The Marriage of Reuben Milner and Sarah Myers - Leeds May 22nd 1875

I came across this marriage certificate the other day in my family history files

At the time (May 2002) I was looking for the marriage of my great grandmothers twin sister Sarah Ann Myers who was born in Alderney Channel Islands on 16th April 1857. I was unsure about whether or not it was the correct marriage but my late mother did give me some encouragement, stating the name "Milner rang a bell".

Well after lashing out a few quid for a copy of the certificate, it was apparent straightaway that it was not my late mothers great aunt Sal - in fact it had nothing at all to my ancestors. Complete strangers.! But it was a lesson learned the hard way - I am a lot more circumspect nowadays when I order any form of certificate.

In the years following I did learn from the UK Census that my ancestor Sarah Ann Myers did marry a James Burnett who was born in Scotland in 1829 and so was 28 years older than Sarah Ann. And I still have not located a marriage certificate!

100 years ago - Herbert William "Billie" Thomas of Spring Hill Sheffield died 7th October 1916

The Yorkshire Telegraph and Star dated 19th October 1916 carried this small notice in its Births, Marriages and Deaths column.

I posted an article to the site about Billie a few years ago but it struck me that I did not know how John and Gertrude received the news that their only son was killed in action. Did they receive a telegram similar to this

or did they receive the news by post - the Army Form B 104 - 82

Either way the terrible news would have been delivered to them on the doorstep of 37 Spring Hill a hundred years ago this coming week - it certainly makes you think 

William Clegg (1898 - 1989) - World War 1 (Rawmarsh Rotherham)

I received this mail from the son of William Clegg who served in the First World War

" I am writing to see if you can help me with a specific enquiry regarding my fathers service in WW1.

I have my Clegg family history dating back from the mid 1700s. Early all of whom were associated with the the mining industry in and around Sheffield. My grandfather, Charles Clegg b 1869 in Handsworth d 1969, was married to Kate (nee Olivent) b1871 d 1937.

They had six children plus one adopted and lived in Handsworth. census records show they moved from there in 1901 and in 1911 they show up in Rawmarsh. At that time my grandfathers occupation changed from Colliery Banks-man to Insurance Superintendent.

My father, William, b 1898 d 1989 is recorded in 1911 as a scholar in Rawmarsh. The only information that I have about my fathers army service in WW1 is that he was a Batman and delivered messages from his Officer to the trenches. My sister and I have a recollection of a large framed, glass fronted black and white photo of him in army uniform. This disappeared some years ago together with any knowledge of his regiment or brigade. The recollection of this have a plain background suggests it was probably a studio photograph and it would have been unlikely for it be commissioned.

I have tried almost every search engine and history site including those local regimental sites without any luck so far. I'm waiting for a copy of a marriage certificate, my parents were married in 1920 in the hope that he may have still been serving then and it include service details.

Any information or suggestions you are able to make would be very much appreciated.

Thank you and kind regards

This is the family in the 1911 Census living on Rawmarsh Hill Rotherham

 

If anyone can help in answering the questions raised we would be delighted to hear about it.

A Despairing Sight on a Summers Day - Burngreave Cemetery Sheffield Sunday 11th September 2016

As I walked around the Burngreave Cemetery last Sunday, my eye was drawn to the War Memorial that stands on a mound towards the Scott Road Entrance.

For those that are not familiar with the Memorial, this is what the Commonwealth War Graves Commission state

"During the First World War there were two substantial war hospitals in Sheffield, the Wharncliffe, in the Wadsley Asylum, and the 3rd Northern General, housed in 15 separate buildings. The city, a centre for war industry during the Second World War, suffered heavy enemy air-raids during the Blitz with 600 people killed in a single raid in December 1940.

Sheffield (Burngreave) Cemetery contains scattered war graves of both wars. Behind the Cross of Sacrifice in plot JJ is a Screen Wall commemorating those First World War casualties whose graves could not be marked by headstones, most of them buried in the plot of ground immediately in front of it. In front of the Screen Wall are a number of Special Memorial headstones for Second World War casualties buried elsewhere in the cemetery whose graves could not be marked".

In all, the cemetery contains 235 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 57 from the Second."

And so what has happened - some idiot(s) have put their tags in black aerosol paint on the memorial. It is on the side of the plinth and is nothing short of desecration. They should be ashamed of themselves but somehow I think that is unlikely. You do despair at times.

A Sad Sight on a Summers Day - Burngreave Cemetery Sheffield Sunday 11th September 2016

There was an Exhibition and Walk on Sunday 11th September at Sheffield's Burngreave Cemetery. The theme was the Zeppelin attack on Sheffield on 25th/26th September 1916 that led to 29 civilians losing their lives. 25 of those victims are buried in the Cemetery

The raid and its aftermath was one of the first articles that I wrote for the site many years agoand I have kept adding to it since

One of the high explosive bombs landed in Corby Street (now Fred Mulley Road) demolishing No 142 killing Selina (41) and Joseph Tyler (45) and their five children Joseph Henry (14),Ernest (11), Albert (8), Amelia (5) and John (2). The same bomb also killed 11 year old Richard Brewington of 134 Corby Street and fatally injured Martha Shakespeare of 143 Corby Street, who died later in the day in the Royal Infirmary, Infirmary Road.

The seven members of the Tyler family were buried together on Saturday 30th September 1915 in Burngreave Cemetery - the grave reference is E3 093 (Gen) and this is their grave. The names are just initials and the inscription states that they were killed in the air raid on 26th September 1916. The (empty) flower holder to the side states "a token of respect from Bar Mill E.S.C." The inference is that the memorial was funded by the employees of E.S.C. - there was no-one left of the Tyler family to pay for one.

A very sobering sight

 

Crookes Chapel Crookes Cemetery Sheffield

Photos taken Spring 2009 

I have just received this information from Bereavement Services at Sheffield City Council regarding Crookes Chapel. Until a couple of months ago I was unaware that the Chapel was closed for services and as it is one of the few Grade 11 listed buildings in Crookes I decided to find out the reason(s) why.

"We can confirm that, unfortunately, Crookes Cemetery chapel has been closed now for a number of years as the building became unfit for use due to damp and dry rot issues.

The building was surveyed for renovation but funding has not been forthcoming as other priorities such as schools have taken priority for the funding that has been available.

If you need any further information, please let us know".


It is very much as I feared - the building will now be allowed to deteriorate and I suppose eventually it will be deemed a "dangerous structure" and be demolished. It has happened elsewhere and I fear it will happen here. Grade 11 listed buildings are not very high on Sheffield City Council's list of priorities!

The son of James Firth V.C. - Sheffield

This relates to the family of James Firth who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1901 for his actions in the Boer War. He was the first person to be "born and bred" in Sheffield to receive the award.

Alleyne Firth who is mentioned in the mail was James's surviving son.

This came from a reader of the linked article  

"Just a side story somewhat irrelevant, but here it is...I was researching some puzzling postcards in my collection sent from German Silesia to Luton and Tetney which I found years ago in Gloucester on a stall.

It seems they were sent to a Miss Mary Eunice Haith [1902 - 2002]  who married Alan Haith Blow  [guess there was minor some degree of intermarriage there...] in 1935 who himself  had previously been married to Sylvia Dolby [d.1942] whose second marriage  was to Alleyne Firth [who remarried in 1946] 
Alan Haith Blow [1905 - 1989]  became the Borough Engineer in Maldon, Essex.
Best wishes

I replied

"Yes it is a bit irrelevant but fascinating nonetheless. Could I use the information you so kindly sent me on my site/blog?. I feel it may lead to something in time and if it does I will of course let you know.
Thanks again for taking the time and trouble to contact me." 

"No problem, Chris It's amazing what one finds on the web, and there are some amazing stories out there of ordinary people, like the Firth V.C. I never did find out the link  with Silesia  now in Poland - in those days, there were many aristocratic connections between rich Austro-Hungarian and German families and those of equivilent status in the UK and often their youngsters would exchange.  Perhaps the Haiths worked for one such family.  No other clues. Best wishes,"

As before any further information would be most welcome

George Hartley - St Pauls Church Sheffield 1766

Many years ago I posted an article to the site on the long demolished St Paul's Church Sheffield which used to stand where the Peace Gardens now are

Last week I received this e-mail from a reader of the site

"I hope you don't mind me contacting you. I've come across a reference to a George Hartley who was Organist at St Paul's until his dismissal in 1766. I'm interesting in finding a little more about him, particularly the reason for his dismissal, and hoped that you might have come across this information. If you could please get in touch I'd be most appreciative"

This is the "earliest" query I have ever had - it is 250 years old

I replied " I've looked through my notes and I'm afraid I have nothing on George Hartley and his life. The newspapers in Sheffield at that time (1776) were in effect non-existent, and the national press was in its infancy. I have accessed the British Newspapers Archive C18th Burley Collection through the University and despite using a number of search terms I cannot find a reference to George Hartley.

The next thing I can suggest is contacting the Local Archives in Sheffield. I believe that they hold the Parish registers for St Pauls - they may also have additional information".

And so if anyone can supply me with any information on George Hartley and the circumstances surrounding his dismissal I (and a reader of the site) would be grateful. 




"

A Soldier from Sheffield Arthur Malia 1897-1916 - Died on The First Day of the Somme

Last week I received this mail from a reader of the site

"Hope that you remember me. We corresponded some time ago about an article you published about my wife's mother - Blanche Deffley We hope that you are still OK these days and still "exploring " the history of Sheffield. I look at your website regularly and get engrossed with the fascinating stories.
As you are now considered the font of all knowledge I wondered if you had any idea how I could find another photo. I think that I told you last time that my grandfather was killed on the 1st July at the Somme. I have often wondered what he looked like and the anniversary of the battle last week made me decide to make another attempt. Is it just my faulty memory but I seem to remember that I once saw a Sheffield Star with all the photos of Sheffield men who died that day but I wasn't that interested in those days. I wondered if you could advise me of the best way to find any information. His name was Arthur Malia and he was in the K.O.Y.L.I's. Please don't let this interfere with your work but if you could point me in the right direction I would be most grateful. But maybe I'm just clutching at straws and there is no chance after 100 years"

I replied

"The reference to the 10thBtn KOYI rang a bell straightaway. Have a look at this article I posted last year.

http://www.chrishobbs.com/sheffield5/albertwright1916.htm

Albert Wright served in the same battalion as Arthur Mali and sadly met the same fate on the same day. I met one of his descendents earlier this year.which was an enlightening experience.I then attached the following three census forms for Arthur and his family

1891 Census

 

1901 Census

 

1911 Census

 

I also contacted a friend who has a large collection of WW1 photos/images. This is his reply

"I have looked through all my 'stuff' and I can't see an image for Arthur. This includes my database of all images that appeared in the Independent and the Telegraph. That's not to say there isn't one somewhere! "

I also closely checked Ancestry with the same results - there is no service record just the attached.medal cards and panel reference.

The only other avenue I can suggest is the KOYLI Museum in Doncaster - there is the outside chance they may have a photo.

I did find something that may interest you re the family history. The surname changed sometime between 1908 and 1911 from Melia to Malia.There is info on the Melia's on Ancestry that I can access for you if you want me to. And there may be an explanation as to why there are no photos of Arthur and his family

The only cutting I could find is from 01.07.1936 Sheffield Independent (20th Anniversary - In Memorium). I have attached the full sheet. It looks as though it was placed by his daughter Ethel who was just a baby when he died. Very sad notice

I passed on this information and received the following reply

"Once again thanks for all your efforts looking into my past.
It's a pity that we can't find any photo but it's what I feared after all these years.
But thanks for all the other information that you sent which I have never seen before.  I didn't even know that there used to be a Sheffield Independent newspaper. Judy, my wife, vaguely remembered it because she worked in the Teleads at the Star in the late 1950's.
Arthur's wife, Ethel, my grandmother, remarried to a Glossop and went on to  have 5 more children. The crazy thing is that the youngest of these children, Gary, is younger than me so is my uncle.
The Ethel who put the  notice in the paper was, obviously, my mother,and I was born a few months after the date of the notice in Feb 1937.I do remember that when I was young we had a framed photo of a man in our back bedroom in , I think, uniform. I guess this was Arthur. My mother and father divorced and my dad remarried. As is usual, apparently,my step mother moved house and threw everything away that was anyway connected to my mother .
I do remember that he was a very good looking man and I obviously take after him !!!! If only!
I also guess that my step grandad threw all Arthurs letters to Ethel away as we have asked around all my step aunts and uncles with no result.
If I had only been interested in Arthur when I was young I might have been able to meet someone who was with him at the Somme as , after all, when I was 10, say, there must have been survivors of that battle who were only in their 40s or 50s. Even later if I'd thought about it but by then I was too busy playing football, watching Wednesday, drinking beer and chasing girls.
Chris, once again thank you for all your efforts for me.
What fascinating work you do. How do you manage to not get sidetracked down all the blind alleys ?"

And I then received this ver interesting follow-up

" Thanks for your efforts again. My brother and I got our thinking hats on to see if there was any other way to find any information about Arthur and saw, maybe, another way.

Arthur's parents were from County Mayo in Ireland and were staunch Catholics. We wondered if the church had any records going back that far so I contacted St Marie's  Church in Sheffield where we think the Malia family attended. We a1so believed that his name was on a memorial somewhere in Sheffield.

(Note:Arthur appears on the Atlas War Memorial - before joining the army, he was employed by John Browns)

The receptionist told that they had a Deacon who was now researching into the archives and might just have something. So I phoned 

He is in the process of compiling histories of St Marie's and has just finished the time period including the WW 1. Last week he also preached at a service for the catholic soldiers of Sheffield who died at the Somme. He took the names from the memorial for his book and the sermon and mentioned each one in turn. Some he could find no information about. Amongst the few that he could not expand upon was an Arthur Melia and has never been able to find any records about him. 

Deacon Bill Burleigh was amazed and delighted that I had contacted him as he can now tie up  (we think) a loose end. I thought that you wouldn't mind him  having the information that you gave me so I have just emailed him your e-mail. Did I do right and was that OK ?

 He is now going to search his archives to see what he has about Arthur Malia so I'll let you know if he finds anything."

 

Reuben Thompson and Sir John Bingham - Barkers Pool Sheffield 1905

Another photo-card that I came across recently does have a family connection. The card shows the taxi driver a Mr. Reuben Thompson and the noted Sheffield industrialist Sir John Bingham in Barkers Pool Sheffield 1905.

 

Reuben Thompson was to become the owner of a major transport company in Sheffield and was the employer of my grandfather Sid Hemsworth. Sid worked for the company up until the end of the Second World War. Here is a photograph of Sid admiring his handiwork!

 

 

The company had offices on Queens Road Sheffield which are now demolished. They were opposite the Earl of Arundel public-house 

 

A Sheffield Postman - 1909

I came across this postcard a couple of days ago. It depicts a Sheffield Postman. On the reverse of the card dated 20th July 1909 it states that he is their "village postman" but unfortunately does not state which village in Sheffield. The inference is that he may have been a local celebrity given the row of medals on his uniform

 

It is a shame that there is no further information available but that often is the case with photo-cards of this nature  

  

Henry Swan's Grave - Walkley Cemetery Sheffield

Henry Swan was a notable figure in late nineteenth century Shefffield - he was the sole curator of the Ruskin Museum in Walkley from 1875 - 1890

Th following report is from "One Who Knew Him" and was wriiten on the day that Henry was interred in Walkley Cemetery.  

The grave and its memorial had deteriorated over the years - this photo was taken on 24th June 2012 and the grave is barely visible in the lush foliage. 

However interest in John Ruskin and his legacy in Sheffield has increased in recent years and on Saturday 27th June 2015 the Master of the Guild of St George used a ceremony to mark the creation of a new commemorative stone for Henry Swan, the extraordinary curator of St George’s Museum in Walkley

These photos were taken on Sunday 24th April 2016

There is an excellent website that covers Ruskins Legacy in Walkley  

Cossey Road Burngreave Sheffield - 25th September 1916

Whilst I was researching the 29th victim (see previous blog) I came across this photograph that was published on 25th Sepember 1920, the fourth anniversary of the Zeppelin Raid on Sheffield.

No's 26, 28 and 30.Cossey Road Sheffield

"Two high explosives bombs fell in Cossey Road causing dreadful loss of life. The first landed on a block of three terrace houses comprising No's 26, 28 and 30. In No 28 Alice and Albert Newton were killed as they lay in bed. Luckily, their infant son was spending the night with his grandmother in a nearby street and was unharmed. George and Eliza Harrison lived at No 26 with their two daughters and two grandchildren. After the warning had sounded they were joined by their neighbours from No 24, William and Sarah Southerington. George and William stayed in the living room while everyone else took shelter in the cellar. All eight were killed in the explosion. The Southeringtons' house suffered only minor damage and had they stayed at home would probably have survived. The second Cossey Road bomb landed on No 10 killing Levi and Beatrice Hames and their one year old son".

George Ineson - The 29th Victim - Sheffield September 1916

I've just posted an update to the article I wrote many years ago about the Zeppelin Raid on Sheffield in September 1916. Due to wartime restrictions and censorship the newspapers at the time only printed an outline of the attack and its aftermath. But after the cessation of hostilities in November 1918, a far fuller account emerged.

The account was published in the Sheffield Independent dated Tuesday 3rd December 1918. And at the end of the report it made a brief mention of a casuality of the raid. It gave me a lead on a matter that had puzzled me for quite a while. The raid claimed the lives of 28 civillians - 8 men 10 women and 10 children and these were named at the subsequent inquest. But on the memorial plaque at the Baltic Works it states that 29 civillians were killed 9 men 10 women and 10 children. Who was the missing man?

Two days later the paer carried this report which included the reason why the person concerned was missing from the initial total.

George is also unusual in that he is buried in Sheffield's City Road Cemetery. All the other victims with the exception of the Hames family are buried in Sheffield's Burngreave Cemetery

INESON, George (Machine Driller, age 28).

Died at Royal Hospital; Buried on October 5, 1916 in General Portion ground; Grave Number 10172, Section Z of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. 

George was the last victim of an air-raid on Sheffield until the summer of 1940 when three persons lost their lives when the Luftwaffe dropped their first bombs on Sheffield.

Spending A Penny - Sheffield September 1988

In the same edition of the Sheffield Star (Tuesday 13th September 1988) that contained the brief obituary on Walter Holmes (1914-1988) - see previous blog, there was this article that was posted by the excellent Stephen McClarence.

In the 27 years since the article was published nearly all the public toilets in Sheffield have been closed down and in some cases demolished. This is mirrored throughout the country - it is estimated that 1782 toilets have been closed in the last decade alone with many coucils offering no public toilets at all.

There is no legal obligation at all for councils to provide these public facilities but it is an area where there needs to be a wholesale re-think. My own opinion is that comprehensive public toilet facilities should be mandatory in areas that are promoting themselves as tourist destinations, and more basic facilities should be compulsory in towns with a population exceeding 10,000 in number. 

The wholesale absence of these facilities in many towns and cities is not accepatable in Britain in the twenty-first century  

Walter Holmes - The First Man To Bring Television To Sheffield

I came across this article from the Sheffield Star dated Tuesday 13th September 1988. It reports the death at the age of 74 of Walter Holmes, a pioneer in the introduction of television to Sheffield after the Second World War. Until I read the article I was unaware of Walter's contribution to the city.

The same edition carried this notice in the BMD column from Walters family

Death in the Old Mans Hut - Abbeyfield Park Pitsmoor Sheffield - 17th January 1938

I've just posted another article to the site that seems a bit irrelevant at first glance. To me it is not. It concerns the sudden death of a former railway employee John Holland who collapsed in the "old mens hut" in Sheffield's Abbeyfield Park.(Pitsmoor)

John was 71 at the time of his death but I am sure not a day went by when he did not think of his son Ernest and the fate that befell him.

The Parental Neglect of Samuel and Annie Nicholson - Napier Street Sheffield 1903

When I received the call yesterday asking me to appear on BBC Radio Sheffield (see previous blog) I was just finishing this article and posting it to the site 

THE PARENTAL NEGLECT OF SAMUEL AND ANNIE NICHOLSON - SHEFFIELD AUGUST 1903

"My great grandfather's eldest brother WILLIAM HENRY SANBY married an ANN MACKEVOY in 1871 and during the course of their marriage had five children. As ANN was from an Irish family, the children were brought up in the Catholic faith. The eldest was a daughter who was born on 24th April 1872 and named after her mother ANN ELIZA SANBY.

I was researching material on Ancestry when I came across this entry from the Court Books of Sheffield - 25th August 1903. A researcher had placed this information in her family tree next to the entry for ANN ELIZA SANBY. Her married name was NICHOLSON by the way...."   

You can read about my reaction in the article! But thankfully for my sanity it was a case of a person not following the case through and as a result they ended up with a case of mistaken indentity. 

But once I had established the facts (and they were very sobering ones indeed) there were a number of surprises in the aftermath of the 1903 child neglect case especially regarding the fate of Samuel and Annie's eldest son Frederick Joseph Nicholson. 

Dr John Blakley of Crookes and his 1934 Trial for Murder - An Update

Many years ago one of the first articles I posted to tthe site was "Dr John Blakley of Crookes and his 1934 Trial for Murder". I came across the incident in a book by Robert Hancock

As I said at the time, "on the face of it this is just a small provincial drama that in most cases would have been forgotten in the mists of time. The reason why it was not forgotten lies in the life (and death) of Dr Blakely's youngest son David. David Blakely was shot and murdered outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, London on Easter Sunday 1955. The person who pulled the trigger was Ruth Ellis who was hung for the murder  - the last woman to be hanged in England.

Yesterday I was asked to appear on BBC Radio Sheffield and talk about the 1934 court case and its ramifications.  I appeared on Rony Robinson's show this morning Thursday 19th May 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed talking about the 1934 case and its aftermath. For those who want to listen to the interview it is on the BBC Player for a month. It is about 66 mins into the programme after the 11 o'clock news.

I had not looked at the article for a couple of years and so after correcting a broken link or two, I realised that I did not know what became of Dr Blakely after the trial apart from being divorced from his wife in 1940.

Thankfully I was able to access the National Probate Index and found the following entry

Dr Blakely still lived in Crookes at the same address 203 School Road that he did when he started nearly 40 years earlier. He was 67 of age at the time of his death and left just shy of £29,000 in his estate. This is about £600,000 in today's money.

And whilst I was searching the Index I looked up the estate of his errant younger son David Blakely who was murdered by Ruth Ellis just over three years later. Probate was granted to his mother who divorced Dr Blakely in 1940 on the grounds of his (continuing?) adultery. She remarried the following year.  

The First Burial in Walkley Cemetery Sheffield - Mary Pousty (1806 - 1880)

As you may have gathered from the blog, I am a Friend of Walkley Cemetery and have been since the group's inception. A number of my and my wife's ancestors are buried there.

I came across these photographs that I took nearly eight years ago on 25th May 2008.

 This headstone marks the first burial in the Cemetery and is for a Mary Pousty who was born in Gleadless on 25th June 1908 and "fell asleep in Crookesmoor" on May 9th 1880. Mary was buried two days later on May 11th 1880 age 73 years

Here are a few additional details -

Household Record  1871 British Census Census RG 10 piece 76 Folio 5 Page 4
Shawfield St, St Luke, London Middlesex
Richard Lunn     Head     m          31     1840          Kent  
Martha Lunn     Mother           f     71     1800          Yorkshire    
Mary Pousty     Aunt               f     64     1807          Kent
John P Clegg     Boarder     m     22     1849          Staff
Rodes William P     Boarder     m     22     1849          Staff
Moreton Charles Z     Boarder     m     22     1849          Warwickshire

Household Record  1881 British Census 
Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
Richard LUNN   Head   M   Male   41   Bromley, Kent, England   Artist In Oil & Water Colours    
Elizabeth Valentine LUNN   Wife   M   Female   33   Armthorpe, York, England   Housewife    
Martha Annie LUNN   Daughter      Female   3   Sheffd, York, England       
Martha LUNN   Mother   W   Female   82   Gleadless, York, England       
Mary Ann POASTY   Cousin   U   Female   41   Gleadless, York, England   Nurse Dom    
Clara Ellen COATES   Servant   U   Female   20   Wisewood, York, England   General Servant Dom    
Source Information:
Dwelling   60 Barbour Rd Census Place Nether Hallam, York, England   Family History Library Film   1342117   Public Records Office Reference   RG11   Piece / Folio   4627 / 39   Page Number   27

1880 Death
Mary Pousty died 2nd qtr 1880 Ecclesall Bierlow, Yorks aged 73 (Derived birth 1807)
1880 Burial
Mary Pousty 11 May 1880 aged 73 Walkley St Mary, West Riding Yorkshire

 

Incidentally the headstone is in remarkable condition for its age - a testament to the skill and workmanship of the Victorian stonemason