What Lies Beneath
During the recent replacement of the nave floor in St Mary’s (2009) the workmen discovered several fragments
of stone that carried parts of an inscription. The fragments were found beneath the existing surface
and had been used as part of the foundations for the floor. Four of the pieces (the largest measuring
about 14 inches by 7 inches and about one and a half inches thick – sorry, I can’t do metric!) were
cleaned up to clearly reveal several words and two dates. The surface of the stone had been finished
to a very smooth surface with fine lettering but the reverse side was very rough and uneven indicating
that it had probably been a grave slab rather than a vertical freestanding headstone. A study of
Bigland’s ‘Account of the Parish of Fairford’ of 1791 which lists all the major tombs in the church
and the churchyard at that date solved the riddle.
The surviving lettering matched perfectly the inscription on the grave of William and Ann Haynes
and their daughter Mary who died in 1758, 1723 and 1754 respectively. Bigland records this as
“On a flat stone in the South Aisle”. It would appear that the Haynes stone was removed and
broken up to be used as rubble during the reflooring of the church, possibly in 1854 when the
church seating was replaced. Unfortunately this is by no means an isolated example of the
length to which the Victorians would go to ‘beautify’ our churches. William Haynes had been a
church warden for many years but even this didn’t stop his memorial being smashed up after less
than 100 years.
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The surviving pieces of the Haynes family gravestone can now be seen in the Archive Room
in the Community Centre.
Chris Hobson
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