Yes, Greg, some wonderful detective work going on from Sylvia and Carol - especially the mistranscribed 'Bowser' one! They're not easy to find! Especially Millicent/Mary - still haven't found the marriage!
Anyway, I think as you've got the card for Thomas Bonser's burial at St.Mary's that's a good place to start, but Trowell and Stanton by Dale are not far away.
Some of my ancestors are buried at Stanton by Dale - *notice that some of the Bradley children were born there.
In case anyone who's following the thread doesn't know some other information is on this thread:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,319207.15.htmlNearest C of E churches to Gallows Inn:
St Marys, Ilkeston
St. Helens, Trowell
St Michael and All Angels, Stanton by Dale
+ ones at Kirk Hallam, and Cossall
Glad you're finding it interesting, - was a bit worried worried I was bombarding you with too much information in an effort to share the wonderful stuff I've found on my own journey into the past. To me it's much more than names and dates - like to get to know the place, characters and social history.
Don't be afraid to say stop, I've had enough, Greg
Paulene
The market town of Ilkeston lies midway between Derby and Nottingham, on one of the last hills at the southern end of the Pennines. St Mary’s stands in the centre of the town 360 feet above sea level and the tower of the church which can be seen from all approaches reaches another 75 feet above that overlooking the Market Place. It has been a familiar landmark on the skyline in that position for almost a hundred years and prior to that stood some 45 feet further to the east. Early in the twentieth century the tower was dismantled stone by stone, numbered and stored before being rebuilt to allow the nave of the church to be extended. The corner stone was laid on Easter Monday in 1910.
Almost two hundred years previously the church tower would have cut an even more imposing image on the skyline as until 1714 when it was struck and destroyed by lightning, the tower was topped by a steeple. By that time there had been a settlement on the hill for well over a thousand years. *2 drawings of the old church and new one are on St Marys website.
