A couple from the Isles of Scilly who renovated a ‘derelict’ graveyard to keep busy during the lockdown have uncovered graves that tell tales of piracy, shipwreck and scandal.
Lindsay and Brian Sandford took on the project at St Mary’s during the pandemic, along with a team of volunteers, after struggling to find a grave connected to Lindsay’s family history.
Retired museum researcher Ms Sandford, 60, and retired contractor Mr Sandford, 73, began clearing the churchyard of St Mary’s Old Town in 2021 after receiving permission from the diocese.
The graveyard is most famous for the grave of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, although this plot was already well maintained.
Ms Sandford has since written three books about the lavish lives of those buried in the churchyard’s 858 graves – each of which can hold up to three people.
Lindsay and Brian Sandford took on the project at St Mary’s during the pandemic, along with a team of volunteers
The cemetery is most famous for the grave of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Lindsay Sanford is a retired museum worker and has written three books about the graveyard residents
Brian Sandford has advanced Alzheimer’s disease and he and his wife started the project together
Among the stories uncovered by the pair is a captain who was captured by sea pirates off Dunkirk.
Captain Peter Lambton was buried in the churchyard in January 1781. After being captured, he was ransomed by the French pirates for 500 guineas before finally being killed.
The couple also discovered a relative of the Fry chocolate family, Georgianna Fry, who died at just three months old while traveling on the Calypso ship from Jamaica to England on October 1, 1847.
Her father Charles Edward Fry was an overseer on Jamaica’s second largest sugar plantation, which had a long history of using slaves for labor.
Also buried there is Ann Cargill, a famous eighteenth-century opera singer who died in 1784 in a shipwreck off the coast of Scilly with her baby.
More recent burials include Dorothy Agnes Paice, 22, and Sylvia Jenkin, 29, both of whom were killed when German planes dropped a bomb on their house in August 1941.
And one of Harold Wilson’s ministers, Ray Gunter, is buried not far from him in the same church hall.
A view of the cemetery before the renovation works started
The picturesque graveyard overlooks the sea and is where some of the local castaways are buried (Image: graveyard before renovation)
The couple spent up to 60 hours a week renovating and maintaining the site
The work included clearing plants, restoring tombstones and clearing debris
Mr. Sandford was key to getting permission from the local diocese, having worked on construction projects in every other church in the islands.
Originally from Wales, Mr Gunter was Minister for Labor and then Minister for Energy before resigning in 1968. He died in 1977.
Mrs Sandford told the BBC the project has been ‘very satisfying’.
She added: ‘Brian, my husband, has advanced Alzheimer’s and we needed a project to get him out every morning. Two years later here we are – it looks neater and easier to maintain.’
Mr. Sandford was key to getting permission from the local diocese, having worked on construction projects in every other church in the islands.
The couple spent up to 60 hours a week renovating and maintaining the site and now hope their younger volunteers will continue the project for generations to come.
They say they have received help from many local families
The Anglican Church of St Mary was built in Old Town in the 12th century.
In the 1880s the cemetery was terraced so that more graves could be placed. This meant that many of the former resting places were buried.
Ann Cargill – Shipwrecked opera singer
Opera singer Ann Cargill’s original headstone has been lost, but Mr and Mrs Sandford have since erected a plaque in her honor.
The famous singer and actress of the eighteenth century died in 1784 in a shipwreck off Scilly.
The wreck also killed Captain John Haldane and their beloved child, a son just 18 months old.
Apart from the family, another 45 lives were also lost in the incident.
The famous singer and actress of the eighteenth century died in 1784 in a shipwreck off Scilly
Georgianna Fry – chocolate mogul’s relative
Georgianna Fry, a relative of the chocolate Fry family, is the youngest person buried in the cemetery.
She died at just three months old while traveling on the Calypso ship from Jamaica to England on October 1, 1847.
Her father Charles Edward Fry was an overseer on Jamaica’s second largest sugar plantation, which had a long history of using slaves for labor.
The inscription on the stone is only visible in the early morning.
Georgianna Fry, a relative of the chocolate Fry family, is the youngest person buried in the cemetery
Honor and Mary Gluyas – mother and daughter
Honor Gluyas’ death is recorded in St Mary’s churchyard after she died at the ripe old age of 94 in 1893.
Born in August 1799, Honor remained a bachelor until her marriage to Edwin James Gluyas, with whom she had two children.
Her husband Edwin died after being thrown from a carriage in 1844, leaving behind his children Mary and Charles.
But just a year later, disaster struck Honor again after her daughter Mary died, just two years and five months old.
After her son left home, Honor lived with various relatives until she was recorded in the 1891 census as living with a single servant named Fanny Legg, “on her own means.”
The stone commemorates Honor’s long life and her only daughter’s short life.
Honor lived to be 94 and died in 1893 – despite an early heartbreak when her husband and daughter both died
Alexander Tristram – died of illness on own ship
Alexander Tristram’s grave reveals another story of loss at sea.
Captaining the Agnes schooner, he had set sail in 1849 on a voyage from the UK to Buenos Aires.
But shortly after the voyage he became very ill, forcing the ship to enter the Isles of Scilly.
He died a few hours after the ship’s arrival.
Alexander was the captain of the Agnes schooner and had set sail in 1849 on a voyage from the UK to Buenos Aires
Joseph Anderson – British Army veteran
Born in 1786, Joseph Anderson’s headstone states that he died in January 1831 at the age of 44.
Originally from Co Fermangh, the Irishman enlisted in the British Army at the age of 18 and served with the 6th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Artillery.
He was discharged at the age of 40 before traveling to the islands as a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery.
His stone tomb, complete with the stone pictured, was funded by Major General John Nugent Smyth in recognition of his meritorious service.
Born 1786, Joseph Anderson’s tombstone states he died in January 1831 at age 44
Kezia Charles Mann – the ‘married spinster’
Kezia Charles Mann died in 1917 at the age of 75 – but the remarkable nature of her stone lies in the number of relatives that history revealed.
She married Alfred George Mann in 1893, though she is nevertheless described by the stone as a “married spinster.”
Census records from 1891 showed that she was far from the only member of her family to live an independent life – as both of her sisters were said to have “lived on their own.”
Before her death in 1917, Kezia lived on The Strand in 1911.
Kezia Charles Mann died in 1917 at the age of 75
