Richard Peacock's Mausoleum.Brookfield Church's graves of honoured worshippers
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Richard Peacock's Mausoleum.
This picture is of Richard Peacock's Mausoleum. I believe this was accessed by the large slabs that were next to the church wall, and then there is a staircase down to the vault. It must have taken a crane to open this. According to the inscription the last person to be interred in this tomb was Ralph Peacock in 1928. I don't know if any photos exist of the inside of this tomb. I would be very interested in having a look down there!
Once again, this monument has been subject to some vandalism. There were once two angels on the pinnacles of the tomb. These were lined in bronze, and the angels had long thin trumpets. Firstly the trumpets were stolen, and subsequently the angels broken off. I do remember seeing the remains of one of them in the churchyard. I suppose the vandals found that they were only stone, and had a thin lining of bronze, and realized that they were quite worthless in terms of scrap value. It is saddening to see such a fine monument end up like this.
The grave of Richard Peacock's first and second wives, and his son.
This broken gravestone is of Richard Peacock's first and second wives, and also his baby son Charles Henry, aged just 9 months. As they passed away at a relatively young age, and before the present church was built, explains why they weren't buried in the Mausoleum.
The graves of Samuel Rider, and his father James Rider.
The first grave is of Samuel Rider, who was the Honorary Secretary of the church. There are some handwritten letters by him on the main page. He died in 1913 and is interesting to note that he was buried in the old graveyard, even though the present church and grounds had been built in 1871, and the old chapel long since demolished. The second picture is grave of his father, James Rider, and is also in the old chapel graveyard. The other pictures are of a monument erected by friends and admirers to the memory of James Rider. It is very weathered, but appears to read, "Erected by the Gorton Philharmonic Society by numerous friends, and was highly esteemed and admired for his musical and vocal abilities". This monument stands in the centre of the old graveyard, and is easily recognised due to its size. It was originally sculptured in the style of a church spire, which has now been severely damaged due to vandalism.
The gravestones of John Dean and Hugh Dean, and the gravestone of John
Leigh Worthington.
The first stone is that of John Dean, who was once Treasurer to the Sunday school. On the main page there is a letter written by him, and he also signed some of the handwritten balance sheets. Hugh Dean was a local councillor, and was also involved at Brookfield. He also officially opened Gorton Cemetery on July 26th 1900. There is a plaque in the cemetery commemorating this. Both John Dean and Hugh Dean lived at Stanfield Lodge. The second stone is of John Leigh Worthington. He was secretary to the church, and his name is mentioned in some of the early church magazines. He also signed some of the handwritten balance sheets, and had a degree in accountancy.
An extract from The Unitarian on John Leigh Worthington, May 1955.
A selection of gravestones of people connected with the Old Chapel, can be seen on the Short History page.