Widmerpool St Peter

Churchyard

Churchyard
The south part of the
churchyard from the tower

The churchyard is rectangular in shape, with the church offset towards the north side.

To the east of the church is a huge flatbed square curbed tomb, approximately 3 x 4 metre in size with wrought-iron surround. The slab is inscribed:

Here Resteth the Body of William Mackay Low Esq. of Wellesbourne House, Warwickshire who died at Ruthin Castle, North Wales on June 8th 1905 Aged 45

'Only goodnight beloved not farewell – A little while and all His saints shall dwell – In hallowed union indivisible goodnight – Blessed are the pure in heart'

William Low was the brother of Harriet Robertson (nee Low).

Adjacent are the graves of Vice-Admiral Harry Tremeneere Grenfell and his wife, and that of Harriet Annie Robertson (died 13 June 1891) and her husband, George Coke Robertson (died 12 December 1924).

There is also the grave of a James Robinson who died in 1870 and, located some yards to the south, the grave of one Elizabeth Thompson who died in 1862 aged 65 and who was known to have been housekeeper to F. Robinson Esq. at the Hall for 23 years.  

Another grave of special interest is that of Thomas Andrew Barton who died aged 80 in October 1968 and is buried to the west of the church path. His father, Thomas Henry Barton, was the founder of the Barton Bus Company in 1908 based in Chilwell, which in 1927 became the family-run ‘Barton Transport Ltd’. Thomas Andrew succeeded his father as head of this large and prestigious public transport firm, which once provided a regular service through Widmerpool to Leicester.

Godfrey in his book on Nottinghamshire churches states:

'The church was restored at a time when ecclesiastical architecture was at a very low ebb, which no doubt accounts for its nondescript style; but this is atoned for by its exceedingly pleasant situation in the grounds of the hall (by then built on the hill above the church) amidst trees and shrubs. In the churchyard are two remarkably fine cedar trees'.

The cedars had been imported from Lebanon before 1700, but Major George Robertson and his wife added their own collection of trees and shrubs to the arboretum adjacent the ‘beehive lawn’ garden.