Burial for Zilpah Massey

[LizzieB]

Zilpah Massey (widow of John Massey) died 25 November 1884, Griffydam, Worthington, Leicestershire. Possibly Weslyan or C of E. I would love for someone to give me possible cemeteries in this area where she may be buried and how to go about getting the burial records. With many thanks ... LizzieB

[janbooth]

According to Genuki, Worthington is a township-chapelry with 3 hamlets in the parish of Breedon on the Hill. However, I have looked on the Leicestershire Burial Index CD that I have and neither Thomas RICHARDS nor Zilpah MASSEY appear on it but the CD does not appear to cover either Griffydam or Worthington which would explain their omission. Genuki also states that there are Wesleyan chapels at both Worthington and Griffydam.

The LDS have microfilmed the Bishops Transcripts of Worthing C of E from 1631 to 1861 which is outside the timescale you are interested in. As you are in Australia, a visit to the churchyards is obviously out of the question. You could try looking at the websites of the appropriate churches and Wesleyan chapels in Griffydam and/or Worthington and then send emails to the churches/chapels asking if they have details of the burials.

Janet

[exiled brummie]

A quick visit via Google Earth shows a Wesleyan Reform Church in Griffydam with what appears to be an extensive churchyard and a fair number of headstones.

The church is known as the Chapel in the Valley, and has a website that shows the following email address:

civ.griffydam@gmail.com

It could be worth contacting them and asking if they have any details of your relatives plus, hopefully, photographs of any relevant MI's.

Fingers crossed for you.

David

[Coromandel]

A quick visit via Google Earth shows a Wesleyan Reform Church in Griffydam with what appears to be an extensive churchyard and a fair number of headstones.

The 'Chapel in the Valley' website has a photo of their chapel, which is a white building in Rempstone Road . . . whereas the chapel with the burial ground (at least the one I've been looking at!) is on Elder Lane. The latter is labelled 'Griffydam Methodist Church' on Google maps. The building looks rather delapidated.

A 1903 map of Griffydam on the Old Maps site labels the building as 'Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan)' and shows an adjacent burial ground. Leicestershire Record Office's list of parish and nonconformist registers has some birth/baptism and marriage records for Griffydam Wesleyan Methodist church but no sign of any burials.

A comment on a Geograph photo at

http://www.
geograph.org.uk/photo/771377

says 'The church is now redundant, but there are hopes that the churchyard will be maintained for its historical value and significance.' Perhaps it would be worth contacting the LRO anyway, to see if they know of any surviving burial records? Otherwise I guess the best bet is monumental inscriptions.

If the Masseys were Church of England folk then Breedon on the Hill seems the most likely burial place. I had a look at St Matthew's church, Worthington, on Google Street View; there does not appear to be a churchyard there. The LRO has baptism and marriage records for Worthington, but for burials their list says 'see Breedon on the Hill'.

[arthurk]

The Leicestershire Villages website at www.
leicestershirevillages.com
has information about the churches and chapels in each community, and what records are available - click the Village History link at the top right of each village's page to get to the right section. I saw from a quick look that they give suggestions of alternative places to look for a burial, and that some pages also have links to The Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and/or its lists of register holdings etc.

Arthur

[LizzieB]

Thanks everyone, some really good sources to begin the homework as of now. And wouldn't you know it .... had let my subscription to LFHS lapse this year!!!! If successful will let you know. LizzieB