Angrave Oak Leaf

Oak leaf

Here is the oak leaf detail from the 1880 grave of John Angrave. He dies aged 75, and his wife Frances joined him in 1892 having died aged 84. Great ages for the time!

The Oak leaf carved into this slate headstone is symbolic of longevity, quite a fitting symbol in this case. Oak leaves can also be symbolic of strength, nobility and stability.

This grave was found in the churchyard of Saint Mary's in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England.

Door Handle

Door Handle

Detail from one of the doors at All Saints Church, Cossington, Leicestershire, England. Many church doors feature elaborate ironwork hinges and handles.

A sorrowful Christmas

Walter Edgar

Walter Edgar was the beloved and only child of Sam and Mary Ann Sansom. He died aged 3 years and 11 months, 25th December 1878.

Farewell thou little blooming bud

Just bursting into flower

We give thee up, but oh the pang

Of that sad parting hour

Walter was joined by his father in 1921. Buried together in Church Cemetery, Nottingham, England.

The Costobadie's

The Costobadie's

These crosses mark the graves of Colonel Henry Holmes Costobadie and his wife Gertrude Elise Lucas. They lie in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, in Edith Weston, which is near to Rutland water nature reserve, in Rutland, England. 

It was difficult to read the moss covered, worn stones, but the surname is an unusual one and a quick search proved fruitful. Gertrude was the daughter of George Vere Braithwaite of Edith Weston Hall. The Costobadie's are listed in the Huguenot Pedigrees vol.1, by Charles Edmund Lart. 

Huguenot's were Protestant refugees from France, who first started to leave their homeland in the 16th Century. Many settled in the Southern parts of Britain. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Costobadie, as he is listed in the London Gazette, 10th February 1925, served in and retired from the Royal Horse Artillery. He died in August 1924, and was by this time living in Stamford Baron St Martin, which historically is a part of Northamptonshire, but is now considered to be a part of Lincolnshire.

Frances Cooper

Frances Sophia Cooper

In Loving memory of Frances Sophia Cooper, who died in 1939. If I read correctly, she was just four years old. 
This stone was found in the churchyard of St Philip and St James, the Parish Church of Groby, Leicestershire, England. The church was built in 1840 by the Earl of Stamford as it was then nearer to his home, Bradgate House, than the church of near by Ratby.

Praises on tombs are vainly spent....

....A man's good name is his best monument

Although I agree with the sentiment expressed on this monument, what a monument it is to put such a statement on!!

This is the upper portion of the grave marker for Frederick Collins, who died in 1913 and later his wife Ellen who joined him in 1919. Although this is not a Victorian monument, Mr Collins at 75, would have lived much of his life as a Victorian, and they preferred height to girth when it came to grave markings, and this mixed material monument reached skyward in style.

All Saints Cossington

All Saints, Cossington

Cossington is a village in Leicestershire, England. All Saints Church had some interesting grave stones and some interesting features, like a sundial carved into the stone.

The church dates mostly from the 13th Century, the oldest parts are from the 12th Century, with renovations taking place in the 1860's. A really pretty setting.

Angel

Angel

This is an Angel detailing from a grave with a surround, found in the cemetery of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. 

A little bit unfortunate is the placing of the watermark right across the eyes, but it has become a necessity, as grave photo's were the first of my photographs that I found to go wandering around the internet without my permission, links back to me or in some cases no interaction from the person using them. If someone really likes one of my photo's, it's nice to know that :)

Slate Sundial

Slate Sundial

I found this Sundial in the churchyard of All Saints with Holy Trinity, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.

I was out testing an old Pentacon 50mm lens on my digital camera when I found this. Considering how many times I have walked through this churchyard, I had never seen it before. However, there is some building work going on near by and perhaps this has recently been uncovered from somewhere near by the church. Perhaps I have just not noticed it before. I really like the look of this old Sundial though, it is a shame that it has been damaged.

Pray for the soul of Jane

Pray for the soul of Jane

This is a detail from the impressive grave marker of Jane Smith who died in 1864. She was followed in 1892 by her husband John. The Smiths are buried in Loughborough Cemetery.

I believe this detailing to be Ivy, which symbolizes wedded love, friendship, eternity and fidelity and is a common feature on headstones.

Sleep of Angels

Sleep of Angels

This is the grave marker for Catherine Judith Hill, a bit of a guess, the details are hard to read as many of the letters have fallen out. It appears to be from 1939. The church in the background is All Saints at Cossington, Leicestershire. The church mostly dates from the 13th Century.

Angel - Wilford Hill Cemetery

Angel in Wilford Hill Southern Cemetery

This angel looks over Emily and William Mawby. Emily died in 1926 and was followed by William in 1928. Mawby is a location based surname dating from Anglo-Saxon times.

Willford Hill is the highest point in Nottinghamshire, and great views of the surrounding area can be seen whilst walking around the cemetery. The cemetery opened in 1919.

St Winifred

St Winifred

St Winifred gazes down on all who enter the church of St Winifred, Kingston Upon Soar, Nottinghamshire. The church is Grade I listed, with parts dating from 1540, it was extensively restored in 1900.

Welford Road Cemetery

Angel - Welford Road

Here is one of many Angels in the Welford Road Cemetery in Leicester, England. It is to date my favourite cemetery that I have visited, with Church Cemetery in Nottingham a very close second. I really must return to explore it further. I have no date for this particular monument, as that was not something I routinely recorded back then. 

Welford Road Cemetery opened in 1849 and is the oldest and largest municipal cemetery in Leicester. There are over 35,000 graves, 10,000 headstones and it is Grade II listed. There is a fantastic range of styles and materials that really show off the style and splendor of Victorian designs in contrast to later styles.

In loving memory of the children...

The Morrisons

In loving memory of the children of J.R and E.A Morrison. 

Henry, 14 days, 1878

Alexander, 3 weeks, 1879

Mabel Stuart, 6 weeks, 1883

The children were then followed by James, their father, in 1886 and his wife Annie in 1913.

General Cemetery, Nottingham, England.

Rest among the rocks

Rest among the rocks

Church Cemetery Nottingham, also known as Rock Cemetery and with good reason. The cemetery utilized an old sandstone quarry. As you walk around, the burials are on many levels, there are twists and turns, places to hide, places to be seen. A fantastic piece of landscaping.

Little Angels

Little Angels

A modern grave marking for a 2010 burial, found in the graveyard of St James' church, in Shardlow, Derbyshire. 

Foggy Cemetery

Foggy Cemetery

More fun in the fog, from Loughborough Cemetery, this area had a few more occupants!

Celtic cross

A Celtic style cross from the General Cemetery In Nottingham, England.

The inscription IHS was popular on 19th century stones and is a contraction of the Greek work for Jesus.

The Taylor's

Alfred Claude Taylor MD and his wife Emma share this Celtic style cross in Church Cemetery, Nottingham, England. Alfred died in 1888 and Emma in 1939.

Church Cemetery is also known as Rock Cemetery and is Grade II listed. It was designed by Edwin Patchitt and took several years to build and was still not complete when it opened in 1856. It covers approximately 13 acres.

The cemetery is built on old sand pits and contains burial plots on several terraces, with sandstone caves forming part of the landscape, hence being known as Rock Cemetery locally.This makes for an unusual and very interesting layout and unlike anything I have seen previously.

Praying for the soul of Eliza Ann

"Of your charity pray for the soul of Eliza Ann"

Today I explored two of the closed cemeteries in Nottingham, England. The General Cemetery and Church Cemetery, also known as Rock Cemetery.

This grave marker was found in the General Cemetery and dates from 1900.

The General opened in the 1830's and covers 18 acres, with 150,000 burials. The cemetery was closed to further burials in the 1920's due to health concerns as the corporation running it buried as many people as closely together as they could. Close relatives could still be buried into family plots as there was also an area reserved for war dead, which during WWII filled up quickly also as Nottingham suffered considerable losses.

Waiting

"Waiting"

In affectionate remembrance of Albert John Hunt, this stone dates from 1913 and was found in Belgrave cemetery, near to the city of Leicester. It opened in 1881 and contains some very nice examples of Victorian monuments.

Peace (im)perfect peace

A toppled cross headstone in Loughborough cemetery. Health and safety fears along with vandalism, has resulted in many toppled stones. Most often hit are the crosses and other tall monuments. I always think that it is a shame that there is neither the money or family remaining to ensure repairs are made and preservation ensured.

Resting in peace had no guarantees!

Foggy Solitude

A weekend with freezing fog means a trip to a cemetery is ideal! 

Although this was not a particularly empty part of Loughborough Cemetery, this lone marker does seem to make it feel as though it is isolated. 

The neighbouring plots must be unmarked or lost to time.

The Smiths

"To the dear memory of Rachel"

Here is a stylish stone from 1922, and interestingly, if I read it correctly, Rachel was later followed by her husband, despite him remarrying "Sallie"!

I had previously made a similar shot to this one with an old lens on my Olympus E-PL5, but I was not happy, so I took the chance to re-create it. With worn stone it is not always easy to determine if you have the focus you intended. I really liked how the ivy curved around her head.

The Smith monument, has some great details, it is a stand out piece for me in Loughborough Cemetery.

Cemetery Chapels

The pair of cemetery chapels in Loughborough cemetery were built in 1857 in a Gothic revival style and are grade II listed. The chapels can be found in the older side of the cemetery. This is one of three of my favourite view points of the chapels. 

I took this photograph using a Pentacon 50mm lens on my digital camera.

Pray for me

This lady adorns a grave in Loughborough Cemetery. I tend to wander in the older side, it has over time become two cemeteries, separated by a walkway which leads to the crematorium. There are less visitors to the older side, leaving me free to capture images without awkwardness and I have a preference for the styles of the older grave stones.

The older side dates from 1857, and has a number of interesting grave markers as well as being full of wildlife.

This grave is from 1938 and belongs to Florence Fanny Smith.

The background image

I was looking through some of my photo's for what might prove to be an interesting background for the blog. I decided to go with an image from 2014 of a Dandelion clock with the Parish church of my hometown in the background. I really liked this image, but if I'm being really picky, I wished I had got slightly more of the church roof in! I'm sure there will be more Dandelions to be found in 2015!

All Saints with Holy Trinity

Known locally as "The Parish Church", officially it is "All Saints with Holy Trinity", Loughborough. The church dates from the 14th Century, but the foundations are believed to date from even earlier. The church is set in the older part of town, and is much larger than it should have been, for a town of this size, because Loughborough thrived in the wool trade.

Welcome to my Blog!

We've just slipped into 2015 and it's time for new projects! 

For the last six or so years I have made photography my passion and favourite hobby. It has taken me to places I would not have gone to otherwise. I have enjoyed the solitude of walking alone with my camera and my thoughts as much as I have enjoyed the journey with friends. It has been both a therapeutic and a social hobby for me. I have to admit I can be much more focused when I am alone, but thoroughly enjoy the laughs I have had with friends.

I am completely self taught, I've neither had the time to do a course nor been able to find something suitable locally, but I would love the challenge. I have learnt so much from just using my cameras regularly and in the three years I have been using G+, it has kept me both inspired and motivated. I guess photography is one of those skills you are always developing, no pun intended ;) The learning curve is huge and I've still much to learn, but I've happily found my own way of doing things, I'm in no hurry, I'm still having fun.

I have known for some months that the job I am currently in will be coming to an end through redundancy. I am only a matter of weeks away from unemployment. This is the first time I will have faced redundancy and it is a strange feeling. I thought I would be leaving that job of my own accord after I had finished my degree and then simply moved on to pastures new, but life is not so simple these days.

I have started this Blog with the intention of both focusing my photography and with the intention of moving into the sale of my images to supplement my future income, well it is a nice dream at least! Could I make photography my career? Who knows, if I had one photographic dream, it would be to have an image of mine as album artwork, I've been a huge music fan since a very young age and so I've appreciated a lot of album artwork in that time! 

I post regularly on G+ https://plus.google.com/+ShereeNicholson/posts , but for this Blog I will focus on my main photographic interest which is cemetery and church photography. Not only do I appreciate the aesthetics, but it is the documenting of social history that I love too.

I will also be including some local interest images from my home town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.