Not just a load of old rubble. The Story of Samuel Tolson and how I found his gravestone. On a beach....

I have researched a LOT of gravestones from very many churchyards in England and Scotland. But the most unexpected, extraordinary discovery of a headstone, and the history behind it,was the one I found on a beach! I had heard about the stretch of beach from Crosby to Hightown on the Sefton coast. It has literally millions of bricks and rubble that was dumped (deliberately!) after the Bootle blitz in WW2.

 

I had just moved to the area and was keen to have a walk along the beach. What a day I had. The weather was exceptionally kind to me on that day!

 

 

Brick beach at the start of my walk, Hightown.

 

I could not believe my eyes! I knew there were a lot of bricks - but I had not understood the enormous amount of rubble! And most of it very accessible if you are prepared to clamber over it! I found dozens of different makes of bricks - this would be a marvellous day out for brick lovers! ("Brickophiles" I am told!)

 

 

 

Not only bricks, but reminders of everyday life for the working class people of Bootle. I found tiles, floor covering, glass, parts of buildings,and more. But wait a minute, what is that item, top left.....

 

I was thrilled with all my "finds" (I will be taking them back in due course. I feel they are part of a "living" memorial and museum). But then I saw something that took me aback - a headstone! With writing on it! What luck! Scrambling down I took a photo of it in situ.  I couldn't wait to get home to research it- I don't think you could have found a happier person at the beach that day! This is what I discovered using some of the information on the headstone...

 

Samuel Tolson was born in 1756 in Cumberland. He married a widow, Jane Al(e)try on 11th February 1813 and died in 1842. Samuel had 10 chldren by his first wife Ann (nee Thompson). He was a tea dealer lving in Phygiate Street, Liverpool (per the 1832 Trade Directory of Liverpool). His second wife Jane died in 1850. Dinah, whose name is also inscribed on the stone was his daughter. She died in 1848 of consumption.

I have researched 100s of family stories and this was the most astonishing and rewarding. A family history from a stone not in a church, but on the beach!

 After some local research I discovered that Samuel had been buried in 

St John's church Bootle

 

It was consecrated in November 1865 and assigned a parochial district in February 1866. The church stood on a site flanked by Brasenose Road and St. John's Road. During the Second World War it  suffered from bomb damage to the extent that it had to be demolished. The rubble was dumped, as we have seen, on the coast. It was used in sea defences and so it is not only a living memorial to the blitz and the people who lost their homes and belongings but also a protection against the stormy seas. 

 

When I left the beach at Crosby that day, I turned around and took this photo. A perfect day!

 

 Such a perfect day!

After posting my research on a local Facbook page I was contacted by a descendant of Samuel who was thrilled to know where it was. Many people suggest that the stone should be moved, perhaps to another churchyard. However it is huge, heavy and in an inaccessble area. Besides, it is no longer in the place of Samuel's burial. Many people have told me they have visited the beach since reading my FB post. I think it is fitting that his memorial is left in a beautiful place and is surrounded by reminders of the lives of his family, friends and neighbours.

RIP with your memories Samuel

 

Tales from a Small Churchyard.......A Husband and Wife's shared fate: 16 years and 1000s of miles apart

I often visit my local churchyard in Formby. St Peter's is an oridinary parish church like 1000s of others in England. But like all of these churches, the many stories contained within the churchyard are anything but ordinary.  I love researching the lives of these souls, resting quietly now. As one stone says 

"in the midst of life we are in death"

 St Peter's church Formby

I was drawn to this large headstone in the shape of an anchor. Formby is near the coast but there is not a specific link to the sea. I saw that it was a memorial to a Captain's wife, Annie Rothery. On closer inspection I could see that Annie was drowned in the South Pacific. Who was she? Was she with her husband? Did he also die and what were the circumstances of her death?

 Annie's memorial. She is buried on the small south pacific island of Penrhyn.

 Detail of inscription on Annie's grave

 

Annie Robinson was born in Cumberland in 1857. She married Henry Rothery in Walton on the Hill, Liverpool in 1877. His occupation was Master Mariner.  He must have often been at sea: the 1881 census shows she is in Formby with her sister in law and her children. Annie and Henry did not appear to have had any children. Annie's house is  just down the road from me! I must take a sneaky look next time I pass it!

Looking through newspapers for the time of Annie's death I discovered that she was on board the Derby Park with her husband, who was the captain. The ship floundered near the island of Penrhyn. All hands were saved except one......

 

 A report of the sinking of the Derby 1888

Annie's boat capsized within a few yards of the beach but she drowned- I don't think many women of any class, and certainly not the middle class, would have learned to swim in the 1800s and surely her heavy clothes would have weighed her down. Henry must have been absolutely shattered by this terrible accident. He was 5 years older than Annie and the sea had been his life. Ultimately, it too, claimed him.

What became of Henry? On further research I made the awful discovery that Henry also died by drowning and on a ship he was captaining. This time however, it was close to home and only 3 people survived. It was 15 years after his wife's death, in 1904.

The shipwreck of the Khyber was widely reported, as was the official investigation. Caught in terrible weather passing through the Isles of Scilly and onto the coast of cornwall those on board struggled for several hours to keep it afloat. Several boats attempted to reach the ship but ultimately it too capsized and was smashed to pieces on the rocky coast. 

 

The shattered remains of the Khyber

Three men out of 25 survived. As would be expected, the Captain went down with his ship. Survivors had nothing but praise for his coolness and attempts to save the ship and his men. He was last seen at the wheel, urging others to save themselves. The investigation concluded that he was "one of the most experienced men who ever left Liverpool in charge of a ship" and that he stayed with his ship to the last. With the many 1000s of seamen based in Liverpool, this was quite a testimonial to his knowledge.

Like Annie, he is not buried in Formby. He is buried near the coast and the sea that claimed his life; St Levan in Cornwall. 

Henry's memorial stone with the names of others who perished that day

The terrible tragedy illustrates our island heritage and how many countlessf times the people of these isles have suffered pain and loss at sea. In this case, a married couple shared a fate in the watery depths years and 1000s of miles apart.

Rest in Peace Annie and Henry.

 

sources

https://www.submerged.co.uk/the-wreck-of-the-kyber/  (include some photo credits)

Ancestry.co.uk

British Newspaper Archives