Story of marble memorial in village church yard near Watford

Everyone has a story. And for our family and friends who have gone before us, it’s usually a story we want to remember. It’s always been so - and there are a number of ways in which it’s done now, including our many war memorials.

In the past, though, there were rather fewer ways of doing it. Generally, the headstone to a grave was the most usual, with memorials in the parish church giving much of the story – and for the more prominent, an effusive obituary notice provided more detail. For the few, a statue might appear.

Chipperfield church yard has a good local example. It’s a very prominent marble obelisk to Caroline Gearey, who died in 1858 at the age of 39. It also commemorates her husband James Gearey, and four of their children, George, Frank, Charles and Caroline. And it was erected by her father, George Powell. Not so remarkable, really, unless you know something about the story.

Memorial to Caroline Gearey, Chipperfield church. Image: Three Rivers Museum/Pauline Szelewski

Which we do. George Powell was the father of both Caroline Gearey and Sophie White, the wife of our farmer diarist John White, and it’s through Mr White’s records that we can learn more about the story commemorated here in Chipperfield. In this sort of thing you have to be certain who was who (just taking names off the family history websites doesn’t do it), and here we know just who was who, and what the story is.

Memorial to the Croxley Green teacher Mildred Stanford in All Saints Church, at her death in 1930. Image: Three Rivers Museum/Liz Frow donation

James Gearey, another farmer, was both John White’s cousin and, having married his wife’s sister, his brother-in-law. George Powell was a well-known man in London, and by this time was the Surveyor and Chief Clerk (ie Chief Executive) of the Waterloo Bridge Company, one of the biggest civil engineering projects in London. He used to drop in for tea with one or other of his daughters on his way to visit Lord Clarendon at The Grove, so you get the picture. In 1858 the two sisters each had daughters close in age (12 and 15).

Memorial bench in memory of Maximin Green of Chorleywood. Image: Deborah Young

In November 1858 John White, on a visit to a farm near Brighton, was told by letter that his daughter Fanny had scarlet fever. He went home next day, very anxious - scarlet fever was very dangerous. Fanny slowly recovered, but a week later James Gearey brought his daughter Carry to stay ‘out of the way of the fever’, which had broken out at their home, Great West Wood farm at Chipperfield: their nursemaid (they had very small children as well) had already died of it. Sure enough, little Carry then developed the fever. Both the girls recovered slowly, but Carry’s mother Caroline Gearey caught it – and she did not recover, dying of scarlet fever just three days after first feeling unwell at the start of December 1858. She left eleven children.

Memorial plaque – John and Sophie White in St Mary's, Rickmansworth. Image: Three Rivers Museum/Fabian Hiscock

And so her father George Powell erected this fine monument in her memory, to which the names of her husband and some of their children were added later. There’s a bit more to the story: young Carry, Caroline, their second daughter, became a published author of at least ten novels or historical biographies, but that will be a separate tale of a significant local figure.

Everyone has a story: and when we’re looking at what’s now just a memorial stone or plaque for some unknown person, we can remember that behind it is the story of a real person, perhaps like Mildred Stanford of Croxley Green, Maximin Green of Chorleywood - or Caroline Gearey.