Stanford on Soar St John the Baptist

Churchyard

The lychgate
The Ratcliffe graves

During the 1893-94 Restoration a pathway was made from the South Door to the entrance gate. Also the lych gate was erected. A large number of headstones in the churchyard belong to members of the Ratcliff and Dashwood families. Although some of the earlier Dashwoods are buried in the vault, the remainder are buried at the east end of the church on the north side. The Ratcliffs are buried in an enclosed area of the churchyard near the South Door.

There is a mystery about one memorial in the churchyard. It was erected by friends in Memory of Arthur Seymour Page, accidently drowned at Stanford Hall on his birthday, 9th January 1890. How did this accident occur - a birthday celebration that went wrong? The deceased was a Londoner who was doing skilled work at Stanford Hall.