Obituaries/inquests/death announcements/press reports
of people buried in the cemetery in unlocated graves
Edwin BENNETT (c.1840–1889)
St Paul’s section: grave not located
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 19 January 1889
THE LATE MR. EDWIN BENNETT. — On Monday afternoon, the 14th inst., the mortal remains of the late Mr. E. Bennett, of Observatory-street, were committed to their last resting-place in Jericho Cemetery. Until within a fortnight of his decease Mr. Bennett had fulfilled the duties of choir-leader at New-road Chapel, a post he had held for nearly forty years. He was, with one exception, the senior male member of the church in the New-road, having been baptized in the year 1840 by the Rev. Dr. Godwin, at that time pastor. He was also senior church officer, his first appointment in 1855 having been confirmed by repeated re-elections During his long connection with this body he filled with diligence and efficiency many other offices, including the superintendence of the Sunday School at Penson’s Gardens, the Secretaryship of various Societies, and the administration of funds for the relief of the poor The burial service was conducted by the Rev. James Dunn, pastor of New-road Chapel, and among those who followed the deceased, besides his sorrowing relatives, were the whole of his brother church officers, the organist (Mr. A. Wiblin), Mr. R. J. Grubb (formerly organist), the chapel keeper, and many members of the choir. When the body had been lowered into the grave, the hymn, “Let saints below in concert sing,” was sung with impressive effect, and at the close of the service “The Christian’s Goodnight” (from the Christian Choir) was rendered by the choir and the large company assembled. The funeral arrangements were conducted by Mr. R. Campion. At New-road Chapel, on Sunday last, special reference was made by the pastor to the loss sustained by Mr. Bennett’s death, and in the evening the “Dead March” in Saul was played by the organist (Mr. Wiblin), as a tribute of affectionate respect to his memory.
Edwin Bennett died at Observatory Street at the age of 72 and was buried in the St Paul's section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 14 January 1889.
Edwin BUTLER (1817–1869)
St Giles' section: grave not located
Edwin Butler was born in Oxford on 11 December 1817 and baptised at All Saints Church on 24 February 1818. He was the eldest son of William Henry Butler (a wine-merchant who served as Mayor of Oxford in 1836) and Elizabeth Briggs: see more information on his father. Edwin moved to Linden House in Headington with his widower father in the 1840s. He was still living in Headington when on 1 August 1854 he married Mary Joy (born 2 April 1824). They were living at Newton Lodge in the Woodstock Road when he died on his 52nd birthday on 7 December 1869. He was buried in the St Giles' section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 11 December 1869.
Elizabeth Ann Townsend CAMBRIDGE (1853–1894)
St Mary Magdalen section: grave not located
Elizabeth was born in Gloucester in 1853, and in 1891 was the Manager of the King’s Head Hotel in Cirencester in 1891 (when Florence Maud Cambridge, who was born in Oxford in 1872, was paying her a visit). She died hospital in London aged 41 and was buried on 10 July 1894 in the St Mary Magdalen section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery. Jackson’s Oxford Journal reported on 14 July 1894:
July 6, at St. Marylebone Hospital, London, Elizabeth Ann Townsend, eldest daughter of John Cambridge, late of Oxford, aged 41. Interred at St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery.
Richard COLLINS (c.1817–1889)
St Mary Magdalen section: grave not located
Richard Collins died at Friars Entry at the age of 72 on 14 August 1889 and was buried on 18 August in the St Mary Magdalen section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery. Jackson’s Oxford Journal reported on 24 August 1889
THE LATE CLERK OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN.—The funeral of Mr. Richard Collins, who for many years held the office of Clerk of the Parish of St. Mary Magdalen Church, and who died on the 14th inst., at his residence in Friars’ Entry, after an illness of only a few days, took place on Sunday last, at St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery, Walton-street. The body was taken to the Church, where the first part of the Burial Service was said, the choir taking part, and the Dead March was played. At the grave-side the remainder of the service was said, and in the evening a muffled peal was rung on the Church bells.
Henry COOKE (c.1797–1869)
St Mary Magdalen section: grave not located
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 20 March 1869
THE LATE MR. COOKE. — Our obituary this week records the death of Mr. Henry Cooke, a gentleman much respected, and well known in connection with the Press of this his native city. In the year 1837 he established the Oxford Chronicle as an organ of the Liberal Party, whose principles it has always consistently maintained. About eleven years ago, when the proprietorship of the paper was transferred to a Company, under the Limited Liability Act, Mr. Cooke continued to act as Editor and Manager, besides retaining a pecuniary interest in the concern. His remains were interred in the Jericho Cemetery on Wednesday last, and were followed to the grave by his relatives, several old and valued friends, and a number of the employés of the establishment with which he had been so long connected.
He died at the south end of St John Street in 1869 at the age of 73 and was buried in the St Mary Magdalen section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 17 March. (Four years earlier on 18 April 1865 at St Paul's Church, Charles Richard Brown, son of Thomas Blakeman Brown, married Emily Cooke of Upper Walton Street, the daughter of Henry Cooke)
Henry John DUFFIN (1855–1888)
St Paul (St Barnabas) section: grave not located
Henry John Duffin was born in London on 24 August 1855, the son of Henry & Mary Duffin, and baptised at St Pancras Old Church on 16 February 1856. He died at 95 Great Clarendon Street at the age of 34 and was buried in the St Paul's section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 26 August 1888.
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 1 September 1888 reported:
ODD FELLOW’S FUNERAL — On Sunday afternoon last the members of the Loyal Walton Lodge of Oddfellows, to the number of about 50, assembled at the Lodge Room, Jericho House, on the occasion of the funeral of a member of the Lodge, Brother Henry Duffin, of 59, Great Clarendon-street, at St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery, Walton-street. A procession was formed from the house, and the body was borne to the grave by four of the members of the Lodge, one of the Curates of St. Barnabas reading the burial service. Permission was given to read the Odd-fellows’ address at the grave side, and this was done by N. G. W. Sansom. The deceased, who was 34 years of age, and had been a member of the Order for some years, leaves a widow and four children to mourn their loss.
John FOSTER (c.1843–1916)
St Paul's section: grave not located
Sacristan at St Barnabas's Church for thirty years, from its opening in 1869 to 1909. The following is taken from Arthur Tilney Bassett, S. Barnabas' Oxford: A record of fifty years (A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd, London and Oxford, 1919):
Apart from the beneficed clergy there are many others who have served S. Barnabas' with love and devotion, and amongst them the name of John Foster, the faithful verger, will always be remembered. From the time when, on Mr. Combe's recommendation, he had been appointed sacristan in 1869, until his retirement in 1909 – a span of forty years' service – Foster's was a well known figure in the parish. In the early days when most of the type was cast upon the premises, Foster had been a type-founder at the University Press. Later he changed his vocation, as will be seen from a little character sketch which was written during his lifetime: “… to write an article on S. Barnabas' without referring to its first Vicar is impossible. It is no less impossible, when writing of its people, to do so without mentioning Mr. John Foster, the brass plate on whose door opposite the Church (blending with commendable brevity his ecclesiastical avocation with the stern necessities of a corporeal existence) proclaims his position as 'Sacristan and Coal Merchant'! Sacristan he has been ever since the foundation of the Church (as he himself will tell you he was 'instituted with Mr. Noel'), and he has grown from youth to age in the service of the Church to which he is so deeply attached.
“How many times Mr. Foster has lighted the candles on the Altars for Eucharist and Evensong, and how many undergraduates, who afterwards became famous in the world outside Oxford, he has shown to seats in the Church it is impossible for any one to compute. To few churches has it been given to enjoy the services of so faithful an official for so long a time.” [R.A.R. Bennett, “S. Barnabas”, The Treasury, June 1907.]
Failing health rendered it necessary that Foster should give up his post in 1909. He lingered on until 1916, when he was laid to rest close to his friend and master, Thomas Combe, in S. Sepulchre's Cemetery. During the last years of his life he was bedridden, but, thanks to Mr. Hallett, an arrangement of telephone wires, by which he was enabled to follow the services, was installed between his house and the Church. Father Noel's own words may well conclude the brief notice of one to whom S. Barnabas' owes so much: “The Church owes him a debt of gratitude for the faithful, long, and capable way in which he performed his duties, and for the enthusiastic way in which he did what he could for the Catholic cause.”
Foster died at 47 Cardigan Street in February 1916 at the age of 74 and was buried in the St Paul's section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 29 February His photograph was published in the Oxford Journal Illustrated on 8 March 1916, p. 9.
Crescens HAWTIN (c.1830–1893)
St Paul’s section: grave not located
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 1 April 1893:
FORESTER’S FUNERAL. — The funeral of the late Bro. Crescens Hawtin took place on Sunday afternoon last at St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery, and was attended by about fifty brothers of the Order and a large number of the general public. Bro. T. C. Hewitt, Secretary of Court Loyal Oxonian, of which deceased was for over 40 years a member, read the Foresters’ Burial Service at the graveside. Amongst the wreaths, &c., sent were two from the Radcliffe Infirmary (where deceased was for many years employed), from the matron and staff, and from the servants of the institution. The relatives of the deceased desire to thank the Foresters and other friends for the kind sympathy show them in their bereavement.
Crescens Hawtin died at 2 Albert Place at the age of 63 and was buried in the St Paul's (St Barnabas) section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 26 March 1893. His death notice read: “March 21, at 2, Albert-terrace, St. Barnabas, Oxford, Crescens Hawtin, formerly porter at Warneford Asylum, and for many years a respected employé of the Radcliffe Infirmary; aged 69.”
Joseph HODGKINS (c.1828–1886)
St Giles section: grave not located
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 27 February 1886
DEATH OF THE SECRETARY OF THE RADCLIFFE INFIRMARY.—We regret to announce the death, after a very short illness, of Mr. J. Hodgkins, the Secretary of the Radcliffe Infirmary, which took place at his residence in Observatory-street on Saturday night last. The deceased, who was in his 60th year, had filled the office of Secretary to the Infirmary with the greatest satisfaction to the governing body for some years, and this, together with his courtesy and urbanity to all with whom he was brought in contact, caused him to be much respected. The funeral took place on Thursday, at St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery, and his remains were followed to the grave by several of the Governors and the Committee of Management, many of the medical staff, nurses, and others connected with the institution.
Joseph Hodgkins died at Observatory Street aged 58 and was buried in the St Giles' section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 25 February 1886.
Francis William JOY (1831–1873)
St Giles section: grave not located
Francis was born on 9 March 1831, the son of the tailor Thomas Joy. He and his sisters were orphaned and went to live with their uncle William Thorp II (Mayor of Oxford in 1833) at 10 Holywell Street. He was a chemist & druggist of 43 Upper Albany Street, London when he married Sarah Jessopp of 26 Upper Albany Street at St Pancras Church on 20 December 1856. He died in Cardiff aged 42 on 22 March 1873 and he was buried in the St Giles' section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 28 March.
Frank JUDGE (c.1867–1883)
St Giles section: grave not located
Frank Judge was born in Cardigan Street, Jericho in 1867, the son of John and Hannah Judge, and was baptised at St Paul's Church on 7 July. He died at Cardigan Street at the age of 16 and was buried in the St Giles' (Ss Philip & James) section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 26 February 1883.
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 3 March 1883
CHORAL FUNERAL. — On Monday afternoon last the choir of St. Philip and St. James’ Church followed the remains of one of their number, Mr. Frank Judge, of Cardigan Street, to the grave in St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery. The officiating clergy were the Vicar (the Rev. E. C. Dermer), and the Curates (the Revs. F. J. Brown and H. Spencer). A portion of the service was performed in the Chapel, and at the conclusion of the ceremony the choir sang a hymn at the grave. The deceased was very highly respected, and a large number of persons were present at the funeral.
Arthur Frederick KETTLE (1909–1923)
St Mary Magdalen section: grave not located
Arthur Frederick Kettle was born on 12 March 1909 and baptised at St Barnabas’s Church on 18 April. He was the son of Arthur Frederick Kettle senior, who was a plumber, and his wife Edith Daisy. Between 1915 and 1926 an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica (sleeping sickness) spread around the world, and Arthur died of it in April 1923 at the age of 14 at 25 Victor Street. He was buried in the St Mary Magdalen section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 21 April. The following report appeared in the Oxford Journal Illustrated of 25 April 1923:
FUNERAL OF SLEEPING SICKNESS VICTIM
Impressive scenes were witnessed at the funeral of Arthur Frederick Kettle, a 14-year-old victim of sleeping sickness. He was a senior choirboy at St. Barnabas Church and a member of the Boy Scouts, and both were represented at the funeral.
Caption 1: Members of his Troop, who acted as bearers, following the bier
Caption 2: The procession entering St Sepulchre’s Cemetery.
Frank NORTON (c.1861–1879)
St Paul’s section: grave not located
Frank died at Rochester House, Kingston Road in 1879 at the age of 18 and was buried in the St Paul's (St Barnabas) section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 28 July. Jackson’s Oxford Journal reported on 7 August 1879:
FUNERAL OF A MEMBER OF ST. BARNABAS CHOIR. — On Monday evening the remains of Frank Norton, who died on the previous Thursday, were borne to their last resting-place in St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery. The Revs. M. H. Noel, E. Dermer, and W. B. Duggan met the coffin at the gate, and walked before it to the chapel, the Rev. E. Dermer saying the sentences. The Rev. M. G. Biel said the Psalms, and the Rev. W. B. Duggan read the Lesson, the coffin meanwhile resting before the altar with a lighted taper upon each side of it. As the procession walked towards the grave the hymn, “Brother, now thy toils are o’er,” was sung, and here the Rev. E. Dermer and the Rev. M. H. Noel concluded the service. Then was sung the hymn, “They whose course on earth are o’er.” The coffin, which was of polished oak, was relieved by a large white metal cross, full length, with name and age engraved at its foot, and was covered with wreaths of flowers, amongst which was a floral cross. No hearse was used, but simply the bier of St. Philip and St. James’s Church, which was borne by members of the Guild of St. Barnabas, to which the deceased belonged. The pall (violet with white cross) was that of St. Barnabas’s parish. There was a large following of relatives and friends, and a very numerous assemblage of general sympathisers, the arrangements being well carried out by Mr. G. S. Evens, of 113, High-street. The deceased, who was much esteemed, died, after a week’s illness, through the breaking of a blood-vessel, having previously been in delicate health.
Frederick ROGERS (c.1845–1868)
St Paul's section: grave not located, but in old St Paul section D.17
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 4 April 1868
ODD FELLOWS’ FUNERAL.—On the 25th ult., the remains of Frederick Rogers, aged 23, were followed to the Jericho Cemetery by members of the Walton Lodge of Odd Fellows, to which he belonged.
Daniel STEVENS (c.1850–1889)
St Paul's section: grave not located
Daniel Stevens died at Albert Street at the age of 39 in August 1889 and was buried in the St Paul's (St Barnabas) section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 18 August. Jackson’s Oxford Journal reported on 24 August 1889:
FUNERALS OF ODD FELLOWS. — On Sunday last the remains of Daniel Stevens, of the Good Intent Lodge, were interred at four o’clock in St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery. The service was impressively read by the Curate of Saint Barnabas.
William STEVENS (b. & d. 1871)
St Giles' section: to the right of the grave of Mrs Isabella Rebecca Kidd
William Stevens was born three months prematurely on 24 November 1871 to the Revd Edward Stevens (the Curate of Sandford-on-Thames) and his wife Bell at their home in Park Town. His father baptised his son, and he died in his sister Rosa's arms three days later. His father recorded in his diary that he was buried on 29 November 1871 in the Walton Street Cemetery, to the right of Mrs Kidd's grave. There is just a grassy mound there now.
John WEBB (c.1828–1872) and William BLACKWELL (c.1842–1872)
St Paul's section: grave not located
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 30 March 1872
FUNERAL OF TWO RAILWAY GUARDS.—On Sunday afternoon last the remains of John Webb, guard on the London and North-Western Railway, who was accidentally killed on the 17th inst., as mentioned in the Journal of last Saturday, and those of a guard named Blackwell, who died after a short illness, were interred in the Jericho Cemetery. Webb had been in the service of the London and North-Western Railway Company for a period of 22 years, and was very much respected. Upwards of fifty servants of that Company, and several from the Great Western Railway Company, paid their last tribute of respect to the deceased by following their remains to the grave. At the conclusion of the burial service, the Rev. W. D. Duggan, the Vicar of St. Paul’s, delivered an appropriate address.
John Webb (44) of Walton Place (now Walton Street) was buried in the St Paul's section (K5) of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 24 March 1872.
William Blackwell (30) of Clarendon Street was buried in the St Paul's (St Barnabas) section on the same day
Arthur Joseph Ferguson WALDEN (1864–1881)
St Giles' section: grave not located
NB: The photograph on the right shows Arthur mentioned on the grave of his parents (James & Elizabeth Walden) at Tower Hamlets Cemetery in London
Arthur Walden was articled to a Civil Engineer in London, and came to Oxford on Good Friday 1881 to stay with his brother-in-law, the confectioner Sidney Charles Grace, at 2 Graham Villas, Kingston Road.
On the afternoon of Easter Saturday 1881 (16 April), he and a man called Alfred Woods walked across to Medley where each hired a whiff (an outrigged boat for one sculler). Arthur collided with Alfred's boat and they both ended up in the Thames. Alfred was saved by the son of the butler of Balliol College, but Arthur drowned.
Arthur was buried in the St Giles' section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 21 April, and his inquest appeared in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 23 April 1881
Obituaries of people in graves which have been located,
but biographies not yet writtenH. JACOB (probably Row 17, Grave F44½)
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 25 December 1869
FUNERAL OF MR. JACOB.—The remains of the late Mr. H. Jacob were interred in the Jericho Cemetery on Wednesday last, the respect in which he was held being testified by the attendance of the Mayor (Jas. Hughes, Esq.), Ald. Carr, Cavell, and Randall, the City Coroner (W. Brunner, Esq.), as well as several members of the Board of Guardians of the old Incorporation, who followed him to the grave. The funeral service was read by the Vicar of St. Giles’s.
John Henry TURNER (St Paul section: Row 12, Grave A15½)
Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 5 April 1884:
DEATH OF MR. JOHN HENRY TURNER. — We regret to have this week to announce the death, after a very short illness, at his residence, 147, Kingston-road, of Mr. John Henry Turner, who for several years carried on the business of accountant and insurance agent in Broad-street, and he also, especially after the death of his father, Mr. Richard Turner, was widely known as the correspondent for a number of London and provincial newspapers. For some years he represented the Central Ward in the Town Council; he was first elected on Dec. 4, 1868, on Mr. Cavell being made Alderman; he was re-elected in 1871, and in 1874 was defeated by Mr. Emberlin by the casting vote of Ald. Cavell; in 1876 he was again returned to the Council, and was elected in 1878. During the latter part of his life he became subject to epileptic fits, and on Friday in last week he was seized with one, and this was so rapidly followed by others that he never rallied, and died early on Monday morning, at the comparatively early age of 51. The funeral took place at St. Sepulchre’s on Thursday morning.
