confused about St Mary's Church speen

[B17_Fan]

One of my relatives was buried at St Mary's Church in Newbury in 1915. I'm not familiar with the area, so I have looked up the church on Google and that's where I've got confused. Apparently St Mary's Church was demolished in 1970 but there appears to still be a St Mary's Church in Newbury today. Where would my relative be buried? Which church?

[candrjm]

There was a St Mary's Church in Newbury (in London Road) which is the one that no longer exists. There is also a St Mary's Church in Speen that is still there today. if your relative was buried at St Mary's in Speen then the grave is probably in the graveyard there.

Chris


EDIT: Almost forgot (just to confuse the issue) there is also a St Mary's Church at Shaw in Newbury. (both Shaw and Speen are areas in Newbury but were probably known as villiages years ago.

[B17_Fan]

Hi Chris.

Goodness that's a lot of St Mary's in small area.
On the Berkshire burial record, it says she was buried in 1915 at St Mary's in speenhamland.

I wanted to make a trip to try and locate it, so that's why I want to clear up where exactly the right church is.

I don't suppose you, or anyone else, knows if there are any gravestones still at St Nicholas Church in Newbury?
I've located it on Google maps and it looks quite built up round it.

Just wondered if there's much of a churchyard still?

[candrjm]

The St Mary's Speenhamland Church is the one that was in London Road and does not exist anymore.
As far as I know there are no graves/graveyard for that church which still exist, it's now housing and a doctors surgery on that land.

St Nicolas Church has quite a few gravestones in the churchyard but I think a lot of them are really old. This church is in Bartholomew Street in the centre of town but I'm not sure when they stopped using this graveyard for burials.

Could your relative be buried in Shaw cemetery, I wonder?

If you would like to post the details for your relative I could check the Newbury Weekly News and see if there was an obituary which might give details of the actual burial place.

[B17_Fan]

The St Mary's Speenhamland Church is the one that was in London Road and does not exist anymore.
As far as I know there are no graves/graveyard for that church which still exist, it's now housing and a doctors surgery on that land.

St Nicolas Church has quite a few gravestones in the churchyard but I think a lot of them are really old. This church is in Bartholomew Street in the centre of town but I'm not sure when they stopped using this graveyard for burials.

Could your relative be buried in Shaw cemetery, I wonder?

If you would like to post the details for your relative I could check the Newbury Weekly News and see if there was an obituary which might give details of the actual burial place.

Hi again. That's a terrible shame about St Mary's being built on. I wonder what happened to all the graves?
I feel sad actually because I've only just discovered this relative and now it may be the case that her grave is lost under concrete!

I found out about her through a newspaper article on find my past. It was in the reading mercury.
There was a coroner's inquest which said that Ellen Irene Seymour, was killed by co sleeping with her parents. She was suffocated.
She was only 5 months old

If it is possible for you to check the Newbury weekly news, her parents names were Joseph and Florence Seymour.
She died in the 4th quarter of 1915. Buried in December.

Thanks for your help

[candrjm]

I'm hoping to go to the library this week sometime so will take a look for you then.

Chris

[B17_Fan]

Thankyou. I really appreciate it.

I read somewhere they are trying to get funds to digitize the newbury weekly news. That would be so good to access it online.
Hope they get enough money soon!

[newburychap]

St Mary's, Speenhamland, never had a graveyard. I believe there were a few interrments in vaults under the church, but not many.  If your relative had a funeral at St Mary's in 1915 then the burial was probably in Newbury's Municipal Cemetery at Shaw or (less likely) Newtown Road Cemetery.

She could also have been buried in the churchyard at St Mary's Speen, but I would have thought the ceremony would be there if that was the case.

[B17_Fan]

This is the record from the Berkshire Burial Index. Don't know if this would shed any light on where exactly she was buried?

First name(s)   Ellen Irene
Last name   Seymour
Birth year   1915
Death year   1915
Burial year   1915
Burial day   15
Burial month   Dec
Church   St Mary
Place   Speenhamland
Age   5m
Residence   Speen,Nursery Cottages
County   Berkshire
Country   England
Record set   Berkshire Burial Index
Category   Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory   Deaths & burials
Collections from   Great Britain