Grave Milford Tales

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After mentioning a number of notable graves in All Saints' Churchyard in a recent story, I have been contacted by Brian Mawer, who has revealed another interesting, indeed infamous, inhabitant under one of the Milford on Sea tombstones.

 

Brian wrote: "I was interested in your list of other notable graves at All Saints' Church. I know of one that wasn't on the list that you had been given.

 

It is one of a suspected murderer, William Saville Kent, whose grave is beside the footpath in front of the church here in Milford on Sea. His elder sister, Constance Emily Kent took the rap for the murder of the younger 4 year old brother, Francis Saville on the 30th June 1860 at their parents' house; 'Road Hill House', in Road Hill (now spelt Rode), on the Somerset/Wiltshire border near Trowbridge. Saville was found all covered in blood stuck down an outside privy. Seemingly the older children had been very jealous of the children of their father's 2nd wife.

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It is all a very long story involving a detective, Mr Whicher, and was turned into a very well read crime story. The upshot was that, as mentioned in the book; William fell ill in 1908, whilst he was visiting Constance, who by then was out of prison and was living in Australia. He came home and died on the 11th October of that year. Seemingly William had previously carried out a lot of research into the artificial cultivation of pearls, and his widow seemingly covered his tombstone at the church of All Saint's in Milford on Sea with coral skeletons. Some of those coral skeletons are still there today."

 

A book retelling the story was written by Kate Summerscale entitled: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder at Road Hill House. A film of the same name has also been made which starred Peter Capaldi as Samuel Kent.

www.mrwhicher.com

By coincidence, Peter Capaldi, made famous for his role as political spindoctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, was this evening revealed as the new Doctor Who on BBC TV.

I wonder what else there is still to be discovered about who lies in our local cemetery!

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Other notable Graves at All Saints' Church: Identified by Jim Butterworth (MoS Historical Society)

• Sir Stephen Hope Carhill
• Charles Dickens Granddaughter
• Charles Augustus Lord, Officer of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Service
• Two brothers who drowned at Hurst Castle
• Revd Willis, Bishop Of Honolulu 1872-1902