HORTON CEMETERY – THE BURIALS

Horton Cemetery
Photographed on 28 February 1971 by LR James.
(We have been able to make out of the names on four of the headstones – for details, please see section 3 of this article.)
Image courtesy of Epsom & Ewell Local & Family History Centre

1. INTRODUCTION

The companion article sets out the history (and sad decline to its current dereliction) of the Horton Cemetery that was established in 1899 for the pauper burial of inmates who died in the Epsom Cluster of mental hospitals and who had no relatives to reclaim them for other burial. Originally intended for 900 burials, it eventually received some 8,500!

The Cemetery’s very first burial, on 31 July 1899, was of 47 year old Annie James, who had been at The Manor. Records show that her shroud cost 8d, the grave-diggers were paid 10/6d and the undertaker (James Ockenden) received £1/12/6d.

In this article, we consider the actual burials, dealing first (in section 2) with the Hospital and Burial records. Section 3 then looks at what is known about headstones and the individuals they commemorate. Finally, Section 4 notes the important work of the independent Friends of Horton Cemetery.

2. HOSPITAL AND BURIAL RECORDS

The following links (ordered by surname as below) will take you to the details we have of the Cemetery’s burial records.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W [x] Y Z

The Surrey History Centre also holds the Long Grove Hospital Post Mortem Examination Book, 1964-1969 (part of Collection ref: 6275). Horton Estate Cemetery is on the findagrave.com website (although we do not know which source was used to compile the entries for that site). Other hospital records are widely dispersed – the Hospital Records Database (opens in a new window) will help you find out where.

For more information, including an ever-increasing list of biographies of those interred – or to help with further research – please visit the independent website of The Friends of Horton Cemetery, about which there is more in the final section 4 of this article.

3. HEADSTONES AND GRAVE MARKERS

The only grave marker that remains in Horton Cemetery.
Photograph (copyright acknowledged) with thanks to the Friends of Horton Cemetery.

The grave marker pictured above, hidden among the undergrowth, is the only one that remains in Horton Cemetery. It commemorates Marjorie Thornhill, a Long Grove resident who died on 30 October 1922 aged 41. Pending further research, it seems likely that she was the widowed Derbyshire-born former “Mother’s Help” found in the 1921 Census as an inmate of the Holborn & Finsbury Hospital (Poor Law Institution) in Archway Road, Islington. She was buried in grave 1312a on 3 November 1922.

There were, however, never very many headstones – perhaps no more than 50 or 60 for the 8,500 or so burials. (The hospital authorities did not provide these, but had no objection to relatives doing so. It is understood that the first – but subsequently lost – was erected by her brother in memory of Sarah Hubbard who was admitted to The Manor in August 1901 and died the following month.)  That so few headstones were erected may reflect families losing touch with their relatives in the hospitals – and, for poorer families, cost would be a factor.

Anyway, the 1971 photograph at the head of this article shows a few (apparently having been moved from their original locations). Hazel Ballan, researcher of the first version of this article in 2008, managed just about to decipher four of those and reported the following, including what she was able to piece together about the individuals concerned. (As will be seen further below, this is complemented by subsequently discovered in material from 1983.)

TO THE MEMORY OF
JANE GILCHRIST
WHO DIED AT EWELL
ON THE 4TH JANUARY 1918
AGED 25
INTERNED AT EPSOM ?
R.I.P

Jane, the daughter of Edward Charles and Mary Gilchrist (nee Hawkins), was born in 1892 in St. Luke’s, Holborn, London (GRO reference: Jan 1893 Holborn 1b 771). Her parents had married in 1876 in the Pancras registration district. Jane had four older brothers, Edward George, born 1881, Alfred Walter, born 1883, Bertie, born 1885, and Frederick, born 1889.

The 1891 census (taken before her birth) records that her family was living in Bartholomew Square, and that her father Edward was a book seller’s assistant. It was noted that her mother had been born on the Isle of Wight. Following their mother’s death, Jane and her brothers Alfred, Bertie and Frederick, were all admitted on 5 March 1896, into the St. Luke’s Workhouse in Holborn (City Road Workhouse). They were all discharged to ‘Mitcham Schools’ on 24 March 1896. Jane and her brother Frederick were recorded in the 1901 census as boarders living with Philip and Amelia Moore in their home in West Orchard, Dorset.

On Thursday 17 December 1908, Jane was aged 16 when she was admitted once again into St. Luke’s Workhouse. She was put on a plain diet and her first meal there was breakfast. Jane was discharged from St. Luke’s after her midday meal on Friday 2 April 1909 and on orders from the Neath Home, Hayling Island, Hants was transferred that afternoon to The Epileptic Colony in Ewell (later named St Ebba’s) where she remained for the rest of her life. The 1911 census recorded that the then 18 year old Jane had been a “lunatic” since she was 16 years old. She was unmarried and without any occupation; there was no birthplace recorded.

Jane was 25 years old when she died in the Ewell Colony (GRO death reference: Mar 1918 Epsom 2a 660). She was buried in grave 922b on 10 January 1918.

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IN LOVING MEMORY OF 
WILLIAM MUNK 
DIED OCT 13 1905 
AGED 25 
SOUL SHALL ? 
? 

William Munk was the second son and child of Henry and Caroline Munk. His parents had married on 30th June 1877 in Saint Jude’s Church in East Brixton. His father had been born in late 1845, or early 1846, in Shellow Bowells, Essex, while his mother Caroline Middleton, had been born in early May 1851, in Hathersage, Derbyshire. 

When William’s older brother Charles Henry, was born on 28th April 1878, the family was living at 32 Foreign Street in Lambeth. William was born on 25th September 1879, and later baptised in St James the Apostle, Lambeth, on 11th November that same year. William’s younger brother Frank Edward was later born on 15th May 1885. 

The 1881 and 1891 censuses record the family as still living at 32 Foreign Street, and that William’s father Henry was working as a carpenter to support his family. Ten years on and the 1901 census records that the family had moved to 41 Flaxman Road in Brixton. William, however, was not living with them and has not been found recorded elsewhere on the census. 

On 9th May 1902, William was aged 22 when he was admitted to the Horton Asylum in Epsom, Surrey.  

Information from William’s death certificate states his cause of death on 13 October 1905, was from hypostatic pneumonia and gangrene of the left lung. Hypostatic pneumonia is a chronic lung condition that occurs when fluid and mucus build up in the lower lobes of the lungs. This can happen if a person has been bedridden for a long length of time and not received the nursing care needed to avoid it. 

William was buried in the Horton Estate Cemetery on 19th October 1905 in grave 742 and was one of very few to have a headstone to mark his resting place.  

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Fanny Hodgson, née Kemp

1848-1923

Grave 244a

Back in 2008 I was shown the photograph above of some of the remaining headstones in the Horton Estate Cemetery that had been photographed on 28 February 1971 by L. R. James. After zooming in as near as possible, I was able to make out some of the engraved words on the stones. This led me to researching the names, one of which was Fanny Hodgson. At the time, there was little online to go on but now, seventeen years later, I have discovered more about Fanny’s life.

Fanny’s father Jesse Kemp had married Sarah Osborne on 25th August 1838 in her hometown of Goudhurst in Kent. The couple had nine known children.
Their first son William was born in 1840, and the following year when the 1841 census was taken, the family appear as living in Ticehurst village in Sussex where Jesse was working as a painter.

Quite how or why Jesse changed his career is unknown, but soon afterwards he was working as a schoolmaster in the Ticehurst Union Workhouse. Basic reading, writing and an understanding of Christian religion was taught to the children in the workhouse.

Their daughter Agnes was born there in 1843, and a second son George Henry in 1845. Fanny herself was also born there and was baptised in St. Augustine’s Church, Flimwell, Sussex, on 27th August 1848.

Both of Fanny’s parents were recorded as teaching in the workhouse school when the 1851 census was taken. Also recorded was the latest new member of the family, Fanny’s 9-month-old brother Alfred; sadly, he died the following month and was buried in St Augustine’s Church graveyard.

Fanny’s mother gave birth to another daughter Caroline in 1852, and a son Walter in 1854 who died when he was only 17 months old. Around the same time, Fanny’s family left the workhouse, and her father returned to his former occupation as a painter.
On 5th July 1857, the family celebrated the christening of twins, Ellen and Albert. Seven months later, Ellen died and was buried on 27th January 1858.
The 1861 census recorded the family as living in Flimwell Sunny Bank, and Fanny’s father’s occupation had expanded to being a painter, glazier, and plumber.

Fanny was not recorded as living at home with her family ten years later when the 1871 census was taken but had, at some point, moved to Quailstone Street in St. Marylebone, London. It was from here, on 28th August 1876, she married Frederick James Hodgson in Christ Church, Cosway Street, Marylebone. Frederick was a decorator and was living at the time in Sherborne Street.

Fanny and James went on to have eleven known children.

When their daughter Edith May was 1 year 2 months old, Fanny and Frederick returned to Flimwell and on 28th July 1878, had their daughter baptised in St Augustine’s Church. Two months later their daughter Kate Amy was born and on 22nd September, she was also baptised in the same church. The baptismal entries records that they were living in Bolton Road, St. Johns Wood, London, and that Frederick was a builder. No baptism has been found for their son Percy who was born in 1880.

The following year, the 1881 census recorded the family as living back at 26 Bolton Road, where Frederick was noted as being a painter. Also living there was his widowed mother Harriet Hodgson, who was living from the “income of house properties”.

Over the next twelve years Fanny and Frederick’s family expanded with the births of eight more children but unfortunately during this time, two of them died: Jessie in 1883, and Edgar in 1886.The 1891 census described Frederick as a house decorator and records that he and Fanny, along with their children Edith, Kate, Percy, Frederick, Ernest, Grace, and David, were now living in 4 Edbrooke Road in Paddington. Ten years later they had moved to 120 Clarendon Street, a crowded curved terrace of three-storey houses in Paddington.

By 1911 they had moved to 22 Victoria Place, Paddington. Frederick and Fanny recorded that they had been married for 30 years, and out of their 11 children, 9 were still alive, and 2 had died. There is no mention on this census that Fanny was suffering from any mental illness.

There are no online records to tell us when she was admitted but by 1921, she was an inmate in Horton Mental Hospital, Epsom. Fanny’s death in Horton Hospital on 20th October 1923 was registered by her husband and following a postmortem, the certificate gave her cause of death as ‘cerebral haemorrhage 6 days’.

Fanny was buried in grave 244a in the Horton Estate Cemetery on 26th October 1923. Her final resting place was one of very few to have a headstone, which read as follows: –

IN
LOVING MEMORY
OF
FANNY HODGSON
DIED OCT 20th 1923
AGED 71 YEARS
R.I.P

Her husband Frederick continued living at 22 Victoria Place until his death on 28th January 1932.

In early 1983, acting on behalf of the freeholder, local Epsom solicitors Kirkwoods issued a formal notice in a local newspaper of “the intention to remove the remaining tombstones, monuments and other memorials” from Horton Cemetery “for the purpose of reducing the maintenance costs”. The removal of the headstones was carried out on 26th May 1983.

On 6th July 1983, Kirkwoods sent a list of the tombstones and memorials that had been removed from the cemetery to the Registrar General of Miscellaneous Records in St Catherine House. Fanny Hodgson’s headstone was not included in this list and so must have been destroyed or removed between 1971 and 1983.

Hazel Ballan 2025

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???
ANN BARROWS HOWKINS
DIED ? 16TH 1912
AGED 44
???

Ann Barrows Howkins, the daughter of Edwin and Charlotte Ann Howkins, nee Barrows, was born in 1868 in Warwickshire (GRO reference: Jun 1868 Rugby 6d 475). Her parents had married in 1856 in the Northampton registration district. However, their surnames were recorded on their GRO marriage entry as Hawkins and Barrows. When Annie was baptised on 29 November 1868 in New Bilton, Warwickshire, her middle name was spelt as ‘Burrows’.

Annie had four older siblings: Frederick William, born 1859, Philippa, born 1861, Elizabeth Ann, born 1862, and Edwin, born 1866. In 1881, only Annie and her parents were living at 31a Sawford Street, Rugby. Her father was working as a Cordwainer. Even though Annie was only 13 years old, it was recorded that she was a school teacher.

Annie appears in the 1891 census aged 25, single and working as a cook in Camden Hill Road Kensington. Also working there was her 28-year-old sister Elizabeth, who was also single and working as a housemaid. In the 1901 census both girls were still single and working together as maids in Longridge Road, Kensington. In both censuses their surname was mis-transcribed as Hawkins.

On 3 October 1905 Annie was admitted to the Wandsworth Asylum. On 14 January 1907 she was transferred to Horton Asylum in Epsom, Surrey. When the 1911 census was taken Annie, aged 43, was recorded as still being a patient there. In the ‘Infirmity’ column it was recorded that she had been a “lunatic” since she was 27 years old. She was unmarried and had ‘Parlour Maid’ recorded as her occupation; there was no birthplace recorded.

Annie was aged 44 when she died on 16 December 1912 in Horton Asylum (GRO death reference: Dec 1912 Epsom 2a 71); she was buried in grave 2112b on 20 December 1912.

[NOTE: Ann is one of the increasing number of individuals whose lives have been included by The Friends of Horton Cemetery (see the next section of this article). Click this link to read Hazel’s article about Ann.]

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In early 1983, local solicitors Kirkwoods (acting on behalf of the freeholder) issued in the local paper a formal notice of “the intention to remove the remaining tombstones, monuments and other memorials” from Horton Cemetery “for the purpose of reducing the maintenance costs“.

Click to see the full notice.

On 6 July 1983, Kirkwoods (still acting on behalf of the freeholder) sent the Registrar General of Miscellaneous Records, St Catherine House, the following list of tombstones and memorials removed from the cemetery.

[NOTE: The death place and burial details after each entry below are August 2023 additions.]

HORTON HOSPITAL ESTATE CEMETERY,
EPSOM, SURREY
——————————————————

Schedule of all the tombstones and memorials set in a vandalised paved area inside the previous entrance from Hook Lane which, having been broken and defaced, were removed from the Cemetery on the 26 May, 1983, in accordance with Clause 9 of the Schedule to the Disused Burial Grounds (Amendment) Act 1981. There being no evidence of any other such memorials existing in, on or around the cemetery.

Set horizontally in paving:-

Constance Nellie Chaplin – died 14 January 1933 aged 53 years
> Died in West Park Hospital and buried in grave 1916a.

In Loving Memory of my dear husband Arthur aged 44
> The Horton A-Z burials database contains only three entries for individuals named Arthur who died at the age of 44. Pursuing those surnames in the previously mentioned findagrave.com database finds this burial to be of Arthur Nelson BEHRENS (listed as Behren in the Horton record), who died in West Park and was buried in grave 2823b on 19 June 1947.

In Loving Memory of Vittorina Stratta Born 9th February 1904 Died 18th May 1924
> Surname deciphered from the burial records as “Strattivi (?)”. Died in Horton Hospital and buried in grave 1745a.

In Loving Memory of my dear son Arthur James Faithful who died 11th June 1944 aged 41 years.
> Died in Long Grove and buried in grave 2605b.

In Loving Memory of Arthur Thomas Stubbings 1873-1929
 > Died in West Park and buried in grave 723a.

In Loving Memory of my dear Husband George Saunders November 16th 1942 aged 33
> Died in Long Grove and buried in grave 2426a.

In Memory of my dear Mother Elsie Fatje died 2nd July 1910 aged 78 years
> Surname mistranscribed either here or from the burial records. In the latter, the only Elsie with a surname beginning with F (Faulkner) died in 1940 at the age of 49.

In Loving Memory Miriam E. Puddle died February 26 1945 aged 42 R.I.P.
> Died in Long Grove and buried in grave 2945b.

Set vertically in paving

* In Loving Memory of Ann Barrows Howkins died December 16th 1912 “Into Thy Hands”
> Died in Horton and buried in grave 2112b.

Pollard Lewis Died 12th November 1926 aged 69
> Listed in the burial records as “Arthur Pollard Lewis”. Died in Long Grove and buried in grave 1112a.

Enid Barnet Born on 23 March 1861 in Sydney, NSW, Australia Died December 19th 1911.
> Died in Manor and buried in grave 1323.

[NOTE: At the time of this 2023 revision, the lives written up by The Friends of Horton Cemetery include two in this list, namely: Ann Barrows Howkins; and Enid Barnet (the latter – being the daughter of the famous colonial architect who built Sydney – also having a photograph of her). Their life stories can be read by clicking their names either here or in the list above.]

This list from Kirkwoods greatly extends the information gleaned in 2008 from the 1971 photograph as described above, but it is sad that the only overlap is (as asterisked immediately above) the headstone for Ann Barrows Howkins. At some point between the 1971 photograph and this 1983 listing, the headstones for Jane Gilchrist, William Munk and Fanny Hodgson had gone missing and the 2008 work is the only record of their details.

A paradoxical conclusion to this section is the case of two servicemen (one from each of the World Wars) who, having died in Long Grove when that was in use for War Hospital purposes, were buried in unmarked plots in Horton Cemetery and have headstones elsewhere. As pictured below, their standard Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones (noting their burial at Horton) are in the the CWGC plot in the Ashley Road Cemetery.

The headstones of Privates Peter McMahon and Henry James in the Ashley Road Cemetery.
(Click on those links for our biographies of these wartime casualties.)
Photographs by Clive Gilbert © 2016 and Roger Morgan © 2019

4. THE FRIENDS OF HORTON CEMETERY

The Friends’ logo features the Cemetery’s now-lost “Tin Tabernacle”.

As set out in in our companion article about the history of Horton Cemetery, The Friends of Horton Cemetery are engaged in writing up the stories of the people buried there. Bringing these forgotten individuals “back to life” not only gives them the respect they deserve but, with suitable publicity, should also help rally mass public support for clearing up the derelict site and its protection from threatened development in perpetuity.

Among the always affecting individual stories, they have so far covered the following of particular note:

• London’s infamous Tottie Fay; (1850-1908);
• Celebrated flamenco dancer, Félix Fernandez Garcia (1893-1941);
• Titanic disaster survivor George Pelham (1873-1939); &
• Victorian stage star Byron Pedley (1844-1910).

If you want to know more about their work or think you could help with their research, visit their independent website The Friends of Horton Cemetery.

Particular things that The Friends are looking for to help tell as complete a story of the cemetery as possible are:

• Photos of the cemetery.
• Documents about the cemetery or its residents
• Memories of the cemetery, especially from people that worked there as grave diggers or on ground maintenance.
• Memories of people that are buried there.
• Last, but not least, a map showing the cemetery layout, showing how graves were laid out either side of the central path and how the complicated grave numbering system worked.

  Click image to link to their website

The above (and the companion “history” article) is a 2023 reordering of the original 2008 article and its various subsequent additions.

For convenience, we repeat here the links (ordered by surname as below) to details of the Cemetery’s burial records.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W [x] Y Z