Cemeteries
19th century
Charles Rayner Freeman (of Stowupland Hall) bought part of Pitman’s Meadow (T.M346 – owner George Faulkner, occupier Edwin Pyman) as land for Trinity Church and its churchyard in 1842. He later gifted additional land for the school but also to enlarge the churchyard in 1865 {ECA}.
By the early 1900’s the Holy Trinity churchyard was becoming full. In April 1903 H F Harwood proposed that the Parish Council ‘take into consideration the necessity of providing an additional burial ground’. Although Mr Harwood had bought Stowupland Hall in the 1870’s and owned other land in Stowupland his place of residence was Tuddenham Hall.
By January 1904 a sub-committee was considering two possible sites:
Spoonmans Field – where today’s (2021) allotments are
or
part of a Crown farm meadow, which owned by Mr Harwood, but in the early 1900’s was occupied by Edgar Abbott.
By August 1904, the Crown Farm meadow was deemed ‘very suitable’, possibly because of ite proximity to the church. Matters proceeded, with H.E. Wilkes instructed to deal with the conveyancing and the approval of local residents was sought.
On 14th December 1904, ‘a very wet day’, Her Majesty’s Inspector visited the site to see five holes which had been dug, each eight feet deep. They ‘appeared satisfactory’. in some parishes, very stony ground would not have been suitable for grave-digging: here it seems likely that the main concern was that the holes might fill with water!
Conveyancing of one acre of Barn meadow was completed on 28th June 1905. The land was sold by Henry F Harwood for C35. Many practicalities followed: the need for iron fencing, oak gates, the planting of trees and shrubs, preparation of a table of fees, employment of a grave digger (Charles Catchpole, Margaret’s father), who would also maintain the burial ground, the purchase of a bier and of a building to house tools and the bier.T he proposal for a wooden building was rejected in favour of brick. Tenders were requested for one of white and red brick. Tenders by Mr. Meakings were accepted for the fencing, gates and building.
Burials were to commence next to the road with the first being in the Autumn of 1909 (date of death 23rd November) {NL}
The Rev Brame in his unpulished manuscript As I Remember It shared some interesting insights about the cemetery.
According to him the ‘field had been chosen because it was roughly at an equal distance from the Church and the Chapel.‘ on the east side was the Holy ground where “church” people could be buried, the west was for others such as “Chapel” people or Roman Catholics.
‘Down the centre was a wide gravel pathway which circled round the end of the field, to accommodate a hearse drawn by two or four black horses, according to your social statues! Ordinary cottagers like us were carried on a hand bier.’
Two Commonwealth war graves are registered in Stowupland cemetery.
John Robert Garnham (d.1915 age 21)
The 1911 census tells us John was 17 and the eldest son of William and Amelia Garnham of Eye Road, Kenton, Stowmarket. William was a stocksman and John was a farm labourer. He had 3 brothers and 4 sisters.
He joined the military on 7th September 1914, first as a private 18932 in the Royal Field Artillery and later going to the 3rd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment. Following his death whilst in Briatin he was laid to rest in Stowupland Cemetery. (research by a local resident for a grave side service of remembrance in 2018)
Dennis William Tricker (d. 1943)
At the time of writing (2022) little is known about Dennis Tricker. Tricker is a surname common to several families in Stowupland. The 1939 war survey names a William Tricker (b.1861) as living on The Green. Dennis’ family lived in Barn Cottages, his parents are buried in adjacent plots in Stowupland cemetery.
