Bestwood Emmanuel

Churchyard

The churchyard, with its Scots pine, yew trees and clipped yew bushes, is used as a thoroughfare into Bestwood Country Park. It was bounded by a ha-ha, of which the best-preserved portion now remaining is at the South East corner near the Lych gate. A path from the Church View Close entrance leads to a memorial porch on the West end of the church. This memorial is to the Duchess Sybil Mary, first wife of William, 10th Duke of St. Albans. The path then leads all the way round the church to the Lych gate. For such a small graveyard Emmanuel has memorials to two Dukes, two Duchesses and a Baron.

To the right of the memorial porch is the foundation stone:

THE FIRST STONE OF THIS CHAPEL
ERECTED BY THE DUKE OF ST ALBANS
AND THE INHABITANTS OF BESTWOOD
FOR THE SERVICE OF GOD
WAS LAID BY MRS CHALLAND ON BEHALF OF
LADY LOUISE BEAUCLERK
MAY 17 1869
THE REVD GEORGE BROWNE
BEING VICAR OF THE PARISH

At the time the church was built, the Duchess Sybil Mary decreed that a plot at the West end of the church should be set aside for ducal family burials.

Click on the blue numbers in the following plan for details of some of the more interesting gravestones.

Plan showing important gravestones

1To the right of the path at the west end of the church is Sybil’s granite tomb, with the dedication:

SYBIL MARY WIFE of WILLIAM 10TH DUKE of ST ALBANS
DAUGHTER of GENERAL HONble CHARLES GREY
BORN 28th NOV 1848 DIED 7th SETr 1871.

2To the left of the path is the double width tomb, with surround, of the 10th Duke and second Duchess with the following inscription:

THIS CROSS IS ERECTED TO
THE BELOVED MEMORY OF
WILLIAM AMELIUS AUBREY DE VERE
10TH DUKE OF ST ALBANS
BY HIS MOST BELOVED WIFE AND CHILDREN
BORN IN LONDON 15TH APRIL 1840
DIED AT BROOK HOUSE ISLE OF WIGHT 10TH MAY 1898
NEVERTHELESS NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE

TO THE MEMORY OF GRACE DUCHESS OF ST ALBANS
BORN AT NEWTOWN ANNER
ON 26TH JULY 1848 AND DIED IN LONDON
ON THE 18TH NOVEMBER 1926
GLORY BE TO GOD
AND THANKS FOR EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF HER

And also

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ALEXANDER DE VERE BEAUCLERK
BORN 5TH JULY 1878 DIED 16TH APRIL 1935

At the foot of the surround is a quatrefoil containing

St Ã 1898

beneath a ducal coronet.

3To the right of Sybil’s grave is a large flat stone set into the grass and reading as follows:

CHARLES VICTOR BEAUCLERK
11th DUKE OF St ALBANS
B. 26th MARCH 1870
D. SEPT 19th 1934

4To the right of the 11th Duke and close by the south porch is a damaged three stepped grave with the following inscription:

IN SORROW AND IN LOVE
TO
SYBIL
DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM AMELIUS AUBREY de VERE
10TH DUKE OF St ALBANS
WIFE OF MAJOR WILLIAM FRANK LASCELLES
BORN AUGUST 21ST 1871 DIED SEPTEMBER 20TH 1910
WILL LAY ME DOWN IN PEACE AND TAKE MY REST FOR IT
IS THOU LORD ONLY THAT MAKEST ME DWELL IN SAFETY

5To the left of the 10th Duke is a grave with a cross and stone surround:

RALPH BERNAL OSBORNE
BORN 26TH MARCH 1808
DIED 4TH JAN 1882

IN MY FATHERS HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS
MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU

6To the left of this is a grave inscribed:

SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
THE RIGHT HONORABLE SIR
JOHN WALTER HUDDLESTON
LAST CREATED BARON OF THE COURT OF EXCHEQUER
AND MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF THE COIF
BORN 1817 DIED 1890
AND OF HIS WIFE
LADY DIANA DE VERE HUDDLESTON
BORN 1841 DIED 1905

7On the north side of the church is a railed memorial with a missing bust, there was an article in the Evening Post in 1982 reporting the theft of this 3cwt bronze bust later found in a Manchester scrap yard, damaged beyond repair. The inscription reads:

BARON HUDDLESTON
LAST CREATED BARON
OF THE COURT OF ECHEQUER
AND MEMBER OF THE COIF
BORN 1817 DIED 1890

8Facing the south entrance:

BERTRAM ADAMS HILL PRIEST
RECTOR OF BESTWOOD PARK 1932-1937

9A broken gravestone reads as follows:

IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE
OF WILLIAM RUDDICK
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
JUNE 23RD 1875
AGED 29 YEARS

“OH LET MY SUDDEN DOOM
A WARNING BE TO ALL
E’EN WHILE THOU BENDEST O’ER MY TOMB
THOU MAY’ST AS QUICKLY FALL”

This grave has long had a fearsome reputation with superstitious local children.

The bust of Sir John Walter Huddleston was stolen from Emmanuel Church Yard Bestwood Park. The 3cwt bust was removed in March 1982 later to be found in a Manchester scrap yard with only the face mask remaining today (2002) the plinth still remains in the churchyard.

(This photograph was taken in December 1981 by Mrs Judith Neale the wife of the former vicar at Bestwood The Rev Eddie Neale.)

Burials were discontinued in the churchyard in October 2000.