Santon Downham – St. Mary the Virgin Church (Benjamin Matthews)

Following my visit to St. Mary the Virgin Church in Santon Downham, I took a brief look at some of the gravestones in the churchyard. I’m interested in random gravestones which are becoming hard to read (I really must get out more….) and trying to ascertain a little more about the individuals. Random really is the word for this.

This is the gravestone of Benjamin Matthews who died on 17 July 1894 at the age of 66. He was an Anglican who was born in 1828, marrying Elizabeth in 1867. In 1891 Matthews lived at High Lodge, now within the Forestry Commission site, and worked as a farm steward. He lived with his wife and also his niece, Alice Matthews who died in 1922. Also buried at the plot is his wife Elizabeth, who died at the age of 82 on 19 July 1910.

Unfortunately that was about all that I could find out….