Culture
and Entertainment
Death
Hearse at Felinfach, c1925
Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery
Death was a day to day reality for the Victorians. The Queen herself
spent much of her reign in mourning; it became essential to observe
all due formalities if a member of the family died. As with other
rites of passage, it attracted its own rituals. The wearing of black
was well established and became quite lucrative for manufacturers
of crepe, such as Pryce-Jones
in Newtown.
The size of a funeral reflected the status of the departed. The
body would lie at home until the funeral, and on the day of the
ceremony the mourners would gather to say a prayer, and then the
neighbours would sing hymns prior to the coffin's being borne to
church.
|
Pantpurlais Farm
Powys County Archives
It was quite common to give tips to the sexton after the funeral.
This was known as shovel money' and persisted in the
custom of paying a gravedigger more than his due fee. Afterwards
there would be food and drink supplied, again reflecting the status
of the deceased.
The Davies family lived at Pantpurlais, a farmhouse just outside
Llandrindod Wells in Radnorshire. They had occupied the house for
some years, since at least the 1850s, and had forged a living from
the often inhospitable surroundings.
The parents of the family were Ezekiel and Elizabeth Davies and
they had 8 children altogether: Elizabeth, b1846; Fortune, b1848;
John, b1850; William, b1852; Sarah, b1854; Anne, b1858; Martha,
b1861; and Thomas, b1870.
|
Ezekiel Davies of Pantpurlais
Powys County Archives
Mourning card for Ezekiel Davies
Powys County Archives
It was usual to have mourning cards like these printed following
a death. Elizabeth died in February 1883, Ezekiel died 22 months
later; both were buried at Howey Baptist Chapel.
The picture below shows the soberly dressed daughters of this couple.
|
Elizabeth Davies of Pantpurlais
Powys County Archives
Mourning card for Elizabeth Davies
Powys County Archives
Advertisement for Mourning Cards
from the 1891 Brecon & Radnor Express
Powys County Archives
|
Betsy, Fortune, Sarah, Annie and Patti
Powys County Archives
All of the children had left home by 1883 except Anne, who stayed
on to nurse her father. She was married to a Thomas Morgan who took
over the tenancy of the property which had grown in proportion since
her father had taken over. He managed to buy the property in 1899.
However, the house burnt down some time between 1899-1903 and was
rebuilt as a much more comfortable residence, even becoming a boarding
house and a tea room in the early part of the twentieth century.
Funeral notices were published in local newspapers much as they
are today. The following is an extract from the Brecon and Radnor
Express in 1891 which describes a funeral for a highly respected
person in the community - in this case Mrs Amelia Edwards who was
the wife of Rev D Bowen Edwards, the pastor of Watergate Baptist
Church in Brecon:
Description of the funeral of Mrs Amelia Edwards
from the Brecon and Radnor Express
Powys County Archives
|