On Monday this week we went on a field trip to West Norwood in search of my Great Great Grandfather, Samuel Walker who died in 1888.
I have only the research and records of my ancestor’s life, there are no images of him or his wife Emma, that I have yet to find. In previous posts I have written about his life and times from a relatively humble background in Rotherhithe and his career in the brokerage of cheese and other provisions. He lived in Croydon, Brixton and Tulse Hill. He also had offices in King William Street, close to London Bridge and the Pool of London from where he conducted his business. From his history it is possible to see how these business activities were inherited by my grandmother, Grace Wilcox and her husband, William Wilcox, but not on such a grand scale.
It was during my research that I found a reference to his grave on this website Find a Grave which led me to West Norwood. This website is only as good as its contributors who are all volunteers. They submit locations and details on headstones. Emma died in 1884, and her name is at the top of the headstone. Samuel was added later when he died in 1888.
We arrived at West Norwood Station from Victoria Station, on an interesting loop line that terminates back in London Bridge. It meanders through familiar south London suburbs including Sydenham, where I once lived.
Exiting the station onto Knights Hill, we wandered down the hill to the entrance of the cemetery. Although the signage is West Norwood Cemetery, its official title is South Metropolitan Cemetery, and its origins lie in the 19th Century habit of memorialising death with elaborate mausoleums and monuments. There are other examples of this type of cemetery, such as the Necropolis in Glasgow which is built on a rising hill behind the cathedral and is dotted with very fine memorials. West Norwood is similar in size and has thousands of headstones and hundred of memorials.
The initial entrance to West Norwood Cemetery
The formal entrance to the Cemetery. The signage, parking and temporary buildings inside the archway make the arrival feel a bit untidy.
There are guidance and information posters at the entrance from which we roughly guessed where to find my ancestor’s grave. The lanes and paths are named and with patience, can be found, particularly if they are well sign posted. In the Walker’s case, their location on Find a Grave was listed as Doulton Path. There are two ends to this path, which is named after its famous Doulton Mausoleum, the resting place of the Doulton family. Sir Henry Doulton is famous for his pottery business and the mausoleum design incorporated tiles that were created in his pottery.
Finding Doulton Path was not difficult but the plans for the cemetery didn’t make it easy.
We entered Doulton Path from the right-hand end located at the top of the cemetery. It is a meander of a climb along the wide path along the right-hand perimeter. Both side of this lane are surrounded by hundred of ancient graves whose stones and small monuments were either leaning or looking upended. Not through any vandalism but the activity of tree roots and subsidence.
Uneven and misshapen headstones and monuments throughout the cemetery caused by tree root subsidence
Overshadowed by trees and shrubs, Doulton Path has been renovated. We worked our way along slowly and found the grave very quickly. The large headstone confirmed that Emma Walker had died in 1884. There was a quotation from Proverbs underneath her name. Beneath Emma was Samuel’s name.
The grave of Emma and Samuel Walker. Note the two small squares midway down the side walls and at the corner of the grave. These were likely holding an ornate metal railing that may have been removed for the war effort in the First World War.
The grave itself is surrounded by a simple, low wall which has the words The Family Grave of Samuel Henry Walker. There are no other family names mentioned on the headstone.
The engraving on the front stone wall surrounding Samuel Walkers grave.
However, I do know that when he purchased the freehold to his plot (in Scotland this is known as a lair) he would have had the right to have other members of the family buried there. This is based on the following entry in his will:
My freehold grave at Norwood Cemetery I give to my children Cornelius James Walker, Mary Anne Walker and Adelaide Walker.
Why these three? Samuel had another daughter, but she was married, and Adelaide and Mary Anne were not. Cornelius was my great grandfather (which is why I think my grandmother had a copy of Samuel Walker’s will, now in my possession). Another son had disappeared to Australia, although his father did not know that at the time of his death. There was another son who was also involved in the provision business, young Samuel Walker. I am puzzled why he had no share in the freehold of the grave. I wonder if the freehold continues to exist and if so, did any of the three children who inherited it pass it on or is it still waiting to be claimed?
We walked down Doulton Path and found the famous Doulton Mausoleum.
The family vault of Sir Henry Doulton
On our way back to the entrance we passed the Greek Enclosure and its many monuments. The cemetery is obviously undergoing a lot of renovation and repair which will take years to complete.
The Greek Enclosure. Note the shrouded urn.
The Greek Enclosure is currently undergoing a lot of renovation.
There is a lot of graveyard symbolism in the monumental masonry art, such as the urn covered with a shroud, representing spirituality and immortality. The saddest one, the broken column (often mistaken for an accidental breakage or vandalism) is not often seen but this one was dedicated to a young mother whose daughter died in infancy. The broken column signifies being cut down in prime, not having achieved success in later life.
Cut down in the prime of life
We left the cemetery having achieved our objective. When I returned to double check my research, I returned to Find a Grave and re read the information on Samuel Walker. The person recording the information also recorded the engraving on the low surrounding wall, but with the addition of: …of Tulse Hill and King William Street, City.
I realised that there was a further line of engraving that I had missed because, although I had scraped away the earth to uncover what I saw, I needed to uncover more. It is on this sort of occasion that I realise that when I go grave hunting, I must take a trowel with me to help uncover the hidden information. I had read on another site, Friends of West Norwood Cemetery, that the Doulton Path had been recently re-gravelled. I wonder if, in the process, that soil had been moved over and covered my ancestor’s grave. Another visit to be planned in the future to do some cleaning up.
So, my two times great grandfather and grandmother buried together. An interesting London couple who started life in Rotherhithe, eventually moving to Croydon, then Brixton. Although I must smile a little about that. Samuel regarded himself as living in Tulse Hill, but I would have believed that the road he lived in was in Brixton. He became a very successful provision merchant with some interesting sons and daughters. One of them was the father of my grandmother, the one that warned me against family history research in case I found skeletons in the cupboard. If only I could have conversations with her now.
Emma Walker, died 1884
(All photos in this post are by the author who retains ownership)