Date on grave - is this '8th', '9th' or another day ?

[hallmark]

There is a : with a d above it as far as I can see....

[Pennines]

I can't determine what is above the : but definitely not 'th'.
 
Jessie -- I'm just showing my ignorance here --- what is IMHO please?

As regards the delay between death and burial -- have you looked at the others in the register for that church maybe. Is it way out of the norm? Especially the ones around that date - which may signify some local problem at that time.

[SiGr]

IMHO means 'in my humble opinion'

Regards.

[Ayashi]

The date wasn't necessarily accurate. For some reason, according to the gravestone, my 2nd great grandfather was buried two days before he died. (Actually died 5th, buried 8th, stone says 10th).

If this happened in the winter time one might wonder if the ground was too frozen to dig, but in the middle of August?

I wonder if it took a while for him to be found, for example if he was at home alone and someone popped around to see why Bob hadn't been seen for a few days. Unfortunately that kind of thing would simply be a matter of speculation.

[Jessie Teresa Bryant]

Jessie -- I'm just showing my ignorance here --- what is IMHO please?

Hi Pennines, SiGr is 100% correct, IMHO is 'in my humble opinion'. So sorry for not being as clear as I could have been

IMHO means 'in my humble opinion'

[Pennines]

Thank you for clarifying -- I've never heard that one before.

Every day is a school day!

[Ruskie]

Like Gadget I thought the number was an 8, formed like an S without the gaps, or an odd example of one. 

The superscript could be a th. The gap is too wide on the up/down strokes for it to be a ‘d’ I think. 

The downstroke of the small t may have been curved, similar to the formation of a C, and then crossed. The stone is quite worn but I think it possible that there is a small h with bits missing. 

I will try to find some examples to illustrate what I am attempting to explain.

[Kiltpin]

I read it as - 

2^d immediately I saw it. 

Regards 

Chas

[Ruskie]

Are there examples of other 2s, 8s or small ds anywhere else on the stone?

Added: I am reconsidering, and may be erring towards the number being a 9. It is formed the same way as the other 9s, with the addition of the downstroke curving towards the right which the other 9s don’t have. However, if you look closely, the 9s in 1799 may curve in a similar way except the carving may have been shallower and has worn, but zooming in I think I can make out those bottom curves. Why the “9” in the 9th has been so deeply carved and is so much ‘curvier’, I have no idea ... maybe a slip of the chisel? 

Or maybe I am imagining things.