THE CHURCH GROUNDS.

It was quite some time ago when there was a decision to take down all the grave stones in the ground round the church. the current youth club were used to record the wording on all the stones. Then of course there had to be a public announcement to prevent a major objection. No objection was made and the area cleared but some stones were left, not many for the importance of them.

Unfortunately the remaining stones on the third burial area had not been allowed to become accessable because of trees and the grave stones were not to be easily seen or even found. A friend had said that her family had a grave there and I did try to find it. This I did with great difficulty, but when I tried again to take a photograph of it I could not find it again. Obviously it would be hard for any family who had graves in this area to find them.

It must be remembered that the graves were stopped as the three areas were full.

There is a stone remaining for J. S. Prince the poet. It is easly accesable but not, unfortunately, not cleaned sufficienly to clearly see it. The upright stone donated by friends is not upright as it has been knocked down by the young who frequented the church grounds.

There are a number of grave stones which were in the graveyard which are of interest because of what the tell. Here are a few.

In Memory of
George, the son of Eskey and Mary Shuttleworth, of
Houghton, who died October 1st, 1835, in his 20th year.

The said young man was, during an illness of 14 years, much delighted with the production of fruits and vegetables, when in his 19th year he grew an onion weighing 26 ounces, and in his 20th year he had an apple tree which bore 12 apples, weighing 129 ounces. Let all who read this, look up from Nature into Nature’s God.

Sacred to the Memory
of WILLIAM HITCHEN,
of Newton, who died November 23rd, 1852, aged 26 years.

His death was caused by a fall of 118 yards from the 4th mouthway of the new coalpit now being opened at Dukinfield, by F. D. P. Astley, Esq. This was the only accident which had occurred there from the commence- ment of these works in April, 1847. At the time of the accident the pit was 476 yards deep. This stone was placed over his remains at the expense of his fellow-workmen, as a small token of respect and esteem for the deceased.

On a grave on the south-east side of the church:

Sacred to the memory. of Fanny Bush, the beloved child of Simon and Gaiki, Bush People, born 8th day of August, 1846, on board the Brig ‘Fanny,’ of Liverpool, Captain Wheeler, on their voyage to England. She died of Consumption, at Hyde, the 29th day of September, 1849, at seven o’clock a.m.

Savage her race, and dark her hue,
Brief her career of life has been;
But in the great Creator’s view,
Young, old, dark, fair, are equal seen.
By Christian hands to Baptism brought,
And dedicated thus to God,
The Saviour’s heart r(e)jects her not,
She gains salvation through His blood.

The child alluded to in the above inscription belonged to some travelling showmen, who came to exhibit a party of savages on the Hyde Market Ground. Whilst at Hyde she died, and was buried in St. George’s Churchyard, the savages attending the service, in charge of their keepers. The unusual nature of the funeral procession drew a great crowd of sightseers to the churchyard. The verse on the tombstone was written by the Rev. A.. Read.

There are several inscriptions to the memory of miners who lost their lives by accidents or explosions in local coalpits. The Iollowing will serve as an example:- JOHN MANLEY, of Newton, who departed this life January 24th, 1838, in the 28th year of his age.

In a coalpit I lost my life,
At Bayley Field, near Hyde;
To fetch a man out of the damp,
But woe did me betide,
For both of us did lose our lives
Upon that fatal day.
So, miners, all a warning take,
From this catastrophe.

It is interesting that the grave stones quite often can remind us of past times. and things that have happened, also what the life was like. There are gravestones with the names of the family buried there and very often they have the names of children who died quite young. We may not know why, but it may have been poverty. Additionally it can show how large the family may have been. It is a matter of history to know how in these times people were paid low wages, not adequate to support the family.

A poem was written by George Watson about the church ground episode.