Forum Topic

St Mary’s Burial Ground

Hi there, I am in California and looking for the final resting place of my Great Grandmother and her daughter. Ealing St Mary, Acton is what I have found. I would love to learn more about this place. They were buried in 1881, would there be any records of this, possible headstones to photo?Any and all information is appreciated!Wendy

Wendy Watson ● 6006d28 Comments

There is a picture of St Mary Acton athttp://www.actonhistory.co.uk/acton/page3.htmlRegardsDavid

David Knights ● 6006d

Hi Wendy, there are two St Mary's Churches one in Acton at The Mount,  Acton Hugh street and the other in Ealing at http://www.stmarysealing.org.uk not sure which one you are referring to,  Ealing and Acton are neigbouring areas.

Jen Morty ● 6006d

*pedant alert*Isn't it St Mary Church in Acton and St Mary's Church in Ealing?

T Beme ● 6006d

Well,  the first post said Ealing St Mary Acton is what she found,  the next post referred to Acton so I pointed out that there are two St Marys.  Mind due I will be pedantic and draw attention to my poor typing Acton High St not Acton Hugh St!

Jen Morty ● 6006d

*No no no no no! she says with her pedant hat falling off!*One is St Mary and the other is St Mary's - you haven't reffered to two St Mary's because they aren't. :-_Indulge me....

T Beme ● 6006d

Thank you all.... Of course now I am confused, I can only show what I found on ancestry.com and how it reads... hope you can help me figure it out.Name:  Eliza MossRecord Type: BurialEvent Date: 24 Sep 1881Age: 38Estimated birth year: abt 1843Parish: St Mary, ActonBorough: EalingCounty: MiddlesexName:  Elizabeth Mary Eliza MossRecord Type: BurialEvent Date: 24 Sep 1881Age: 1y 10 monthsEstimated birth year: abt 1879Parish: St Mary, ActonBorough: EalingCounty: MiddlesexThanks again so much!!

Wendy Watson ● 6006d

Oh I see crikey your level of pedantry (now is that the right word) had escaped me! I simply was not looking into it at that depth.....but I just had a quick look at the wesbites for both and copied as follows:Welcome to St Mary's, the Parish Church of Acton  “Seeking the presence of Christ in our worship, in our community and through our life together.”  St Mary's Church, ActonParish Office: 1 The Mount, Acton High Street, London W3 9NWANDHow to contact usChurch office:St. Mary's ChurchSt. Mary's RoadEalingLondonW5 5RHOffice telephone number: 020 8579 7134E-mail: office@stmarysealing.org.uk (Jean Barclay, Parish Administrator

Jen Morty ● 6006d

Acton is in the borough of Ealing.  Boroughs are administrative areas and London is split into different boroughs so in the Borough of Ealing are Ealing itself and other areas like Acton,  Hanwell,  Greenford etc.However Boroughs did not exist at the time your relation passed away and all London was in the county of Middlesex.  From the info you have I would say the St Mary's Church is the one in Acton at The Mount,  Acton High Street.

Jen Morty ● 6006d

Wendy,  have a look at the following link there are some old photos of Acton and if you scroll down some of St Mary's Church.http://www.actonhistory.co.uk/acton/Postcards.htm

Jen Morty ● 6006d

The actual image doesn't say Borough, that came from the index. The top of the page actually reads:Burials in the Parish of Acton in the County of Middlesex and then the year is spelled out....Does this make a difference?Wendy

Wendy Watson ● 6006d

Which is no longer used as a churchyard but at this time of year is full of spring bulbs in glowing splendour... which won't help you I am afraid as the gravestones have been largely removed. There are a few in more or less original places and some more round the edges. But there is not much decipherable on them.

Sara Nathan ● 6006d

Wendy,  yes St Mary's Church Acton in Middlesex.  Borough of Ealing did not exist at the time of your Grandmother but it does now which would be why the index refers to it.

Jen Morty ● 6006d

ok it's St Mary's Acton.Now I'm more intrigued what happened to mother and daughter to have presumably died and buried at the same time?Would it have been the norm for people to have been buried in the grounds of the church? I often thought you'd have to have been either privileged or attached to the church for that to happen....

T Beme ● 6006d

Yes keep us updated with your research Wendy.  Also the BBC website has useful links on familiy reseach which may help you.I thought everyone in the Parish was buried in the parish Church certainly in rural areas?  I guess as things become more urban and populatation increases that is not possible.  All very interesting.

Jen Morty ● 6006d

I replied to this but it hasn't shown up, so excuse me if I duplicate it.Rec'd death certificate - died of Pycemia - 7 monthsDied 20th of Sept, 1881 The Steyne, Acton38 years old, wife of Elijah Moss, gardenerE. Moss widower of deceased present at the death, Steyne, Acton. The daughter died of the same thing after 3 days, Mom died first.From what I can find, pycemia is basically an infection, perhaps pneumonia .....The father was left with three children and from what I have found out he farmed them out to other people.Wendy

Wendy Watson ● 6006d

Very interesting. Thank you Wendy.

T Beme ● 6006d

Hello Wendy:I think the cause of death was: Pyaemia (or pyemia) is a type of septicaemia that leads to widespread abscesses of a metastatic nature. It is usually caused by the staphylococcus bacteria by pus-forming organisms in the blood. Apart from the distinctive abscesses, pyaemia exhibits the same symptoms as other forms of septicaemia. It was almost universally fatal before the introduction of antibiotics.The Steyne is very close to The Mount and Acton High Street, which is where St Mary's Church is. As detailed, it is no longer open for burials, but obviously was at the time of your ancestors deaths.You may be able to progress your enquiry by contacting the Church: http://www.stmaryacton.org.uk/ - but they may refer you to Ealing Council who may now have the records for who was buried and where in the churchyard.Acton High Street is viewable on Google Streetview if you want to look around from cyberspace!Now that you have provided sufficient details, I'm sure someone will come along from the Local History Society and offer more helpful advice!For what it's worth, I couldn't find any WW1 Moss Casualty; however there was one in WW2:Name: MOSS, VICTOR. Rank: Pilot OfficerRegiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer ReserveUnit Text: 59 Sqdn.Age: 26. Date of Death: 11/05/1942Service No: 69496Additional information: Son of John and Miriam Moss, of Acton, Middlesex. A.C.I.S.Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 70. Memorial: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIALwho may fit somewhere in your Family Tree.

Kevin Regan ● 6006d

From what i can remember, there were 2 graveyards attached to St Mary's church Acton. Several years ago, when The Mount was being developed, the graveyard next door to Barclays bank on The Mount was dug up and the land sold ( by the church,or it could have been owned by Ealing Council but don't quote me on that), for redevelopment which has now been built on.I believe there was an outcry at the time as to the ethics in digging up the graveyard and what would would become of the remains and headstones. I don't recall if they were moved to another burial site but do remember the graveyard being boarded up and hidden from public view whilst the works were carried out.Pictures of the old graveyard can be seen here:http://www.actonhistory.co.uk/acton/Postcards.htmSo sadly Wendy, your ancestors could have been buried in the graveyard that was.

Ellie Rose ● 6005d

"they may refer you to Ealing Council who may now have the records for who was buried and where in the churchyard."Yes, Ealing's Local History Centre has the burial records for St Mary's Acton.  Details are athttp://www.ealing.gov.uk/services/leisure/libraries/local_history_centre/family_history_sources/Ealing Local History Centre103 Ealing Broadway CentreThe BroadwayLondonW5 5JY. Phone (from overseas):  +44 20 8825 8194 Contact: Dr Jonathan Oates, borough archivist and local history librarianEmail: localhistory@ealing.gov.uk

Richard Jennings ● 6005d

In 1895 the old cemetery in Churchfield rd Middx was closed except in the case of private graves.The only other cemetery to serve the local parishes was the one beyond the Great western railway station Acton Park Royal.Only the privileged were buried in church grounds.

Ricardo Pelc-Wesoly ● 6004d

Hi Wendy,I do genealogy research, if you require any further help on this matter.

Ana Strachan ● 6003d

I have a feeling someone was collating the momumental inscriptions a while back but i don't know if this happened...also if my memory serves me right there was burial act of 185? which meant that some parishes buried their dead in large cemeteries outside of the parish (certainly Westminster and Kensington did as we have those massive cemeteries in Hanwell). I also think you should contact the London Metropolitan Archives as i understood that they held the parish registers for Acton.(this could have changed as last time i checked was 2002)

Sheila McCabe ● 6002d

For some reason my posts aren't sticking... I want to say THANK YOU for all that you have done to help me and lead me in the right direction!!I am going to re-read everything today and make sure I didn't miss anything..Will keep you updated on any findings!Wendy

Wendy Watson ● 6002d

Well Wendy, London is basking in the Spring sunshine, the apple blossom is in full bloom as are the daffodils. We are promised a beautiful summer. Acton is only 30mins from Heathrow Airport...now would be a perfect time to come and visit 'the old country'.

David Archer ● 6002d

"We are promised a beautiful summer"That's a good policy.  Which party manifesto is it in?Our apple tree (Worcester Pearmain) isn't showing any blossom at all yet.  If yours is in full bloom, what sort is it?

Richard Jennings ● 6001d

My cherry tree is in full blossom...and we must be due a good summer after last year's wash out.

David Archer ● 6001d

When I was in St Mary's church recently, a lay preacher told me that the land on which Morrison's supermarket stands used to belong to the church and was sold when there was a female vicar. Money raised paid for the refurbishment of the church, which is listed.

Fran Leslie ● 6000d

Wendy: Are we all done on this, as I see Joanne has also been posting on rootschat and has photos of both St Marys and Churchfield Rd cemetery.Don't think headstones were found though.http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,449861.0.html

Kevin Regan ● 5991d