of the county which you are about to explore, or, if in the vicinity of London, one of those admirable and well-known handbooks of the field paths, is useful, and the journey should be carefully plotted out before the start. A friend and companion of congenial tastes adds, I need not say, to the enjoyment of the excursion. My constant a.s.sociate has happily a craze for epitaphs, but does not fancy sketching even in the rough style which answers well enough for my work, and I have had therefore no compet.i.tor. Together we have scoured all the northern part of Kent and visited every Kentish church within twenty miles of London. The railway also will occasionally land us near some old church which we may like to visit, and it was while waiting half an hour for a train at Blackheath station that I picked up the accompanying choice specimen in the ancient burial-ground of Lee.

FIG. 64.--AT LEE.

"To Eliza Drayton, died 11th May, 1770."

In this allegory Time appears to be commanding Death to extinguish the lamp of Life. The sun may mean the brighter life beyond. The building to the right is an enigma.

Often the first six or seven miles have to be encountered before we reach unexplored ground. The Cray Valley, for instance, may be cited for one day's experience. First a walk of seven miles to Orpington, one of the five sister churches of the Crays--all said to be Anglo-Saxon and of about one date. I must not digress to speak of churches, but it is only reasonable to suppose that the student who is capable of taking up as a pastime the investigation of churchyards has previously acquired something more or less of archaeological taste, and will not fail to notice the churches.[2] We reach the churchyard of Orpington, visit the church, and then my companion and I separate for our respective duties. I am not fortunate in securing any special prize, but it is well to select some object if only as a souvenir of the visit, and I jot down the following, which may be cla.s.sed among the commonest order of all figurative headstones, but is nevertheless noticeable as a variant.

[Footnote 2: There are several handbooks of church architecture, and the rudiments of the various orders and dates are easily acquired.]