CHURCHYARD EPITAPHS Recorded in 1934 before the bomb ripped through the grave yard in 1940
REV. F. W. AUSTEN
POETRY of a high class is certainly not to be found by a study of churchyard epitaphs, but all the same such epitaphs have their interest, as showing what has appealed to many a simple and unsophisticated mind. The present writer made a very thorough examination of the gravestones in the churchyard of Stock in the year 1934 and was able to decipher some of the epitaphs, which had then become very faint.
The high explosive bomb which wrought such havoc on Stock Church on the evening of Friday, 13 December, 1940, deposited itself in the midst of the old churchyard and did much damage to the graves. It is a satisfaction therefore to have the record of the epitaphs, as found in 1934, still to refer to and to be able to reproduce some of them:
A long affliction did our lives attend But time and patience brought it to an end And now our Bodies rest with Mothers clay Until the joyful resurrection day (1799)
The blast that nipped my strength will conquer thee It strikes the bud the blossom and the tree Since life is short and Death is always nigh On many years to count let none rely Therefore the present time wisely employ That thou mayst gain eternal life and joy (1807)
Here lies the mortal part of a beloved wife Prudent in all her actions during life A tender mother, a faithful consort here Lamented by her spouse and children dear (1823)
Afflictions sore long time l bore Physicians were in vain Till Christ did please to give me ease And free me from my pain (1825)
Upon this humble bed of earth Reclines the man of real worth Whose life tho' long was void of blame See-stranger here his spotless name (1825)
Beloved till life could claim no more And mourned till memories shall be dead (1828)
Grieve not man, whosoever thou art That thou to earth must fall It was the portion and the part Of Him that saved us all (1828)
How hard it is to part with those Whom we have held most dear The heart no greater trial knows There is no sorrow more severe (1840)
Remember me as you pass by As you are now so once was I As I am now so must you be Therefore prepare to follow me Life is uncertain, death is sure Sin's the wound, but Christ the cure (1845)
A tender mother and a kind neighbour (1845)
Beneath this tomb an Infant lies To earth whose Body's lent Hereafter shall more glorious rise But not more Innocent (1848)
While travelling through life's varied maze Remote from dear lov'd friends and happy home By death were shortened suddenly my days And my last Inn is this sepulchral tomb As therefore time of warning was not mine Remember, stranger, it may not be Chine (1848)
We cannot tell who next may fall Beneath God's chastening rod One must be first, so let us all Like her, prepare to meet our God (1849)
If ever the dead could claim a tear Twere well that such were given here Through the whole tenor of her life She was the Mother Friend and Wife (1857)
Of one beloved the mortal part lies here A tender Husband and a Father dear His spirit now we trust hath winged its flight To endless glory in the realms of light (1859)
Affection weeps, but faith forbids the tear (1863)
A kind hearted Dutiful Father respected by His friends and Respected by all Who knew him. (1867)
We sleep in Jesus, Blessed sleep From which none ever wake to weep (1874)
Gone but not forgotten (1891)
God in His tender care Our loved ones keepeth And softly whispers to our hearts They are not dead but sleepeth (1898)
O weep not for her tis unkindness to weep The weary weak frame is but fallen asleep No more of fatigue and endurance she knows O weep not o break not the gentle repose (1901)
The grave may rob us of our joys And take our loved ones dear How oft it severs earthly ties And brings the trickling tear A father gone, a mother lost Mourned by their children here Who hope to meet them on that coast Where is no parting there (1913)
From his Mother's Arms to The Arms of Jesus (date uncertain)
Results the 1940 bomb
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