Genealogy Chat

i am still looking for my wifes grandmothers grave - we now have confirmation that she was buried in st bartholomews church in west pinchbeck spalding lincs in 1972 but i keep phoning the church and get no reply - any suggestions?? thanks

Do you know for a fact that she was buried there...or that that is where the burial service was held. Many churchyards are full and burials had to be at a nearby cemetery. I don't know the area, so don't know if that might be the case here. By a Google search, I found a phone number for churchwardens, ...maybe they can help. Address here....... http://www.glengroup.org.uk/ Gwyn

Try writing to them and enclose an SSEA for their convenience. They are more likely to reply that way. Nowadays, many churches, especially in smaller parishes, are only opened up on Sundays, unless there is a funeral or wedding happening on one of the other days. There simply might not be anyone there to take your call. If you can find out the address, and if there is one, I would post it to the vicarage instead. As Gwyneth has said, the funeral service may have been held at the church, but it doesn't necessarily mean the lady was buried there. They may be able to help you as it was as relatively recently as 1972, but if the grave yard/cemetery is large and if there was no gravestone placed on the grave (they're expensive and many people can't afford them) you might need to go there in person and have a look or perhaps consult records at an archives centre. I recently emailed the priest of the church which is in an area where a lot of my relations lived a long time ago. The website invited enquiries (though not specifically about this subject) and seemed quite informal. I simply asked if he was aware of any gravestones that had my family name on them, to help me decide if it was worth travelling there in person. He replied to say that the graveyard was large, much of the old section was in a poor state and unfortunately he simply didn't have time to walk round and take a look. You may also just have to go and have a look foryourself.

Hi Paul, I was mooching around the graveyard of the other church, St Mary's, in Pinchbeck a year or so ago, and happened to meet the vicar there, who also is the incumbent at St Bartholomew's. I explained I was looking for gravestones, and he advised me to contact his PA as all the headstones had been recorded. He gave me a copy of a leaflet called the 'Weekly Pew Sheet' which you can find on the website Gwyneth has listed. There are a couple of e-mail addresses on there which might be useful. I sent a donation (not that they asked for one) along with the details, and I got several sheets of information back, one for each headstone. It's possible that they might have done the same for St Bartholomew's. Chris

Hi Paul When I wanted to find the burial plot of one of my ancestors I rang the council in charge of cemeteries for that area. The records were actually held at the crematorium local to that area. As it was only a ten minute drive from my house, I went and searched the records myself for the plot number. Then I made an appointment to meet one of the cemetery staff and with the aid of the plot number he was able to take me straight to the grave. I have found this address and phone number for you Spalding Cemetery 94 Pinchbeck Road Spalding Lincolnshire PE11 1QL Tel: 01775 764763 Give them a ring and see if they can help you out. There may or may not b e a charge. If you aren't local to the area there is a thread on Records where people from all over the country have volunteered to go to cemeteries to take pictures. Or just put a thread of your own up asking if anyone will visit. Good Luck Jeanette x

nudge for Paul. Gail

Hi Paul I think Spalding is Lincolnshire not sure so check but if it is it might be worth popping into the Lincoln record office or ringing them as they have graveyard inscriptions also telling you where they are buried. Hope this helps you Sue

thanks everyone for all your help - have come to a complete dead end now - have spoken to the church warden who looked at the records yesterday and he said that a survey was done before his time there and there is no record of my wifes grandmother being buried there. Lincolnshire acheives have stated the burial took place there on march 8th 1972 ... don't know what else we can do now it seems rediculous that they seem to have lost where she is after only 36 years

Paul, I thought I'd add to this thread rather than your other one, because of your last post on here stating that the archives confirm your wife's grandmother was buried at West Pinchbeck. I found a list of depositions made at the Lincolnshire Archives from West Pinchbeck: http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/upload/public/attachments/548/WestPinchbeckpar0305.pdf The burials register covering the period you're interested in is indeed at the archives (see page 1 of the document), so they would be in a position to confirm the burial. There is also a register of services (page 6) which would list the burial service and should also confirm the burial. It might also state whether the grave was new or re-opened. Something which looks like it could be interesting is on page 2 under Churchyard and Parish Property - Item 5: List of faculties issued for the reservation of grave spaces 1961 to 1985. If you're lucky the grave you're after might be in this list, and it might give some idea of where it is. It's just possible at any rate - worth contacting the archives again maybe? Chris

My great-grandparents and my great-grandmother's sister are buried in the same grave in Highgate Cemetry. Luckily my mother had the grave number written down. My daughter contacted the Cemetry (it is private now and not open to the public any more). She had to pay a fee to them. They found the grave and cleaned it up (removed all the ivy, moss etc). After that we visited - they showed us where it was and we were able to take photos and do a bit of gardening. It was still standing (from 1908 and then 1933), but some of the grave stones near it including the one next to it had fallen over and a lot of the graves had been literally uprooted by trees. By the way, the grave number was on the front of the grave at the bottom. When all the ivy etc had been removed it was visible. I do hope you find the grave - are there any photos of it? We have some from when it was first established. Best wishes.