Welcome to The Briercliffe Society Forum

Stephen, to me please. Do you have my email address?

Kris and I did visit that section some months back and to our knowledge, we did get all the stones we could find....including one that was not previously visible due to moss and who knows what!!

If I am sent a better picture of something already on the site, I replace the one currently in use. Please bear with me, I am struggling to find time to add gravestone images at the moment.

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Mel

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Mel, I do indeed. I shall package my pictures up as a zip file and get them to you.

I would imagine that there would be a few gravestones that are still 'to be found' in the cemetery - either very small ones now overgrown, ones that have fallen over, or ones that have been laid flat to begin with. All will most likely be covered now.

I'm impressed that you've also been through the chaos of the cemetery, though! I did have an inkling, however, that someone had been there not *too* long before me. A few areas were flattened, and there were a few heaps of moss abandoned at the sides of various stones!

Do you (or anyone else) have any idea as to where the original chapel is within the site, btw? Am I right in my supposition that it would be on the right of the 'road' path as one enters...?

Looking through my photos, I appear to have some that aren't on the database already, so hopefully there will be something new for people to see!

I think it was Stephen. I have half a feeling that there is an artists impression or an image of it. Either that or I dreamt it!

Was it the beginning of this year Kris or last year? I forget now. Best time to go to overgrown graveyards is during the winter months. The grass isn't as long then so makes the battle a bit easier.

Please leave images as large as possible, it gives me room to play with in cropping and resizing for the site.

I do still have loads of gravestone images for the area to add. It's just time at the moment. One day I will catch up!

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Mel

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It's quite odd. Looking at the churchyard via googlemap would suggest that the site of the chapel was on the right of the 'road' entrance, but looking at the picture of the church that I've very kindly been sent (am I allowed to say by whom?) it would appear that it might just be on the left hand side of the entrance. Hmm...curioser and curioser!

I will return in the winter months, I expect. I'd also be happy to meet up with other people if anyone fancied trying to clean up any areas, or any gravestones in particular. A lot of hard work has clearly been done in attempting to document all of the gravestones, but there's always going to be the worry that one or two might have slipped through the net...

The religious history of the area really is fascinating. It seems such an independant minded place. Fascinating stuff!

I thought Roger mentioned looking for a Baptism "trough" in the area to the left of the gate. He would be the person to ask.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

That would fit in with what the photo appears to show.

Roger's the chap who runs the local history group, isn't he?

Judging by the photo, it really does look like the chapel's on the left of the entrance, but when I was at the site, I wouldn't have thought that there was the room for it there!

Ah well, I'll just look forward to winter and less vicious brambles!

Yes that's him.
We went a couple of winters ago, when there were bits of snow on the ground---not a good idea.
In that part of the churchyard there were no grave numbers, so unless there was a headstone there is no way of finding out just where anyone is buried----that was what I was told when trying to find out just where Joshua Kippax who died 1847 was buried, and who, if anyone, he was with.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Even more hidden traps brought on by the snow falls, then? To be fair, I only noticed one gaping hole that was waiting to swallow me up, but it did put me in fear for others!

I hadn't expected there to be grave numbers - however, it was rather more orderly than I *had* expected. I imagined that different families would have different plots, rather than being buried seemingly chronologically. Having said that, two of the Kippaxes were very close together, so perhaps there is an element of plotting going on?

Your Joshua could easily be in a marked Kippax grave, but perhaps he is not mentioned on the tombstone due to the passing of time, or the changing of stones, perhaps? For example, when I journeyed to the dilapidated Kilkeary Burial Ground in Tipperary to visit Great Grandma's grave (she died 1980) I found the names of her and her parents (d.1913/1917). All very well and good I thought, but then I found a book of transcriptions taken from, I think, the late 1970s or early 1980s and there were Great Grandma's parents...and *his* father! Seemingly, Great Granny's internment had led to the stone being changed/edited, and her name went on instead of the man who had died 95 years previously.

Just a thought. I'm sure Joshua is happily 'at rest' with his nearest and dearest...somewhere!

Have you checked the burial records Stephen? Burnley library holds the ones for Haggate.

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Mel

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I thought that the burial records were transcribed and on this site? Or is that only some of them...?

There are hardly any on the site Stephen. The info on the forum are MI's which are recorded from the actual gravestones that were standing whenever they were done. The actual burial records are held at the library and cover many years - certainly up to the late 1880's which is when I have looked at....and probably more recent than that. I have just not had call to view them yet.

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Mel

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Well, I'd better stop being so lazy and get myself down there, then!

Actually, the majority of the burials that I'm looking for are accounted for. I'll do a check when I get home, but I do have a lot of the direct ancestral ones, and I could have sworn that they came from this site (and were Haggate Baptist ones, too)

Mel, what form do the burial records take - are they indexed by name or listed by plot number?

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Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at

They are on microfilm (I think) Maureen and are from the burial books so they are date order.

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Mel

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