Houghton-le-Spring: A Grave Subject: Rev John Grey and TWU Robinson

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Rev John Grey and Thomas William Usherwood Robinson

The following piece of factually based fiction was written to give an idea of the relationship between two noteworthy people in the Cemetery’s history – Rector John Grey, and his Churchwarden Thomas William Usherwood Robinson.

St Michael's churchyard was literally full to the brim and the original Cemetery proposals caused outrage in Houghton in 1853.

Historical notes are given at the end.
Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

1853

A cold, cold morning in Houghton-le-Spring. Autumn. A time of harvest. A time of higher death rates; four very good reasons to go to Church. The ancient Church of St Michael and All Angels stood stark against the bleached mid-morning sky. The resident crows cackled, echoing throughout the surrounding churchyard. The huge Church doors swung open and twigs and sticks dropped down onto the maze of tombstones below as the black crows took to the sky; morning service was over and the parishioners were heading back to a harsh reality.
Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

Rector John Grey emerged from the building, acknowledging the leaving congregation with a nod of his wizened head and blink of his hard eyes. At 41 years old he looked as old now as he would on his deathbed at the age of 83; his comfortable living was blighted by arthritis, giving him the appearance of a much older man. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

Thomas William Usherwood Robinson in around 1860

Amongst the incongruous mix of Houghton’s miners, shop owners, manual workers, and gentry could be seen the strong outline of twenty-seven year old Thomas William Usherwood Robinson. Thomas had removed his Churchwarden robes and was attempting to leave Church behind the crowd, as he had a very important meeting to attend: a meeting which the Rector must not find out about. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

The Rector twiddled with his greying beard and lowered his voice as Thomas attempted to pass.

“You have overstepped your place, Thomas. Getting the buffoon George Turnbull to dance upon my hat was one thing, but your manifesto is not just an attack on me, but on the walls of this very Church.”

Thomas’s face froze and he swallowed hard before composing himself.

“Oh, come on, Thomas, or should I say Argus?” the Rector probed. “You cannot hide your opposition; I see it in your eyes. The bills you display are upsetting the peace in the Parish; your municipal burial ground will be a burthen on the village coffers and the scheme will fail,” he shifted his footing. “Don’t you see that the detached churchyard is the wish of God?” Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

“But it is the wish of the parishioners to have a cemetery established on the principles laid down in the Burial Act…Rector,” Thomas replied, ever mindful of the protocol when addressing the head of his Church. “You endeavour to cram your quarry hole scheme down the throats of us all yet take surprise when we attempt to have a voice in the matter!”

The Rev'd & Honourable, John Grey, MD, DD

His temper flared and the Rector raised his voice.

“Six years I have led this congregation. Six years filled with death after death. My boy, look around you now! This graveyard is full to the brim. Only yesterday my curate, Reverend Lomax, told me that old Tommy Bell had been telling everyone in the district that the gravediggers were breaking into old coffins! You may wish to know that this morning I have received sanction from our Lord Bishop, and you and your co-conspirators are about to be rendered mute. Call another meeting of the ratepayers but the consecration of a cemetery on glebe land will go ahead.” Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

Mindful of his meeting, Thomas shook his head and walked away alongside the Church’s iron railings, away from the Reverend’s second sermon of the day.

“Mr Tiplady and my solicitor, Mr Welford,” continued the Rector, “will be in touch with you and your friends.”

Out of the sight of Rector Grey’s piercing eyes, Thomas hurried along Rectory Square (the Broadway) and cut through a passage at the side of the Golden Lion public house. The encounter had made him late for his meeting with Robert Stokoe, and the pair had a dozen posters to put up before Sunday lunch. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

1888

Half asleep and late, nineteen-year-old Joseph Wanless shot out of Greenhow’s hardware shop, and shouted “Thanks, marra” as he raced along Newbottle Street. As a young employee of the Earl of Durham at Houghton Colliery he was often given errands to run by Mr Coburn, the undermanager, and today he had to collect some items before going to the Pit. He turned left at the White Lion Hotel, and headed towards his destination of Hopper’s Iron Foundry until he realised that the usual busy thoroughfare was in silence. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

The body of a former Churchwarden, Thomas William Usherwood Robinson, had travelled overnight to Houghton from Sedgefield, and, following a service in St Michael’s Church, was on its way up the steep hill of Sunderland Street.

The funeral cortege took several minutes to reach the top of the hill and the snorting black horses, adorned with jet black ostrich feathers, came to a halt at the Cemetery Lodge railings.

A line of mourners disembarked from the coaches and the coffin was rested underneath the lychgate as Rector John Grey emerged from the Lodge: Mary, the wife of Sexton William Reid, was particularly good at baking and her homemade Irish scones were too tempting for the old vicar to resist.

Following the Rector, the sombre group entered the Cemetery and curates said prayers along the way, whilst relatives comforted Thomas’s wife, Margareta.

The grave of Thomas William Usherwood Robinson at Hillside Cemetery

"This isn't right, just isn't right," she sobbed. "He hated this place..." Little did she know that four years later a municipal cemetery would be opened on Durham Road. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

A traditional Church of England funeral service was observed. The coffin was lowered into the ground and the Rector took a deep breath in. His hard eyes narrowed at the sound of the widow crying.

“Got you in the end, Thomas.” he thought.

1895

November. A cold yet bright morning. A young boy named John Rutherford skipped out from underneath the stone lychgate structure at the Hillside Cemetery entrance, and toddled off down Sunderland Street’s long bank. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

“Mind how you go, now!” shouted George Brown, the Church Sexton and man in charge of the Cemetery grounds. He would allow little John to visit the Lodge and neighbouring Farm, as the young boy reminded him of his five-year-old son, William, who had died the year before. John would often go up to the Cemetery to play but today he had been sent away as important preparations were underway.

Rev & Hon John Grey, MD, DD, rector of Houghton-le-Spring 1847 - 1895

A loud boom rattled the windows of the Sunderland Street shops, but it wasn’t the rumble of winter thunder. The whole town knew that the 83 year old Rector, John Grey, was on his deathbed, and the sound of blasting rock in preparation for a vault at the Hillside Cemetery meant one thing only: the old vicar would not see the light of another day! Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

Epilogue

Present day. A tormented soul looks down upon the sweeping landscape and rocky outcrops of Houghton’s hillside.

The soul moves through the clouds, through the treetops, through the thick undergrowth, and hovers above two pieces of stone… two pieces of a fractured headstone. The boom of thunder echoes against the cliffs of Houghton Cut, and rain starts to drench the overgrown Hillside Cemetery.

Three wet boys run across the grassy plateau to the burial ground exit, never to pass another thought at the headstone they had just vandalised.

The soul knows that it won’t be them who pick up the pieces.

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One of Rector Grey's responses to the Cemetery objections

HISTORICAL NOTES

Rev & Hon John Grey, MD, DD, Rector of Houghton-le-Spring 1847 - 1895

NAME	ABODE	AGE	DATE OF BIRTH	DATE OF DEATH	DATE OF FUNERAL	GRAVE LOCATION	NOTES
Rev John Grey	The Rectory, Houghton-le-Spring	83 years	March 2nd 1812	November 11th 1895	November 14 1895	In the old ground	Fee £11 6S
Lady Helen Mary Grey	The Grove, Hillingdon, Uxbridge.	75 years	1832	December 24th 1907	December 31st 1907	In Rector Grey's grave	This was Rector Grey's 2nd wife
Mary Katherine Grey	Nesham Place, Houghton-le-Spring.	70 years	1838	May 27th 1908	May 30th 1908	tbc	Rector Grey's daughter to his first wife - note age difference to his 2nd wife: his 2nd wife was 6 years younger than his daughter!

Time Line about Rev & Hon John Grey, MD, DD:

1812 – John Grey was born on March 2nd / 6th 1812, son of Sir Charles Grey (Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne) and Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby. John had five sisters and nine brothers. His sister, Lady Louisa Elizabeth Grey, had married Sir John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in January 1812. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

1814 – John was baptised on March 13th 1814 in Howick, Northumberland.

1832 – John Grey graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, at the age of 20 years old.

1836 – John Grey became vicar of Wooler. In July 1836, he married Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Charlotte Hervey.

1838 – John and Georgina Grey had a daughter, Mary Katherine Grey.

1842 – John and Georgina Grey’s first son, Charles Frederick Grey, was born on April 8th 1842. Charles went on to become Rector at Gladestry, Hertfordshire.

1843 – John Grey became Rector of Wolsingham.

1844 – John and Georgiana Grey’s second son, Frederick Thomas Grey, was born on February 28th 1844. Frederick went on to become vicar at Wendens Ambo, Essex.

1847 - Rev John Grey succeeded Rev Edward Thurlow as rector of Houghton-le-Spring, when Rev Thurlow died at the age of 82. John would have been aged 35 years old when he moved into the Rectory with his wife, Georgiana, 46 years, and their 9 year old daughter, Mary, and two sons, Charles, 5 years, and Frederick, 3 years. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

1848 - He was made Honorary Canon of Durham in 1848.

1869 – Rev John Grey’s first wife, Lady Georgiana Grey, died on January 16th 1869. It does not appear she was buried at Hillside Cemetery, despite this being the only burial ground in Houghton at the time.

1874 – At the age of 62 years, John Grey married Helen Mary Spalding on April 11th 1874, who was 20 years his junior, and 6 years younger than his daughter to his first wife!

1880 – Rector John Grey was Rural Dean of the first Rural Deanery of Houghton-le-Spring.

1891 - The 1891 census tells us that Rector John Grey (79 years), his wife Helen Mary (54) [she was actually 59], were accompanied by Lady Elizabeth Grey (74, a widow), plus Charles Allen the butler, Sarah Ann Norman (ladies maid - visiting), another ladies maid (name unreadable), Ellen Abbey (ladies maid), Mary Jane Charlton (housekeeper), Mary Ann Holmes (laundry maid), Margaret Chris (housemaid), and Elvina Simmons (kitchenmaid) - all at the Rectory. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

1895 – Rev John Grey died on November 11th 1895, aged 83 years, and was buried 3 days later at his Hillside Cemetery, Houghton-le-Spring. It is said that while he was on his deathbed in Houghton Rectory, he could hear the men blasting rock up at Hillside Cemetery in preparation for the grave he was soon to occupy.

1907 – Rector Grey’s widow, Lady Helen Mary Grey, died on December 24th 1907, aged 75 years, and was buried at Houghton Hillside Cemetery alongside her husband on December 31st 1907. Her abode at the time was The Grove, Hillingdon, Uxbridge.

1908 – Rector Grey’s daughter, Mary Katherine Grey, died unmarried on May 27th 1908, aged 70 years, and was buried at Houghton Hillside Cemetery 3 days later. Her abode at the time was Nesham Place, Houghton-le-Spring. Copyright © Books of the North 2002 - 2011.

Thomas William Usherwood Robinson, Churchwarden

NAME	ABODE	AGE	DATE OF BIRTH	DATE OF DEATH	DATE OF FUNERAL	GRAVE LOCATION	CEREMONY PERFORMED BY
Thomas William Usherwood Robinson	Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield	62 years	January 24 1826	August 25 1888	August 28 1888	G0008	John Grey, Rector

FACTS ABOUT THOMAS WILLIAM USHERWOOD ROBINSON

:: Although Thomas was against the Cemetery proposals, his son, Avery Norman Robinson, would become trustee of the 1894 extension burial ground, and buried there upon his death!

:: He was known locally as 'The Squire' and was described as "a considerable authority on prehistoric subjects, his collection of flint instruments and bronzes being one of the finest".

William Brown, son of George Brown, Sexton, 1894

NAME	ABODE	AGE	DATE OF FUNERAL	CEREMONY PERFORMED BY
William Brown	The Cemetery Lodge, Houghton-le-Spring	5 years	August 29 1894	TL Lomax, Curate

Obituary for Thomas William Usherwood Robinson

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PAGE UPDATED: 08/05/2011

Sunderland Daily Echo – Thursday November 14 1895

THE LATE RECTOR GREY. FUNERAL TODAY

This morning the funeral of the late Hon. And Rev. John Grey, rector of Houghton-le-Spring, took place at the cemetery in that town amid general signs of mourning. The coffin was carried from the church by six of the church side men. Canon Body conducted the service and the bishops of Newcastle and Durham were present. The chief mourners were Mrs, Miss and the Rev. Charles Grey, Earl Grey, and Viscount and Viscountess Halifax.

St Michael & All Angels Parish Magazine – September 1888

Mr TWU Robinson, though not lately resident in the Parish, has been for so many years intimately connected with our Parish affairs that his removal will be felt by many in the Parish. I myself have to express my deep thankfulness for many, very many kindnesses shewn (sic) to me by him in connection with Church matters. My heart's prayer on the occasion of his funeral was that God may remember him for good for the many good things he has done for the Church in this Parish. I feel sure there will be much sympathy felt in this place for his widow and children. J.GREY, Rector, Aug. 28, 1888