Title:
Monumental inscriptions at Rectory Lane cemetery, Chelmsford
Level: Category
Miscellaneous
Level: Fonds
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS RECORDED BY ESSEX SOCIETY FOR FAMILY HISTORY
Scope and Content:
Monumental inscriptions of ?1857-1976, recorded 1982 in advance of the removal of some graves for a road scheme.
Includes notes on the cemetery, indexes of names, places in Essex, places outside Essex and occupations, and sketch plans of cemetery.
Memorials include Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones for Private S.V. Taylor, Essex Regiment, 1918, and Second Lieutenant F.J. Young, Royal Air Force, 1918; Edward Wallis, killed in action in France 1917; Edward Gepp, Senior Medical Officer of Essex County Gaol, senior member of Livery of Society of Apothecaries, died 1797; Sarah Isabell, 'for many years a faithf[ul] servant' families of Mrs Mellersh and Mr Butterfeild, died 1859, aged 86; G[eorge] E[dward] B[eauchamp] Arnold, of Grammar School, died 1856, aged 12; F[rancis] A[lgernon] W[illiam] Arnold of Grammar School, died 1866, aged 5; Samuel Baker, member and Vice President of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 1857; William King, for 40 years gamekeeper of Skreens, Roxwell, 1871; Thomas Dodson Dutton, printer of Chelmsford, 1862; Captain George Fraser of The Carabiniers, 1901; John Golding of King William IV Inn, Chelmsford, 1861; Carew Anthony St John Mildmay, Archdeacon of Essex for 52 years, rector of Chelmsford, 1878; Frederick Spalding, 1895; Captain Charles Andrews, Army Ordnance Corps, 1918; John Law 'who met his death whilst working on the railway', 1866; Marshall Stuart Straight, killed in action at Gallipoli, 1915; Bernard Cecil White, Lance Sergeant 4th Canadian Infantry, killed at Ypres, 1915.
Dates of Creation:
1982
Extent:
1 volume
Creator Name:
Essex Society for Family History
Admin History:
The title page of this report gives the covering dates as 1855-1976. However, the burial register (D/P 94/1/54) suggests that the cemetery was not brought into use until February 1857, when the churchyard at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin closed.

Several of the surviving memorials commemorated deaths that occurred before the cemetery opened. Notably, the Gepp family headstone (item 43a) related to deaths beginning in 1797 and ending with George A. Gepp, who was buried on 17 December 1856. Probably the earliest surviving contemporary monument was that of Susannah Spencer (item 161), who was buried on 21 February 1857. While the inscription on her headstone noted that two children who died in 1833 were buried in the churchyard, it did not say the same of her husband Thomas Spencer, buried on 4 December 1856. Nevertheless, the cemetery was not consecrated until 30 January 1857 (D/CC 7/2), and it seems highly unlikely that any burial could have taken place there before this date.
Related Unit of Description:
C/DH 4/6 consists of A130 Chelmer Valley Route (South) schedule to monuments and remains acquired by Essex County Council, 1983; T/Z 250/1 is a copy of the official notification issued by Essex County Council, 1983

Key terms

TypeKey termsDescription
Subjects Gamekeepers Monumental inscription to William King of Skreens, Roxwell, 1871
Subjects Gamekeepers Monumental inscription to William King of Skreens, Roxwell, 1871
Subjects Printers Monumental inscription to Thomas Dodson Dutton of Chelmsford, 1862
Subjects Prisons Monumental inscription to Edward Gepp, Senior Medical Officer of Essex County Gaol, Chelmsford, 1797
Subjects Railways Monumental inscription to John Law, killed while working on railway, Chelmsford, 1866
Personal Names Carew Anthony St John
Mildmay 		Archdeacon of Essex and rector of Chelmsford, died 1878
Personal Names Edward
Gepp 		Senior Medical Officer, Essex County Gaol, Chelmsford, 1797
Personal Names Edward
Wallis 		Chelmsford, 1917
Personal Names Francis Algernon William
Arnold 		Chelmsford, 1866
Personal Names Frederick
Spalding 		Chelmsford, 1895
Personal Names George Edward Beauchamp
Arnold 		Chelmsford, 1856
Personal Names John
Golding 		Chelmsford, 1861
Personal Names John
Law 		Chelmsford, 1866
Personal Names Marshall Stuart
Straight 		Chelmsford, 1915
Personal Names Samuel
Baker 		Vice President of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Chelmsford, 1857
Personal Names Sarah
Isabell 		servant, Chelmsford, 1859
Personal Names Thomas Dodson
Dutton 		printer, Chelmsford, 1862
Personal Names William
King 		gamekeeper, Roxwell, 1871
Personal Names Captain
Charles
Andrews 		Chelmsford, 1918
Personal Names Captain
George
Fraser 		Chelmsford, 1901
Personal Names Lance Sergeant
Bernard Cecil
White 		Chelmsford, 1915
Personal Names Mr
Butterfield 		Chelmsford, 1859
Personal Names Mrs
-
Mellersh 		Chelmsford, 1859
Personal Names Private
S.V.
Taylor 		Essex Regiment, Chelmsford, 1918
Personal Names Private
S.V.
Taylor 		Essex Regiment, Chelmsford, 1918
Personal Names Second Lieutenant
F.J.
Young 		Royal Air Force, Chelmsford, 1918
Place Names Essex County Gaol
Chelmsford 		Monumental inscription to Edward Gepp, Senior Medical Officer, 1797
Place Names King William IV
Chelmsford 		Monumental inscription for John Golding, 1861
Place Names Skreens
Roxwell 		Monumental inscription to William King, gamekeeper, 1871
Place Names Skreens
Roxwell 		Monumental inscription to William King, gamekeeper, 1871
Place Names Rectory Lane
Rectory Lane Cemetery
Chelmsford 		Monumental inscriptions, recorded 1982
Document Types Monumental inscriptions Rectory Lane Cemetery, Chelmsford, recorded 1982
Institutions 4th Canadian Infantry Lance Sergeant Bernard Cecil White, killed at Ypres, 1915; monumental inscription, Chelmsford
Institutions Army Ordnance Corps Monumental inscription for Captain Charles Andrews, Chelmsford, 1918
Institutions Church of England Monumental inscriptions, Rectory Lane Cemetery, Chelmsford, recorded 1982
Institutions Commonwealth War Graves Commission Headstones in Rectory Lane Cemetery, Chelmsford, recorded 1982
Institutions Essex Regiment Headstone in Rectory Lane Cemetery, Chelmsford, to Private S.V. Taylor, 1918
Institutions Essex Society for Family History Monumental inscriptions, Rectory Lane Cemetery, Chelmsford, recorded 1982
Institutions Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Royal Air Force Headstone in Rectory Lane Cemetery, Chelmsford, to Second Lieutenant F.J. Young, 1918
Institutions King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford Monumental inscriptions to two pupils, Chelmsford, 1856, 1866
Institutions Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Monumental inscription for Samuel Baker, Vice President, Chelmsford, 1857
Institutions The Carabiniers Monumental inscription for Captain George Fraser, Chelmsford, 1901