Radnor Street Cemetery - a virtual spring walk

But if you decide to stay indoors, join me on a virtual guided walk every day this week.

John Davison and Alice Robson

This is the grave of John Davison Robson ,(see below) an engineer whose last home was at 24 Read Street, Swindon. John was another person who had moved around the country. We tend to think of this as a modern trend, but people have always moved to where the work is and 19th century Swindon had plenty to offer.

John was born in Wellington, County Durham in 1839. By 1858 he was living in Bristol where he married Alice Storey that same year.

Each set of census returns reveal John and Allice living at a different address, with their children born in Bristol, Frome and Trowbridge.

This memorial is full of symbolism. The inscription is on a scroll, a symbol of life and time. Both ends rolled up indicate a life that is unfolding, a scroll of uncertain length with the past and future hidden. The acanthus leaf has several meanings in funeral iconography. One of the oldest and most common motifs to appear on headstones, it is associated with the rock ground where most ancient Greek cemeteries were location. The thorny leaves also represent life's prickly and difficult path. The flowers are passion flowers, which represent Christ's passion during Easter week. Across the cemetery there is a memorial to Esther Swinford who was murdered by her former fiance. Her headstone has a spray of passion flowers tumbling across it, a reference to what some considered a crime of passion.

John died on December 4, 1904 and as you can see his wife Alice died just eight days later on December 12. They are buried with their daughter Margaret who predeceased them in 1902. Another daughter, Alice Cooper, is remembered on this memorial. She died in 1893 and is interred in Cardiff cemetery.

Thomas and Beatrice Rose

What drew my attention to this headstone is the couples' surname, Rose, and the rose motif on the top.

Thomas Rose was born in 1836 in Leamington Spa, the son of a cabinet maker.  By 1869 he was living here in Swindon and the UK Railway records show he entered the GWR Service as a Railway Carriage Maker that year.

At the time of the 1881 census Thomas and Beatrice were living at 11 Faringdon Street. By this time Thomas was a Foreman Finisher earning £2 18s a week - enough to support his six children with a few pennies to spare to employ a young servant girl, 13 year old Emily Drew. It's always tricky comparing historic wages with money value today, but a wage of £2 18s in 1881 would have the purchasing power of about £1,200 a week today.

Thomas' sons all followed him into the Works. Eldest son Thomas became a fitter as did George; William became a carriage trimmer and Fran completed a seven year apprenticeship to become a pattern maker. Frank began his apprenticeship in 1869 aged 14 on a daily rate of 10d which increased to three shillings a day in year seven.

As you can see, Thomas died in 1904 aged 67 and Beatrice two years later aged 66. Both of them left a will. Thomas left effects to the value of £200 to his wife. When Beatrice died she left £150 1s 5d.

Alfred and Leah Bartlett

Bartlett is a name you will see all around you up here in Radnor Street Cemetery. In fact, if you cast your eyes to the neighbouring headstone you will see it there.

Alfred was born in Cricklade in 1865, the son of William Bartlett, a master stone mason, and his wife Mary Anne. Alfred trained as a pupil teacher, presumably with the intention of making this his career. In 1890 he married Leah Annie Brown, and either this change in his circumstances, or perhaps just a change of mind, saw him working as a stonemason at the time of the 1891 census.

By the mid 1890s Alfred had established his business as a monumental mason in Bath Road, where it remained for many years. Today the firm has premises on Victoria Road, although I don't know if any family members are still involved.

Alfred's end was a sad one as his death in 1916 occurred at the Wiltshire County Asylum in Devizes. Further research is required to discover when and why he was admitted and to find the cause of his death. It is recorded that between 1915-1920 there were high levels of tuberculosis and dysentery at the asylum.

Leah Annie never remarried and lived out her days at 22 Bath Road. She died in 1934 and left effects valued at £265 10s 4d to her executors, her sons William Alfred and Charles Bartlett, both monumental masons.