The Friends Of Broadwater & Worthing Cemetery
Maintaining Our Memories and Memorial Part 2
Part1 Part 2
The story so far;
Molly Corbett was born on 11 May 1912 and died on 5th Jan 1928 and the inscription on her tomb states she was 16 years old, obviously this is not so. On checking the burial records we find that Molly had died in Switzerland and had not been buried in the magnificent vault until 13 May 1929, a full 16 months after she died.
Her Father, Maxwell Campbell Corbett was born on 5th Dec 1888 and died 23 Jan 1944. From the burial records we find that he was a Mining Engineer and had died in Mexico City and he was not buried with Molly until 30 Jun 1947, some 30 months after his death.
Molly’s Mother Eileen Kathleen Veronica Corbett died in Brisbane, Australia on 29 May 1985, aged 93, and joined Molly and Maxwell in the family vault on 25 Jun 1985.
The Corbett’s were obviously very rich but to date we have found nothing to connect them to Worthing other than the tomb. In the coming weeks/months Mrs Debra Hillman, a local family historian, will be trying to discover the reason for the long delays between death and burial and what the family connection to Worthing is. The gravediggers who conducted the internment of Molly’s mother claim that Molly was in fact buried in the vault in a glass coffin but we have seen no proof of this claim.
Another interesting piece of research by Paul Holden of the Sentinel informs us of the very eccentric but generous Ann Thwaites. She was a great benefactor to the poor and laid the foundation stone of Worthing s first hospital, The Infirmary, in Chapel Road. In 1861 it is reported that she supplied free coals over the winter to every poor person in the neighbourhood. Ann lived in Charmandean House, but her philanthropism was overshadowed by the fact that in later life she turned into a raving eccentric. Believing herself to the Bride of Christ, Mrs Thwaites turned the bedroom of her London apartment into a reception room for the Saviour. And when the moon was full, she would dress completely in white and order her coachman to drive her along what is today the A27 to the River Adur and back. Precisely why was not explained. Her beautiful gravestone clearly states that she was a Mrs. but there is no mention of her husband in the cemetery records or indeed on the actual gravestone. Also the name of her house is stated as being Charman Dean on her grave.
As you would expect with any seaside town the cemetery records many tragedies. On 19th April 1877 the records inform us that 27 year old Elizabeth Marley, a domestic servant was “found drowned on the beach at Worthing.” No address is recorded.
On Wednesday 14th November 1894, Worthing witnessed a terrible storm that resulted in the total loss of 490 ton steamer named “The Zadne.” It is uncertain what happened to the ship but 11 bodies were washed up on Worthing’s beach. A boat was witnessed by Worthing residents, with a single person board, trying to reach the shore. A mighty wave flipped the boat over and the solitary man was lost to the sea. One body was repatriated to South Wales but the remainder were buried in Broadwater Cemetery and a memorial was paid for from public subscription. The funeral was attended by several thousand people who lined the route of the procession, led by the Salvation Army Band. It was described as “an impressive and pathetic sight”. Unfortunately the fine anchor that adorned it has been vandalised recently.
Famous authors and gifted musicians/singers are interred;
Richard Jeffries was born at Coate, near Swindon in 1848 but suffered ill health and moved to Sussex for the fresh air. He died in Goring in 1887 aged just 38. Today, the house where he died, called Seaview at the time, is in Jeffries Lane, and has a plaque on the façade recording the connection.
The inscription on his grave reads; “To the honoured memory of the prose poet of England’s fields and woodlands” A naturalist, he wrote a plethora of books about the England’s countryside and he is forever linked with William Henry Hudson who is also buried in this cemetery.
William Henry Hudson was one of Britain’s greatest nature writers but was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina of English parents in 1841. His powers of description when writing about the countryside were said to be unrivalled. He died in 1922 and expressed a wish to be buried near Richard Jeffries but this was not possible as that part of the cemetery was full. He claimed to have seen the ghost of Richard Jeffries while walking near Goring Church. He visited Worthing many times and indeed his invalid wife died at 3 Woodlea Road. He also lived at 8 Bedford Row and “The Cottage”, Park Road. His greatest work was “Nature in Downland” and he also helped found the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. There is a memorial to him and Jeffries at the entrance to the cemetery and a Garden of Remembrance in the North West Corner.
Edward Lloyd, known as the “Prince of Tenors” who retired to Worthing to die but said “I found Worthing not a place to die but it is very much a place to keep alive in”. Edward came out of retirement to sing at King George V Coronation in Westminster Abbey in 1911, the very place he had started his singing career. He was a modest man and many did not even know he lived in Worthing; this prompted the Worthing Observer to write; “We trust he may forgive our intruding upon his seclusion but feel justified as a matter of duty to inform the public of the presence of the brilliant personage they have without knowing it, in their midst at his charming residence in the western part of the Borough.” Edward lived in Heene Road in what was to become a guest house known as “Delgany”. He retired to Worthing when he was 55 (1900) and died 31st March 1927.
I have given you a very brief account of what we have discovered so far. There are nearly 25,000 stories to be told, One hundred and forty six years of Worthing’s history to be researched. I have no doubt that it will not be completed in my time but I do hope that the work started by the “Friends of Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery” will continue so that future generations will have the opportunity of discovering what Worthing was like in years gone by and what varied and gifted people lived in the town.
So why bother? Does it really matter? Who cares anyway?
The answers to the above must by now be obvious to you. We, The Friends, do bother because we think it matters and our numbers indicate that a good many people do care. If you would like to join us please complete the applications, we can cater for allinterests, all age groups and competences; every one of you will have something to offer.
We have just opened our own web site named www.fbwc.co.uk do take a look at it. It will soon be full of interesting material.
I would be delighted to answer any questions and I would like to thank for making a donation to St Barnabas Hospice.
