Eglingham Churchyard Section-B-Row-11-10-Bickerton
Transcription
[Headstone listed by Historic England, 2000, ref 19/171. Weathering and thick coating of lichen make last part difficult to read.]
Here lieth the body of Mary Bickerton daughter of Thomas Bickerton of Hagdon, who died the 20th day of September 1781, aged 13 years.
When the archangels [sic] trump shall blow, And souls to bodies join, Thousands will wish their lives below Had been as short as thine.
Commentary
FAMILY HISTORY
Mary was baptised at St Maurice, Eglingham on 8 August 1768, the child of Thomas Bickerton, a coal miner of Hagdon, and his wife, Ann, nee Wilson. Older siblings, Ann and Thomas had been baptised there, both born at Salkers Law. Salkers Law lies close to Hagdon. Mary died at Hagdon Coal Houses, the cause of death being recorded as Smallpox.
Mary was the first burial record where the cause of death was given as Smallpox, the second, Robert Paxton, died less than 2 weeks later, also at Hagdon Coal Houses. In the following 14 years there would be a further 30 deaths recorded as Smallpox, all but two being children.
Both Mary and Robert came from coal mining families, and their living conditions would have been very basic. Even as late as 1873, a sanitary authority inspector commented on the living conditions of a miner and his family living at Curlesheugh which lies below Hagdon, Haughterslaw and Salkers Law on the moor above Eglingham village. The cottage was described as cheerless and damp, two rooms, only one furnished, with the midden piled in a heap close by the door. Drinking water was ¾ of a mile away among bogs but pit holes nearby provided water for washing.
Coal mining was carried out extensively on the moor with workings at Haughterslaw, Hagdon and Salkers Law. At one-point Eglingham was known as Coal Eglingham. The landowner leased the land to colliery operators for a term.
Neither the Bickerton nor Paxton families would have been able to afford a headstone for their children. It is unknown whether the landowner or the colliery operator were moved to mark their passing. Mary’s headstone has an epitaph composed by Charles Wesley, common on children’s graves at this time.
