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  1. #1
    usernick
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    Default Slapton (Methodist) burial locations?

    Hi,

    With the advent of the Northamptonshire Parish records available on Ancestry, I've determined that my "Cross" ancestors were, indeed, allegedly buried in Slapton (near Towcester).

    They were Wesleyan Methodists who used to attend the Methodist Chapel in Church Lane, Slapton - this is from a South Northamptonshire planning permission paper:

    "Opposite to Slapton Lodge, a short turning to the left (Chapel Lane) leads uphill past a group of local authority houses and a tiny red brick Methodist Chapel which abuts an attractive stone and thatch cottage, both buildings listed"

    My relatives (from family recollections as well as from Census records) used to reside the "group of local authority houses" when they used to be cottages - I seem to recall that they were rennovated in the 1960's/1970's to make them larger and turned into the "local authority houses" identified above.

    Anyway, my ancestors died in Slapton at various times during the 19th Century - from about 1835 right the way to the end of the century (various generations) before spreading across the land - to London and beyond!

    The Burial Registers for Slapton lists all of them, but my question is - where would I turn to in order to find where they were buried (with potential headstones)?

    The CoE church in Slapton (St Botolph) has a Memorial Inscriptions booklet supplied by the Northamptonshire FHS - only two children have headstones there and they are from a different line to me (the two children who died at a young age from Henry Cross and Anne Muscott). The parents themselves are not buried in the Churchyard (or, if they did, then there aren't any headstones listed).

    The Methodist Church (described above) appears (from looking at Google Maps) to be a small building with some grass/fields on the back of the house. Looking at Google Maps, there doesn't "appear" to be any headstones (normally, in a churchyard or cemetery, you can see pockets of headstones from the Google photos)!

    Towcester Cemetery - which appears to be the closest Cemetery to Slapton - have had their records transcribed by the MKHeritage / Towcester and District Local Society and these are available online between the years 1885-1939:

    "In late 2005 and early 2006 some members of the Towcester and District Local History Society made a complete inventory of the burials and memorial stones in the oldest part of Towcester Cemetery, Brackely Road, Towcester. The registers were copied and transcribed, the plot numbers were identified, the memorial stones were photographed and their inscriptions transcribed and illegible data was checked against other sources. "

    Now, of course - without checking the Towcester Cemetery registers themselves - the webpage may only be a record of those headstones still standing. My relatives may not also have been able to afford a headstone, so they may still have been buried there (those past 1885 anyway).

    Is there anywhere else I should be looking? The Wesleyan Methodists in Northamptonshire belonged to a Circuit (a collection of Methodist chapels in the area) - my family were part of the "Towcester Circuit" which included a number of the smaller villages around Towcester. Could they have been buried near another Methodist Chapel?

    All help appreciated before I make a trip up to Slapton and the surrounding areas this summer!

    Cheers,


    Nick

  2. #2
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    Default

    The Burial Registers for Slapton lists all of them, but my question is - where would I turn to in order to find where they were buried (with potential headstones)?
    If you're saying they are listed in the burial register of Slapton parish church, I would assume that that's where they were buried.

    You are looking at the original parish register (or a scan of it) aren't you and not just some index?

  3. #3
    usernick
    Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Goodey View Post
    If you're saying they are listed in the burial register of Slapton parish church, I would assume that that's where they were buried.

    You are looking at the original parish register (or a scan of it) aren't you and not just some index?
    Hi Peter,

    They're the scanned Parish Registers from Ancestry entitled:

    "Burials in the Parish of Slapton in the County of Northampton"

    So, presumably does that mean that they're buried in St Botolph Churchyard (the only CoE Parish Church) in Slapton, but no headstones exist?

    Cheers,


    Nick

  4. #4
    southistle
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    Default

    Not all non-conformist chapels had a burial ground. Headstones made from the local sandstone tend to weather very fast and can become illegible faster than seems possible.
    If the burials were recorded in the parish register then it is almost certain that they were buried in the churchyard. Is the signature in the last column that of the vicar/rector? Or of some other person?

  5. #5
    usernick
    Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by southistle View Post
    Not all non-conformist chapels had a burial ground. Headstones made from the local sandstone tend to weather very fast and can become illegible faster than seems possible.
    If the burials were recorded in the parish register then it is almost certain that they were buried in the churchyard. Is the signature in the last column that of the vicar/rector? Or of some other person?
    Ah-ha - that's very true - I should have investigated the last column.

    Taking two examples (my Great x3 Grandparents):

    - Henry Cross (died 1887) - Philip Lockton, rector [on census as "Rector of Slapton" / "Clergyman Church Of England"]
    - Lucy Cross (died 1888) - G. Shade, Officiating Minister

    So, that proves it - they were buried at the Churchyard and either couldn't afford a headstone and/or the headstone is now illegible/missing.

    Many thanks - much appreciated.

    Cheers,


    Nick

  6. #6
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    The right for anyone, of any denomination, to be buried in the parish graveyard was enshrined in law in the Act of 1880. That's not to say that most people didn't think this right had existed since time immemorial.

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