Potton Churchyard
St.Mary's Churchyard
St.Mary's churchyard contains a very fine collection of eighteenth century gravestones carved with angels, skulls and various scripts. One gravestone records a grisly death: “A few bones, the only remains (through the Great Fire) of Nicholas Sparkes, were buried on August 22nd, 1783”. He was the schoolmaster.
The pictured tombstone is of Ann Rugeley. She was wife of Henry Rugeley, innkeeper at the Crown in the Market Place. A brief and tentative tentative history for her can be put together from parish records. She was born Ann Chambers in Bedford and she was baptised at St.Cuthbert's on 2 Nov 1670. She married Henry Rugeley (who was younger than her having been born in 1673) at St.Peter de Merton in the town on 19 Jul 1699 and presumably moved straight back with him to Potton. The Potton parish register records baptisms of their children: Ann, the first born was baptised on 27 Apr 1700, having been born a week earlier; Frances was born on 26 Aug 1701 and baptised five days later. Next came the first Henry, born on 1 Feb 1703 and baptised a fortnight later, sadly he was buried on 26 Jan 1704, not quite a year old. Susannah was born on 4 Jan 1705 and baptised on 21 Jan and Rowland was baptised on 20 Nov 1706. Another Henry came next, baptised on 26 Sep 1708. Sadly, just like his brother he died as a baby, being buried on 10 Oct in that year. Lastly came a third Henry, born on 28 Aug 1709. Happily this Henry survived into adulthood and succeeded his father at the Crown. Ann was now in her 39th year and does not seem to have born any more children. Her tombstone reveals that she died on 1 Feb 1733, she was buried three days later, aged 62; her tombstone says 65 but this sounds suspiciously like a rounded up date. Henry himself, an Overseer of the Poor for the parish in 1714, curiously, has no entry in the Potton burial register but does have a gravestone, showing that he died on 25 Mar 1756, aged 83.
The churchyard was enlarged in 1842 by the Revd. Richard Whittingham (who wrote of the Great Fire when he was serving as curate in 1783). The old churchyard was closed for new burials (except in vaults and existing grave spaces) in 1879 and the new churchyard three years later; all further burials in Potton would be undertaken at the new cemetery in Sandy Road.