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Karen

@songthrush83.bsky.social
316 followers 250 following 88 posts

History nerd. Nature lover. Cat magnet. Cemetery wanderer.

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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 11h
IN Loving Memory of JABEZ TURNER, ACCIDENTALLY KILLED AT LOSCOE COLLIERY DECr 1926 AGED 31 YEARS A SUDDEN CHANGE, AT GOD’S COMMAND HE FELL HE HAD NOT TIME TO BID HIS FRIENDS FAREWELL DEATH CAME WITHOUT WARNING GIVEN AND BID HIM HASTE TO MEET HIS GOD IN HEAVEN ERECTED BY HIS LOVING WIFE
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 11h
#31daysofgraves day 12 - ordinary. For miners, an ordinary working day meant facing immense danger. Almost exactly 100 years ago, in December 1926, Jabez Turner was killed by an enormous stone that fell from the roof while he was working beside his brother at the coal face; his brother was unhurt.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Same here but I didn’t have room to put all that in the original post :) The Wakes around here were in late August.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 11, humour. In his memoir My Village, J.M. Severn mentions a man named Frank Thorpe who lived near Codnor church in the 19th century. Before he died he asked to be buried near the churchyard wall so he’d be able to hear people coming home from the Denby Wakes (local festivities).
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 10 - missing. Inside Codnor’s Lych Gates are two bronze plaques listing the names of the men who died in the First World War. Among them is my grandma’s uncle, Arthur Hubball. He is also commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 9 - lettering. Some beautifully etched and ornamented lettering on this gravestone in Denby churchyard dating from 1789.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 8, animal. The inscription of this gravestone in Ripley cemetery is illegible but this bird has survived.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Rev. JAMES JOHN WOOLLEY M.A. Fellow of St Peter's College Cambridge Third son of JONATHAN and MARY WOOLLEY Born at Ripley Sep 2nd 1822 Died at Powerstock in Dorset Jan 29th 1848
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 7 - home. Rev. James J. Woolley was just 25 when he died. He was a talented mathematician and tutor at Cambridge, later becoming curate at Powerstock, Dorset. It was his dying wish to be buried at home in Codnor. Conveying his coffin back to Derbyshire was no mean feat in 1848.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 6 - weather. This is one of several headstones in Codnor churchyard that has had its inscription largely erased by a century and a half of weather.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARY ANN MORLEY WHO WAS KILLED JAN 6th 1928 AGED 34 YEARS REMEMBERED BY HER PARENTS, SISTERS, BROTHERS AND LOVING CHILDREN
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 5 - vehicle. Mary Ann Morley was walking across Red Lion Square in Heanor when an unattended car suddenly rolled across the road and hit her. She died in hospital of her injuries.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#31daysofgraves day 4 - entrance. These lych gates at the entrance to Codnor Cemetery were erected in 1921 to serve as a memorial to the men of the parish who died in the Great War. (Photo from 2018.)
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
SARAH
THE BELOVED WIFE OF
ENOCH BERESFORD
WHO DIED DECEMBER 11th 1895
AGED 81 YEARS
THE LORD GAVE AND THE LORD HATH TAKEN AWAY. BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.
 ALSO OF THE ABOVE NAMED
ENOCH BERESFORD
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
MARCH 3rd 1900
AGED 90 YEARS
HIS END WAS PEACE
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Correction - he was 90
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Day 3 of #31daysofgraves - glass. Enoch Beresford died aged 92 in 1900 after slipping on some ice. His inquest was held at the Glasshouse Inn.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Inscription: In Loving Memory of JOHN WORLEY WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 14th 1902 AGED 74 YEARS FAREWELL DEAR HUSBAND TILL WE MEET AGAIN ALSO THIRZA WORLEY WIFE OF THE ABOVE WHO DIED APRIL 7th 1922 AGED 85 YEARS
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Inscription: IN Loving Memory of SAMUEL COOPER BORN JULY 6th 1844 DIED APRIL 28th 1912 Also SOPHIA THE BELOVED WIFE OF THE ABOVE BORN FEBRUARY 6th 1848 DIED AUGUST 9th 1907 Also JOHN THEIR BELOVED SON BORN APRIL 27th 1883 DIED SEPTEMBER 14th 1899
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Yes, very sad 😔
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Day 2 of #31daysofgraves - urn. Here’s one on top of a monument marking the grave of three members of the Cooper family. #cemetery
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Day 1 of #31daysofgraves - flower. Some beautifully carved roses on the grave of shoemaker John Worley and his wife Thirza.
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Dr Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
#31DaysOfGraves starts TOMORROW! Welcoming posts from graveyards, cemeteries, or related places throughout October. No rules - interpret however and wherever you want, but AI is strongly discouraged. Image is the New Jewish Cemetery in Kraków. #cemetery #graveyard #heritage #genealogy
An image of the New Jewish Cemetery, Kraków, overlaid with text:
#31 Days of Graves
Day 1: Flower
Day 2: Urn
Day 3: Glass
Day 4: Entrance
Day 5: Vehicle
Day 6: Weather
Day 7: Home
Day 8: Animal
Day 9: Lettering
Day 10: Missing
Day 11: Humorous
Day 12: Ordinary
Day 13: Unusual
Day 14: Brick
Day 15: Language
Day 16: Faith
Day 17: Music
Day 18: Earth
Day 19: Water
Day 20: Fire
Day 21: Air
Day 22: Mourning
Day 23: Wings
Day 24: Contrast
Day 25: Tree
Day 26: Accident
Day 27: Portrait
Day 28: Landscape
Day 29: Fruits/Vegetables
Day 30: Colour
Day 31: Memento Mori
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
“Never in my life have I seen a ghost, and never in my life have I ever stated that there were ‘weird happenings’ at the Memorial Hall.” From the newspaper archives, 1929. #phantomsfriday
THE CHADDESDEN CHURCH HALL “GHOST”

To the Editor

Sir, There is no truth whatsoever in the statement that a ghost haunts the Memorial Hall. I have been grossly misrepresented in the “Derby Daily Express” when they publish an interview under my name to the effect that I heard mysterious noises in the hall.

The only noises I heard were such as could have quite easily been caused by the opening of a door by the wind. Never in my life have I seen a ghost, and never in my life have I stated that there were “weird happenings” at the Memorial Hall.

There was nothing mysterious whatsoever. It was probably caused by the weather.

Signed, A. C. Davison.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Actually July 1963, not June.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Vintage shenanigans for #Caturday - mysterious happenings in Barnet, June 1963. Also a priceless quote from a policeman. #newspaperarchives
Police hunt for second cheetah-like animal.

Police in Barnet today hunted for “a cheetah-like animal” which frightened a dental mechanic and his wife.

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Reboul, of Wood Street, Barnet, were woken today by screaming of cats.

Mr. Reboul said he went into the garden and “saw a big black animal” in an apple tree trying to catch a ginger cat.

It had a broad face, long teeth and dark fur. “Once it looked at me with big yellow eyes,” he said. “It quite put the wind up me.”

On searching for the animal without success, a senior police officer said “We think it was foxes, unless the cheetah from Woolwich has come up on the tube.”

Last week in Woolwich police mounted a large-scale search for an animal variously described as a cheetah or a leopard seen in the vicinity.
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Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery (KAVS) @listerlanecem.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Remembering staymaker Joseph Gledhill, who died #OTD 1856, aged 94. The oldest man interred at the cemetery. Burial was in a public grave. In 2015, the Friends erected a monument over the grave in memory of Adrian Smith, commemorating Waterloo veteran Daniel Milton & the 29 others, including Joseph.
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Debbie Cameron @debsadelight.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
a grocery list written by Michelangelo March 18, 1518, Illustrated for Illiterate Servants: he sketched the items alongside the text because his servants were probably illiterate Menu Items: The list includes bread, wine, herring, fennel soup, and anchovies! Tasty! Full list in alt txt
Translation
Two loaves of bread
A salted herring
A herring
Tortelli (stuffed pasta)
A salted herring
Four loaves of bread
A bocal of wine
A quartuccio of bruscho wine
A plate of spinach
Four anchovies
Tortelli
Six loaves of bread
Two fennel soups
A herring
A bocal of wine
[Illegible text]
[Illegible text]
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The grave on the left is that of Elizabeth Fidler who was a nurse and servant in the Mockler household.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The Rev. James Mockler was born in Ireland in 1810 and was vicar of Denby in Derbyshire from 1845 until his death in 1900. He asked to be buried near his wife Elizabeth and son James who died in 1870 and 1863 respectively. His grave is marked by this beautiful Celtic cross.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Found this gem in the British Newspaper Archives this week - the Hayfield Resurrection. The writer of the article suggests that it probably began as a parable and over time evolved into local folklore. #PhantomsFriday
The Hayfield Resurrection is perhaps the most curious of the old Derbyshire legends as to these uncanny happenings. The story of it is told in a letter said to have been addressed by Dr. Clegg, at one time Presbyterian Minister at Chapel-en-le-Frith, to the Rev. Ebenezer Latham, of Findern, in which he avers that at Hayfield “several hundreds of bodies rose out of the open graves in the open day, to the great terror of several spectators…They deserted the coffin, and arising out of the grave immediately ascended towards heaven, singing in concert all along…They left a most fragrant and delicious odour behind them.” If this statement were really made by the rev. gentleman we imagine it would be by way of some sort of parable. It is not stated by whom the letter was actually ever seen.
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Wardsend Cemetery Heritage Park @wardsendcemetery.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
'I miss you because I love you. You were dearer than silver or gold.' 'In loving memory of Joseph, the beloved husband of Elizabeth Cresswell' Joseph died on 6th March 1949. He was 63 .
This memorial at Wardsend has the following inscription:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOSEPH,

THE BELOVED HUSBAND OF ELIZABETH CRESSWELL WHO DIED MARCH 6TH 1949, AGED 63 YEARS.

I MISS YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, YOU WERE DEARER THAN SILVER OR GOLD.
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The English Oak Project @thekentacorn.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Love where you live, and honour your ancestors
A memorial to a young girl in a Tonbridge cemetery
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Treated myself to a birthday book from @foxlanebooks.bsky.social Really good selection of natural history and nature writing, took me a while to choose. #booksky
Paperback copy of Taking Flight: How animals learned to fly and transformed life on Earth by Lev Parikian.
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The English Oak Project @thekentacorn.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Forever young, sisters Mabel and Emma are host to an ever increasing cover of wildflowers They fell asleep days apart, comforted by their eternal bond, embraced by their closeness to nature’s finest
A graveyard covered in snowdrops
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
On Christmas Eve 1944, my great-grandparents Tom and Elsie Hubball hosted a party to raise money for the local Red Cross branch. My grandad’s brother dressed as Santa. My grandparents had been married around 14 months. #familyhistory #localhistory #Derbyshire
A most enjoyable evening was spent on Christmas Eve at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hubball, Hollywell Avenue. (Mr. Hubball has recently returned from the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, after a stay of some months, following an accident at Ormonde Colliery, in which he sustained a broken leg and other injuries.) During the evening Santa Claus (Mr. Edwin Sharp) presented each guest with a present. A collection was made and realised £1. 2s., which has been given to Codnor Red Cross Funds.
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Emma Mitchell @silverpebble2.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Made a tiny Christmas tree out of fossils: the stars are crinoid ossicles, the trunk dinosaur bone & the branches are sharks’ teeth 🎄🦴
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
On this day in 1848, Emily Brontë was interred in the family vault in Haworth church. Here’s a photo I took of a copy of the burial record on display in the church in 2018. It’s signed by the Curate, Arthur Nicholls, Charlotte’s future husband.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Saw this in Ripley Cemetery today. At some point in time the headstone has fallen backwards and now the tree is growing around it, holding it fast. #cemetery #gravestone #cemeterywandering
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
You can often find snippets of oral history to add to your research by searching newspaper archives for terms like nonagenarian, golden/diamond wedding, grand old lady/man. Older residents were often asked what their town/village was like when they were young. #oneplacewednesday
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Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
The problem is that juuuuust as the light is about to be perfect, the sun goes behind a decorative peak on the church next door. This is the shot a minute before the block - might be the best I can do.
Same gravestone, better lit but not perfectly. Inscription: Seeth Andrew daughter to William and Seeth Andrew aged 10 years died September ye 21 1700
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Anna Mazzola @annamazz.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
PLEASE DO NOT ASK STAFF WHERE DRACULA’S GRAVE IS THERE ISN’T ONE. Iconic sign from St Mary’s Church next to Whitby Abbey. I love that people think Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a real person/vampire who lived and died in Whitby.
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Nat Doig @weirdinthewade.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
On Monday (10th November) there’s a new episode of Weird in the Wade about a poltergeist that rattled Biggleswade in the 1990s. I’m joined by a very special guest (I’ll announce who this weekend) and there’s an update from Andy about his “haunted house.” 👻 👇🏼Sketch from 1825.
A sketch of a ghost in 19th century night gown and hat and a woman in bed screaming. 

Engraving by George Cruikshank
Captioned "A tall figure her sight engross' d,/And it cried,’ Giles Scroggin's Ghost."
Originally from "The Universal Songster"
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
One of my favourite ghost story books, including tales of headless phantoms, ghostly footsteps and screaming skulls. It also has a wonderfully creepy illustration in the introduction 👻 : Ghosts of Derbyshire, published in the 1970s. #phantomsfriday
The cover of a paperback book Ghosts of Derbyshire. The title is in black text on a background of white, yellow and blue. There are sketchy images of a skull, a ghostly monk and the crooked spire of Chesterfield cathedral.A creepy illustration of ghostly woman done in a loose line drawing style. Her long hair covers her face and she is holding her hair with her right hand. She holds out her left hand as though she is pointing at someone or something.
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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Fabulous Visigothic bronze belt buckles inlaid with cloisonné glass. AD 500s. Which is your favourite? From the Visigothic Necropolis of Duratón, near Segovia, Spain. Casa del Sol Museum, Segovia 📷 by me #Archaeology
My photos show four ornate Visigothic bronze belt buckles arranged in a 2 x 2 grid. Each buckle has a rectangular plate decorated with colourful glass (red, blue, green) inlaid into metal cells using cloisonné technique, and a chunky curved metal loop and prong. They adorned leather belts which Visigothic women wore over a tunic (probably) as a status symbol. Excavated between 1942 and 1949 by Antonio Molinero from the necropolis of Duratón near Segovia, Spain. They are on display at the Casa del Sol Museum in Segovia.
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Guy Fawkes was born around Aprill in 1570 in Stonegate, York. He was baptised at St Michael le Belfrey (below) on the 15th of that month. His father, a Church of England lawyer, died when Guy was eight. His mother later married a Catholic, which, along with Guy’s schooling at St Peter’s
St Michael le Belfrey church York where Guy Fawkes was baptised.
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Karen @songthrush83.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
The village of Ambergate in Derbyshire is named for being the place where the river Amber meets the Derwent. Here’s the view from Halfpenny Bridge.
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Gravestones of New England @gravestones-ne.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Gravestone of Elizabeth Work, 1743, in Eastford, Connecticut. Carved by an unidentified local carver who is known as the “Eastford Dot Carver.”
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
In the unassuming but atmospheric graveyard of Whitechapel Church in the former textile town of Cleckheaton where I am now living, lies this fascinating mid 19th century gravestone, I had not heard of New Grenada. Bogota was at that time the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty
graveyard of Whitechapel Church in the former textile town of Cleckheaton where I am now living, lies this fascinating mid 19th century gravestone, I had not heard of New Grenada. Bogota was at that time the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty which was a colonial territory that included parts of modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 01/11/2025
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student
theguardian.com
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student
Fitzwilliam Museum has uncovered student’s work from 1977 that revealed Cambridgeshire location of child’s burial place An A-level pupil found the lost grave of the Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano’s daughter, revealing a story of love and solidarity in 18th-century rural England. Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), also known as Gustavus Vassa, escaped enslavement to become a celebrated author and campaigner in Georgian England. His memoir, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, was a bestseller. Continue reading...
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
As we approach All Souls Day when in many countries, people remember their loved ones who have died, the lovely story of a small Yorkshire community who many years ago came together to ensure that everyone could be buried with dignity. The story of the Farndale Hearse. Please enlarge the image.
The story of how a Victorian Yorkshire community came together to ensure that everyone could be buried with dignity. (Article John Heywood)
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