St Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, Home Counties, England, British Isles

On 4th December 1649 John Egerton 1st Earl Bridgewater (age 70) died. Monument at HR9JMi1fSt Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden. His son John (age 26) succeeded 2nd Earl Bridgewater, 3rd Viscount Brackley, 3rd Baron Ellesmere. Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater (age 22) by marriage Countess Bridgewater.

The monument has three panels. Panel 1 a dedication to Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater, Panel 2 a dedication to Frances Stanley Countess Bridgewater.

The third panel has an inscription to the Earl: "Here rests (till the last trump awakens his dust), the Right Honourable and truly noble Sir John Egerton, knt. one of the honourable Order of the Bath, Earle of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackley; and Baron of Elesmere, &c. He was son to that renowned patriot Sir Thomas Egerton, Baron of Elesmere, Viscount Brackley, and Lord Chancellor of England, and was sole heire both of his estate and virtues. He married the Right Honourable the Lady Frances Stanley, second daughter and one of the co-heires of Ferdinando, Earle of Derby, &c. a wife worthy such a husband, by whom he was blessed with a numerous and virtuous offspring, foure sonnes and eleven daughters. Three of his sonnes died before him, viz. James Viscount Brackley, his eldest, and Charles Viscount Brackley, his second sonne, who both died in their infancy; and Mr. Thomas Egerton, his fourth son, who lies here interred, dying unmarried in the 23d yeare of his age; and three of his daughters, viz. the Lady Cecila Egerton, Mrs. Alice Egerton, and the Lady Ann Egerton. His third and only surviving sonne and heire, John Viscount Brackley, he saw happily married to the Right Honourable the Lady Elizabeth Cavendyshe second daughter to the Right Honourable William Marquesse of Newcastle, &c. Seven of his daughters he likewise saw well and honourably married, viz. the Lady Frances, the Lady Arabella, the Lady Elizabeth, the Lady Mary, the Lady Penelope, the Lady Katharine, the Lady Magdalene; and left only his eleventh daughter, the Lady Alice Egerton, unmarried. He was endued with incomparable parts, both natural and acquired, so that both Art and Nature did seem to strive which should contribute most towards the making him a most accomplished gentleman; he had an active body, and a vigorous soule; his deportment was gracefull, his discourse excellent whether extemporary or premeditate, serious or jocular; so that he seldome spake, but he did either instruct or delight those that heard him; he was a profound scholar, an able statesman, and a good Christian; he was a dutiful! son to his mother the Church of England in her persecution, as well as in her greatest splendor; a loyall subject to his Sovereigne in those worst of times, when it was accounted treason not to be a traitor. As he lived 70 years a patterne of virtue; so he died an example of patience and piety, the fourth of December, in the year of our Lord 1649. Proverb x. 7. The memory of the Just is blessed."

Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater: In 1627 she was born to William Cavendish 1st Duke Newcastle upon Tyne and Elizabeth Bassett Countess Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1641 John Egerton 2nd Earl Bridgewater and she were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish 1st Duke Newcastle upon Tyne and Elizabeth Bassett Countess Newcastle upon Tyne. He the son of John Egerton 1st Earl Bridgewater and Frances Stanley Countess Bridgewater. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward IV of England. On 14th June 1663 Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater died. She is commemorated on the Great Monument at St Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden on which is the inscription: "To the sacred memory of the late transcendently vertuous Lady, now glorious Saint, the Right Honourable Elizabeth Countesse of Bridgewater. She was second daughter to the Right Honourable William Marquesse of Newcastte, &c. and wife to the Right Honourable John Earle of Bridgewater, &c. and whose family she hath enriched with a hopeful issue, six sonnes, viz. John Viscount Brackley her eldest, Sir William Egerton second sonne, both Knights of the honourable Order of the Bath, Mr. Thomas Egerton her third, Mr. Charles Egerton her fourth, Mr. Henry Egerton her fifth, Mr. Steward Egerton her sixth sonne, and three daughters, viz. Mrs. Frances Egerton her eldest, the Lady Elizabeth Egerton her second, and the Lady Katherine Egerton her third daughter; of all which children, three, viz. Mr. Henry Egerton her fifth sonne, Mrs. Frances Egerton, her eldest, and the Lady Katherine Egerton her third daughter, lye here interred, dying in their infancy; the rest are still the living pictures of their deceased mother, and the only remaining comforts of their disconsolate father. She was a Lady in whom all the accomplishments both of body and mind did concurre to make her the glory of the present, and example of future ages. Her beauty was so unparallelled, that it is as much beyond the art of the most elegant pen, as it surpassed the skill of several of the most exquisite pencills (that attempted it) to describe, and not to disparage it. She had a winning and attractive behaviour, a charming discourse, a most obliging conversation: she was so courteous and affable to all persons, that she gained their love; yet, not so familiar to expose herselfe to contempt: she was of a noble and generous soule), yet, of so meeke and humble a disposition, that never any woman, of her quality, was greater in the world's opinion, and lesse in her owne: the rich at her table daily tasted her hospitality; the poore at her gate her charity: her devotion was most exemplary, if not inimitable; witnesse (besides several other occasional! meditations and prayers, full of all the holy transports and raptures of a sanctifyed soule), her divine meditations upon every partictular chapter in the Bible, written with her owne hand, and never (till since her death), seene by any eye but her owne, and her then dear but now sorrowful husband, to the admiration both, of her eminent piety in composing and of her modesty in concealing them. She was a most affectionate and observant wife to her husband, a most tender and indulgent mother to her children, a most kind and bountifull mistresse to her family. In a word, she was so superlatively good, that language is too narrow to expresse her deserved character: 11er death was as religious as her life was vertuous. On the 14th day of June, in the yeare of our Lord 1663; of her own age the 37th, she exchanged her earthly coronet for an heavenly crowne. Prov. xxxi; 28, 29. Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

On 14th June 1663 Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater (age 36) died. She is commemorated on the Great Monument at St Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden on which is the inscription: "To the sacred memory of the late transcendently vertuous Lady, now glorious Saint, the Right Honourable Elizabeth Countesse of Bridgewater. She was second daughter to the Right Honourable William Marquesse of Newcastte, &c. and wife to the Right Honourable John Earle of Bridgewater, &c. and whose family she hath enriched with a hopeful issue, six sonnes, viz. John Viscount Brackley her eldest, Sir William Egerton second sonne, both Knights of the honourable Order of the Bath, Mr. Thomas Egerton her third, Mr. Charles Egerton her fourth, Mr. Henry Egerton her fifth, Mr. Steward Egerton her sixth sonne, and three daughters, viz. Mrs. Frances Egerton her eldest, the Lady Elizabeth Egerton her second, and the Lady Katherine Egerton her third daughter; of all which children, three, viz. Mr. Henry Egerton her fifth sonne, Mrs. Frances Egerton, her eldest, and the Lady Katherine Egerton her third daughter, lye here interred, dying in their infancy; the rest are still the living pictures of their deceased mother, and the only remaining comforts of their disconsolate father. She was a Lady in whom all the accomplishments both of body and mind did concurre to make her the glory of the present, and example of future ages. Her beauty was so unparallelled, that it is as much beyond the art of the most elegant pen, as it surpassed the skill of several of the most exquisite pencills (that attempted it) to describe, and not to disparage it. She had a winning and attractive behaviour, a charming discourse, a most obliging conversation: she was so courteous and affable to all persons, that she gained their love; yet, not so familiar to expose herselfe to contempt: she was of a noble and generous soule), yet, of so meeke and humble a disposition, that never any woman, of her quality, was greater in the world's opinion, and lesse in her owne: the rich at her table daily tasted her hospitality; the poore at her gate her charity: her devotion was most exemplary, if not inimitable; witnesse (besides several other occasional! meditations and prayers, full of all the holy transports and raptures of a sanctifyed soule), her divine meditations upon every partictular chapter in the Bible, written with her owne hand, and never (till since her death), seene by any eye but her owne, and her then dear but now sorrowful husband, to the admiration both, of her eminent piety in composing and of her modesty in concealing them. She was a most affectionate and observant wife to her husband, a most tender and indulgent mother to her children, a most kind and bountifull mistresse to her family. In a word, she was so superlatively good, that language is too narrow to expresse her deserved character: 11er death was as religious as her life was vertuous. On the 14th day of June, in the yeare of our Lord 1663; of her own age the 37th, she exchanged her earthly coronet for an heavenly crowne. Prov. xxxi; 28, 29. Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

Grave of Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Richard Henry Talbot, died 29th June 1916, at St Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden. Nieuport Type 10 No. 3968, military two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, RNAS Dover. Written off (destroyed) when crashed on take-off, H.M.S. "President II", Dover, Kent [a land based ship]. The pilot Flt Lt Geoffrey Richard Henry Talbot was killed immediately. The passenger, Air Mechanic 1st Class Abraham Alf Hampson (Service Number F/10086, aged 24), the next day, 30th June 1916, of injuries sustained.

According to an eyewitness report: "There is one particularly poignant letter in the Kiplin collection from Mr A.R. George of Aylsham, Norfolk, to a Major Talbot (who may perhaps be Humphrey, Geoffrey's brother, though we have no other evidence that he attained this rank since his Great War medals are inscribed Lieutenant). The letter is dated 4th February 1921, and describes the heroic circumstances of Geoffrey's death. The full text reads as follows: 'I consider it a privilege to be able to give you particulars of the aeroplane accident I witnessed at Dover in June 1916, which I afterwards learnt resulted in the death of Mr Geoffrey Talbot. Between five and six thousand of us (R.G.A recruits) were drilling on the parade ground at Fort Burgoyne, and you can imagine we were closely packed in, when an aeroplane rose from behind the Fort and suddenly swooped down directly over the heads of the men drilling, so closely in fact that many fell on their faces to avoid being hit by the propellers, but the pilot in order to avoid what would have been a terrible catastrophe swerved sharply to the left, and the machine fell into a sunken road near the Fort. here is no doubt that the machine would have landed in the thick of the men with terrible results but with safety to the two men in it, and it was freely admitted by all who witnessed it that the pilot lost his life in a most gallant attempt to avoid crashing amongst the dense mass of men. I heard it said by the airmen there that air currents around Fort Burgoyne were very bad and this was probably the cause of the accident. From what I can remember, the two men were pinned under the machine and were picked up quite dead. It may be some consolation to his relatives to know that Mr Geoffrey Talbot gave his life in this heroic manner, and I consider it an honour to be able to give this testimony as an eyewitness of the sad affair. I remain, sincerely yours, A.R.George.'"

According to a contemporary report in Flight magazine, 6th July 1916, page 576: "Fatal Accidents. Flight-Lieutenant GEoffrey Richard Henry Talbot, R.N.A.S., whose death is officially announced, was killed instantaneously at Dover on June 29th when starting on a flight to France. The aeroplane was caught by a gust of wind and sideslipped, and was wrecked. The mechanic accompanying him was also killed. Flight-Lieutenant Talbot, who was born in 1888, was the younger son of the Hon. Alfred Talbot, of Little Gaddesden, and grandson of the 18th Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot. He was educated at Eton, and having a great taste for mechanics entered the service of the East Indian Railway Company. His services were given to the public for the war, and he joined the Naval Air Service, rapidly becoming an expert and steady pilot. He obtained his "Wings" in 1915, and received promotion shortly before his death. He made many flights to and from France, whence he had only returned the previous day to his death."

According to the Imperial War Museum's website: "The Coroner's Inquest. Known At: July 1916. A note in the margin of Geoffrey's entry in the Burial Register at St Peter and St Paul's Church, Little Gaddesden reads "after Coroner's Inquest". At the inquest it was said that Geoffrey had only arrived at the Dover station on Thursday 29th June and was killed that afternoon, having taken off in a Nieuport biplane with Air Mechanic Hampson, aged 23, who was also killed. Both men were unconscious when help reached them and Geoffrey died from multiple injuries while being lifted into an ambulance. The inquest was told that nothing was wrong with the aircraft and, while it was also said that the accident was no one's fault, there was no suggestion that Geoffrey was taking evasive action to avoid hitting something on the ground. The verdict could be read as suggesting that pilot error, in difficult circumstances, contributed to the crash. As to the other crew member, who also died, Abraham Alfred Hampson was born on 31 May 1892 in Silksworth, near Sunderland. He was the youngest son of James Hampson (born 1866), a coal miner from Bolton, Lancashire, and Martha Ann Hampson (born 1867) from Lancaster, Lancashire. Abraham was the only child of three girls and three boys to be born in County Durham. The other children were born in Lancashire. In 1901 the family lived at 44 Victoria Street, Manchester, and, by the time of the 1911 census, had moved to 88 Stuart Street, Clayton, Manchester. Abraham was working as a motor fitter on the census date. Abraham joined the Royal Naval Air Service on 7 December 1915. He was given the service number F10086 and the rank of Air Mechanic 1st Class. Little is known of his service until 29 June 1916 when, starting on a flight for France from Dover Air Station, the aeroplane in which he was travelling was caught by a gust of wind, side-slipped and was wrecked. Abraham died on 30 June 1916 in the Military Hospital, Western Heights, Dover, Kent from multiple injuries sustained in the crash. The pilot of the aeroplane was Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Richard Henry Talbot who was killed instantly. Abraham Hampson is buried in Philips Park Cemetery, Miles Platting, Manchester, Lancashire.

Grave of 1396485 Flight Sergeant William Searl Newman, Air Bomber, RAF, died 15th October 1944, aged 20, at St Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden. Killed in a flying accident in the UK. The only child of William Newman (Snr) and Alice Elizabeth née Searl of 61 Little Gaddesden. His father was a Gardener who, in the First World War, was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field whilst a Lance Corporal with 12th Bn. Durham Light Infantry in Italy. His mother had been a Parlour Maid in the household of Colonel Wheatley, father of Philip Wheatley, at The Manor House, Little Gaddesden. In 1941, once he was 18, William Newman volunteered for the R.A.F. He trained first at the Cadet University, Southampton and later in Canada, where he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Bomb Aimer. He was later promoted to Flight Sergeant and completed 32 sorties over enemy territory. William Newman's funeral service took place on Saturday 21st October at Hudnall Methodist Church and was conducted by the Revd. G. H Kingswood of Hemel Hempstead and the Revd. Charles Edward Wager, Rector of Little Gaddesden. The following press report noted that many friends were present to pay their last respects and that the service included the hymn “Fight the good fight”. Committal rites and burial in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul, Little Gaddesden followed and were conducted by the Revd. C. E. Wager.

Account of the accident: Anson I MH130 of 6 PAFU which hit trees & crashed whilst low flying two miles north of Burford, Oxfordshire. 15.10.44 Sgt(A/B)KH Marshall killed together withSgt(A/B)JC Shannon, Sgt(Pilot)W Rzyskiewicz PAF, F/Sgt(WoP/A/G)LG Bird & Sgt(A/B)WS Newman.

The report of Flt. Sgt. Newman's funeral in what was then The Hertfordshire, Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser, originally published on or around 25 October 1944.