Interesting entries in the Burial Registers
John Roberts
John Roberts died in May 1836 aged 78 years and was buried Saturday 7th May 1836.
John was the planner who brought water to the town from the Garth. He was a former plumber and glazier from Presteigne. His place of death is given as 'House containing the reservoir for water, Pig Market, Knighton' This house is now known as the 'Waterhouse' and is situated in what is now known as Market Street, oposite the Plough Inn.
Waterhouse
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Richard Jones Evans
Hereford Times, Saturday 8th April 1837
POETRY
ON RICHARD EVANS, AGED 26,
Who committed suicide on being charged with
burglary, at Knighton, Radnor, March 25, 1837.
" Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius."
He stood before the public eye,
O'erwhelmed in deep disgrace ;
Contempt and grinning Infamy
Were laughing in his face.
Yet calm his mien—serene his air,
And decent his address ;
None in that face could read despair,
Or guilt, or loneliness.
Friendless he stood before his kind,
Charged with debasing crime
if guilt were his—the power of mind
Was, e'en in guilt, sublime !
What cared he for the frowns he saw
For all frail man could say.
One bitter pang--and baffled law
Was cheated of its prey.
His thoughts were on that dreamless sleep,
Where earthly morrows end.
Let coward souls go toil and weep
He had made death his friend.
Some on that brow may only read
Guilt's foul and lasting brand ;
I must applaud the gallant deed,
Though from a felon's hand.
For thee—low on my bended knee,
I plead in earnest prayer;
Father of all! let not my plea
Be idly lost in air.
Farewell who shall presume to say
Where thy brave spirit fled?
He who gave life to senseless clay,
Alone can judge the dead.
He knows how vice, with secret art,
Corrupteth all within.
The power that form'd will judge the heart,
And love will plead for sin.
With aching heart I saw thee bleed—
Here may thy sorrows cease—
May God in mercy view the deed,
And calm thy soul to peace.
Full name was Richard Jones Evans, died 25th March, buried 28th March 1837.
The Entry in the register reads;
'Committed suicide by shooting himself through the head with a pistol. And in consequence of the Coroners Jury bringing in a verdict of "Felo de se" was buried in the Church yard but without funeral rites.'
Felo de se, Latin for "felon of himself", is an archaic legal term meaning suicide. In early English common law, an adult who committed suicide was literally a felon, and the crime was punishable by forfeiture of property to the king and what was considered a shameful burial.
The title of the poem "Cassius from Bondage will deliver Cassius" is taken from the play 'Julius Caesar' by William Shakespeare. Act 1, Scene 3.
CASSIUS
I know where I’ll wear this dagger, then. I’ll kill myself to save myself from slavery. In suicide, gods make the weak strong. In suicide, gods allow tyrants to be defeated. No stony tower, no brass walls, no airless dungeon, no iron chains can contain a strong mind. But if a man becomes weary of these obstacles, he can always kill himself. Let everyone beware: I can shake off the tyranny that now oppresses me whenever I choose.
It is referring to Cassius being able to commit suicide if he so chooses and no power (including gods or Caesar) can stop him
Hereford Times - 15th April 1837
POETRY
ON THE FUNERAL OF R. J. EVANS.
The stars were dim in the still noontide,
As I stood by the grave of the suicide!
I stood—in deep grief that I could not save
A mind so gifted, a heart so brave.
No curious or idle crowd drew near,
Nor did friendship hallow the spot with a tear;
One lantern gleamed faint on the frozen ground,
As it fell on the coffin with hollow sound;
No mourners attended—no priest was there
To offer to Heaven the decent prayer;
But never was earthly funeral viewed,
By all who were there, in more solemn mood,
And seldom a feeling so deep and sincere
Hath deigned to follow the costly bier.
"Poor fellow !" I heard the bystanders say,
As we gave his bones to their kindred clay;
And I bowed me down on a cold tomb-stone
And silently prayed to Heaven, alone;
I prayed from my heart to the Great "I am,"
That his soul might be saved by the blood of the Lamb.
And while I lingered, a sweet calm stole
O'er all my senses, and gladdened my soul,
And pensive I gazed where the corse lay interred,
And I joyed-for I felt that the prayer was heard.
Richard Jones Evans, who committed suicide at Knighton, on the 25th of March, by shooting himself through the head with a pistol, was the illegitimate son of a respectable farmer in the county of Radnor. He was charged with having broken into the dwelling-house of a Mr. Collier, and stolen a quantity of books from thence, while it was locked up and uninhabited during the owner's absence in London. Shortly after being committed to take his trial, he drew a small pistol from his pocket, and thus closed his mortal career. An inquest was held on the body, and a verdict of felo de se returned. It appeared, on the inquest, that he had kept a school in Knighton, and that he was a man of studious and sober habits, and of quiet demeanour. He seems to have fallen a victim, among. many others, to the seductions of loose women and unprincipled associates he was often in great want, as he had no regular trade or means of support . but on his examination before the magistrate he was well dressed, and it was evident that he had acquired a considerable degree of education. He was about 23 years of age, and Of a prepossessing appearance.
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John Evans
St. Edwards Church burial register August 1910, entry No. 1198
Anna Maria Nash aged 68 years who died at Whitehall, Knighton was buried on 25th August 1910.
Anna died on 21st August.
The vicar has written in the margin - X No. 1198 the grave was made too small & the assistant grave digger died in the grave while engaged in hurriedly enlarging it. DGM
DGM would have been the Reverend Duncan Gordon Macpherson who was vicar of St. Edwards Church 1908-1915
South Wales Daily Post - 26th August 1910
KNIGHTON TRAGEDY. GRAVEDIGGER DIES IN A GRAVE. A sad event occurred in Knighton Cemetery on Thursday. While a funeral was approaching some earth fell into the grave which had been prepared, and a man named John Evans, assistant gravedigger, went down to throw it out. While there he suddenly fell backwards, and on being drawn up it was found he was dead. The mourners retired for a little while until the service could be continued under such tragic circumstances.
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Walter Ravenseroft
Weekly Mail - 3rd February 1883
KNIGHTON. Writing on Monday, our correspondent at Knighton says - A fearful gale has been raging in this district for the last 24 hours, and the river Teme and its tributaries are much flooded. A lad named Walter Ravenseroft, son of the late Mr. E. Ravenscroft, station master, was returning from school on Monday morning, when he ran across a chain which spanned the Wilcombe Brook, and failing into the water was dashed along by the stream through a long culvert into the river. Efforts were made to rescue him, but without avail, and his dead body has since been found in the bed of the river nearly a mile away.
Shrewsbury Chronicle - 2nd February 1883
A SCHOOLBOY DROWNED:--- W. Stephens, Esq., coroner for West Radnorshire, held an inquest at the Police Court, Knighton, on Wednesday, on the body of a lad Named Walter Watkins Ravenscroft, seven years of age, who was found drowned in the river Teme on Monday last.
The Jury having viewed the body.
The first witness called was Andrew Mills, seven years old, son of William Mills, stationmaster, who stated: I was with the deceased at play. We were schoolfellows. We were playing near Mr Peters' office; it was about 12 30 on Monday. We were alone. He was leaning on the chain beside the brook. I was near the lamp-post. I saw him fall in the brook head first. He screamed for help. I was very much frightened. I ran to tell Mr. Parton at the Central Wales Railway Inn. I did not see deceased again. I told Mr Parton deceased had fallen into the river, and he ran down the station yard. The water was very high. I only heard one scream.
After hearing the evidence of Mr C F Langford, the Coroner in summing up said they would have no doubt as to the manner in which this poor little fellow came to his death, namely, by accidentally falling into the river and being carried away by the current. He personally had often wondered that the Local Board of Knighton had never done anything to cover over the Wilcome Brook, which was an offence in summer, and so narrowed the road that it was a great source of danger from horses at fairs. This might involve a small outlay, but the extra space and profit from sheep pens would soon repay it.
The Jury at once returned a verdict that deceased met with his death by drowning, and considered the protection from the brook inadequate.
Walter Watkins Ravenscroft was actually 6 and a half years old and was buried in Knighton on 31st January 1883.
Walter was the son of Edward Ravenscroft and his second wife Mary Watkins.
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FANNY HARRINGTON
Born January 3rd 1869 - Died May 27th 1891
Grave Reference: - R-18
South Wales Daily News - 1st June 1891
KNIGHTON. SAD DEATH OF A YOUNG LADY.—On Saturday afternoon, at Knighton Cemetery, the remains of Miss Fanny Harrington, aged 22, second daughter of Mrs Harrington, Salop Villas, Knighton, were laid in their last resting-place. The circumstances of her death were very sad, the immediate cause being a fall over the pier at Blackpool on Wednesday evening. Deceased was a governess in the service of Mr Greenwood, of Blackburn, and on the above date it appears that she went for a stroll on the North Pier at Blackpool. While sitting near the Pavilion her attention was attracted by something in the water. Getting up and kneeling on her seat, the better to discern the object, she suddenly became giddy and fell over into the sea, a distance of about 40 feet. A man in the employ of the Pier Company plunged into the water, and succeeded, after gallant efforts, in bringing the young lady to the pier. Animation was restored, but the shock had been too great, and in spite of every attention the unfortunate lady expired the same evening.
Fanny was buried in Knighton old cemetery on 30th May 1891. Her sister, Ada, was buried with her in 1917.
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The Allen Brothers
Evening Telegraph 16 December 1901
GREAT SNOW STORM IN RADNORSHIRE
Never within living memory has such a snow storm been experienced in Radnorshire and South Shropshire as during the last four days. Knighton and neighbourhood were cut off from telegraphic communication from Thursday to Saturday. A man named Barker was found dead on the highway at Bleddfa. Two brothers named Allen are believed to have perished on the hills,
Evening Telegraph 16 December 1901
LOST IN THE SNOW - GAMEKEEPERS MISSING.
The Central News’ Knighton correspondent telegraphs that two gamekeepers are missing from their homes at Llangunllo. It is supposed they have been lost in the snow on the Radnorshire Beacons; but no trace of them have yet been found. They have been missing since Thursday. A dog which accompanied them returned home on Friday. A third man has been found dead in a snowdrift in the same neighbourhood.
Manchester Courier - 17th December 1901
The bodies of two brothers, William and Edward Allen, who were lost in the snow on Knighton Beacons, have been found.
Lincolnshire Echo - 17th December 1901
BROTHERS PERISH IN THE SNOW - Their arms clasped around each others neck.
The dead bodies of two brothers, William and Edward Allen, who were lost in the snowstorm on Knighton Beacon on Thursday evening, were discovered on Sunday evening. The poor fellows had succumbed within 300 yards of their home, which they had vainly endeavoured to find. They were found lying in the snow, with Their arms clasped around each others neck. The elder one had tried to shelter the younger one by wrapping his overcoat around him. William Allen leaves a widow and one child; Edward Allen was unmarried.
Wellington Journal - 21st December 1901
TWO BROTHERS LOST IN SNOW NEAR KNIGHTON.
One of the most tragic and painful occurrences that have happened in Radnorshire took place on Thursday in last week. Two brothers, named William and Edward Allen, sons of Mr. R. Allen of the Beacon Lodge, Llangunllo, a gamekeeper to the Rev. Alfred Green-Price, attended Knighton market on that day, and returned home by the market train due at Llangunllo at 4-40. Snow had been falling from early morning, and a high wind prevailed, throwing up drifts along the country roads of enormous height. The brothers Allen, accompanied by two other men, alighted at Llangunllo Station, and, after parting with their companions, endeavoured to make their way across the bleak moorland to Beacon Lodge. Nothing more seems to have been heard of them, and their parents did not feel much anxiety, as it was thought they had either stayed at Knighton or taken shelter in some neighbouring house.
On Saturday morning however a sheep dog which had been with them returned to the Lodge. This circumstance aroused the fear of the parents, and a search was at once commenced, but without any satisfactory result. Early on Sunday morning some 200 neighbours and friends turned out with pickaxes and spades to attack the drifts on the road, which were, in some instances, l0ft. to 15ft. high. About one o'clock Mr. Thos. Williams of Cwmheyope discovered a walking-stick in the ground, and near it he saw two boots protruding through the snow. He then found the bodies of the two men lying close together, with their arms round each other's neck, clasped in the embrace of death. The older son, William, had partially taken off his overcoat, and evidently tried to wrap it round his younger brother. The pathetic part of the narrative is that, although they might not have known it, the men perished within a few hundred yards of their home.
THE INQUEST was held at the Beacon Lodge, Llangunllo, on Wednesday afternoon, before Mr. F. L. Green (coroner for East Radnorshire).---The coroner, jurors, reporters, and others experienced difficulty in getting to Beacon Lodge, which is a good 2½ miles from Llangunllo Station, and the road is still almost impassable from snowdrifts.
Richard Allen identified the bodies as those of his sons, William (aged 28) and Edward (aged 19). He last saw William alive on the previous Sunday week, and Edward left him at about five o'clock on the Thursday morning to go to Knighton market. His son William was married, and lived at The Tops, Llangunllo, and Edward lived with him.
James Penry James (Upper Firley) said he saw both brothers at Llangunllo Station at about 5 p.m. on the previous Thursday. They had come up by the market train from Knighton that evening. They left the station with witness and walked with him to the top of Llancoch Pitch. Witness then turned off to his house, and the two brothers proceeded in the direction of their home. He had not seen them since:
Mr. John Matthews (a juror): Did you hear anyone shouting after you reached your home?
Witness: I fancy I did, and I opened the door, and asked who was about. I received no reply, and I closed the door again.
Thos Williams, farmer, Cwmheyope, said he with others went out to search for the lost brothers on Sunday, and when standing about halfway between a road and a fence he saw two Men lying down. They were side by side, and quite dead. William Allen had his right arm round his brother Edward, and William's over-coat was laid over the younger brother. He first saw the heel of one of Edward's boots. There was only a little snow on the legs of either of the men, and a slight covering of snow on their shoulders. Witness was a stranger in the neighbourhood, and not well acquainted with the deceased or the land about there, but had seen the one brother on several occasions. There was nothing to lead him to suppose that the men had met their death in any other way but by starvation from cold.
Dr. Graves said he had examined the bodies, and found no marks of violence of any kind. No doubt the men died from exposure,
The Coroner said there could be little doubt from the evidence that the unfortunate men had met their deaths by being lost n the snow during the storm last week. They died from exposure to cold.
A verdict to that effect was returned, and the jury awarded praise to Police-constable Lewis and the willing band of workers who had toiled day and night to endeavour to rescue the men.
Wellington Journal - 28th December 1901
THE RADNORSHIRE TRAGEDY.
FUNERAL OF THE BROTHERS ALLEN. EXTRAORDINARY SCENE.
The bodies of the brothers, William and Edward Allen, who were found dead in the snow near their homes on the Radnorshire Beacons, as already recorded in the " Journal", were buried in Llangunllo churchyard yesterday week. The snow Was still lying in immense drills over the mountain, and the greatest difficulty was experienced in removing the remains from Beacon Lodge. The road was quite impassable, and it would have taken many men several days to clear it. In this dilemma Dr. Hoffman of Knighton kindly offered the use of his sledge, and a neighbouring farmer allowed his hedges to be cut through and a passage made across one of his fields. The coffins were laid in the sledge, and over 100 men took turns at the ropes which were attached on all sides, and by this means the bodies were brought down the hillside to Llangunllo Church, where a large concourse of people had assembled. The first portion of the service was read by Rev. H. C. Green Price (rector of Brampton Bryan), and the latter portion by Rev. John Evans (vicar of the parish). The brothers were laid in one large grave side by side. The service throughout was most impressive, and the deepest sympathy is felt for the bereaved parents and the widow of William with her orphaned child.
William Allen, 26 married Mary Rees, 20 in Llangunllo on 4th April 1900. They had one daughter, Fanny Jane Allen born in late 1900.
Mary was carrying their second child when William died. On 19th March 1902 Mary baptised her 2 children, Fanny Jane and William Edward, in Whitton Church. It is nice to think that Mary named her son after his father and uncle.
In 1903 Mary married Thomas Morgan in Kington and moved to Oaklands Lodge near Brecon. Thomas was a widower and 12 years her senior.
Dr. (Arthur) Hoffman, Knighton - originally born in Suffolk. was a Doctor Of Medicine living at Whitehall, Knighton
Rev. H C (Herbert Chase) Green Price (rector of Brampton Bryan), was the son of Sir Richard Green Price, Bart., of Norton Manor, and his first wife Laura.