I had no idea what was going on underground with these stones. You’ve done fabulous work to bring them back and explain the craftsmanship. I especially like the font choices on that Union soldier one. The restoration really shows off the design.
If you look at the monument again, in faint letters at bottom right, you see the words Howorth & Burns. Howorth was an accomplished stone cutter from England and Burns was a furniture dealer who also sold coffins. The "Shield" style that Howorth carved was used for only one other in the area, also a Doctor. This is a perfect example of Victorian design. Thanks for reading, Denyse.
This is so interesting! I did not know anything about how gravestones were set in the ground, and I will never not think about this again when visiting cemeteries! How did you figure out the bricks came from the church if it had disappeared? Did the bricks end up getting repurposed elsewhere locally?
We used a combination of historical records and a lot of digging over four years to figure it all out. My academic training is in archeology. There are ways to date the bricks and the rest we surmised to fill in the gaps. My team has repaired about two hundred gravestones in the area. I have posted a number of these stories under the "Grave Insights" moniker. Thank you for reading. - Dave
You're just amazing. I love these posts.
I had no idea what was going on underground with these stones. You’ve done fabulous work to bring them back and explain the craftsmanship. I especially like the font choices on that Union soldier one. The restoration really shows off the design.
If you look at the monument again, in faint letters at bottom right, you see the words Howorth & Burns. Howorth was an accomplished stone cutter from England and Burns was a furniture dealer who also sold coffins. The "Shield" style that Howorth carved was used for only one other in the area, also a Doctor. This is a perfect example of Victorian design. Thanks for reading, Denyse.
This is so interesting! I did not know anything about how gravestones were set in the ground, and I will never not think about this again when visiting cemeteries! How did you figure out the bricks came from the church if it had disappeared? Did the bricks end up getting repurposed elsewhere locally?
We used a combination of historical records and a lot of digging over four years to figure it all out. My academic training is in archeology. There are ways to date the bricks and the rest we surmised to fill in the gaps. My team has repaired about two hundred gravestones in the area. I have posted a number of these stories under the "Grave Insights" moniker. Thank you for reading. - Dave