What Happened To Lady Jones - Whirlow Brook,Sheffield 1946
I came across the following report which appeared in the Sheffield Star dated 21st July 1946. As the headline states Sheffield Corporation bought Whirlow Brook and nearly forty acres of grounds for £15,000 which in current values amounts to circa £440,000. But the bulk of the purchase was financed by grants from Trusts leaving the Corporation to find a mere £1500 (£44,000). Surely it must have been one of the most astute pieces of municipal acquisition that the Corporation has ever managed. The seller was Sir Walter Benton Jones a prominent industrialist.
The following is a brief overview of Sir Walters life that was obtained from the excellent Treeton Web
Jones, Walter Benton. 2nd Baronet (26 September 1880 – 5
December 1967) succeeded to the Baronetcy on the death of his father in 1936
Adm. pens. at Trinity College, Cambridge, June 25, 1899.
[Elder] s. of [Sir] Frederick John [1st Bart.], of Treeton Grange, near
Rotherham, Yorkshire. B. [Sept. 26], 1880, at Brownhills, Staffordshire. School,
Repton [ Derbyshire].
Matric. Michs. 1899; B.A. 1902.
Chairman and Managing Director of the United Steel Companies, Ltd.
Director of the Westminster Bank, Ltd., etc.
He succeeded his father in 1915 as managing director of Rother Vale Collieries
which owned mines around Treeton, near Rotherham, Yorkshire and, like his
father, became a prominent industrialist with numerous interests and
directorships in mining, steel and banking in Yorkshire and elsewhere.
He lived at Whirlow Brook Hall, Sheffield, Yorkshire which he built in about
1906 and later at the family seat Irnham Hall, Irnham, Lincolnshire.
A photographic print of Sir Walter, by Bassano, is held in the National Portrait
Gallery, London.
Of Irnham Hall, Grantham [ Lincolnshire], and Whirlow Brook, Sheffield [
Yorkshire], in 1944.
Succeeded his father as 2nd Bart., 1936.
But the intriguing part of the newspaper report is the last paragraph - "The grave of Lady Jones will be removed from the gardens before the sale is complete"
The following information on Lady Jones was obtained form Burkes Peerage
"Lily Marguerite Fawcett was born in 1879 at Sheffield,
Yorkshire, England. She was the daughter of James Dixon Fawcett and Eliza Martha
Wightman. She married Sir Walter Benton Jones, 2nd Bt., son of Sir Frederick
John Jones, 1st Bt. and Annie Elizabeth Benton, on 9 January 1907. She died on
19 September 1938.
From 9 January 1907, her married name became Jones.
Children of Lily Marguerite Fawcett and Sir Walter Benton Jones, 2nd Bt.
Pamela Benton Jones+2 b. 24 Mar 1908, d. 22 Jan 1997
Sir Peter Fawcett Benton Jones, 3rd Bt.+2 b. 9 Jan 1911, d. 1972
Rachel Mary Benton Jones+2 b. 15 Nov 1918, d. 2002
But the question is what happened to the mortal remains of Lady Jones after they were removed from the garden.?
As a final note, Sheffield City Council have leased Whirlow Brook Hall for many years to the private sector. At the time of writing, the lease was in the process of being transferred, and needless to say, the Hall and its facilities were closed to the public!
In February 2023 I finally discovered the last resting place of Lady Jones, The excellent Find A Grave site carried an entry for St Andrews Churchyard in Irnham in Lincolnshire
Name: Lily Marguerite Jones
Birth Date: Apr 1879 Birth Place: Sheffield England
Death Date: Sep 1938 age 59
Death Place: Irnham, South Kesteven District, Lincolnshire, England
Cemetery: St Andrew Churchyard Burial or Cremation Place: Irnham, South Kesteven District, Lincolnshire, England
Spouse: Walter Benton Jones
IN THIS DEDICATED GRAVE IN THE GARDEN IN WHICH SHE
LOVED AND IN WHICH SHE SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF
HER LIFE LIES THE BODY OF
LILY MARGUERITE
BELOVED WIFE OF WALTER BENTON JONES
BORN APRIL 1879 DIED SEPTEMBER 1938
SHE ENDURED MUCH SUFFERING WITH GREAT COURAGE
AND ACQUIRED A SINGLENESS OF MIND THAT
ENDEARED HER TO ALL
BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD
This is the inscription on the grave. What I believe happened is that this memorial was in place over her initial resting place at Whirlow Brook Hall because "it was in the garden in which she loved and in which she spent a great deal of her life." When he body was exhumed from the garden in 1946 it was re-interred in the graveyard at St Andrew Churchyard Irnham, South Kesteven District, Lincolnshire, England. Irnham Hall was the home of her husband's family and she was finally laid to rest there. The memorial from Whirlow Brook Hall also accompanied her on her final journey.
Sources
Sheffield Star dated 21st July 1946
Citations
[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th
edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical
Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2114. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and
Baronetage, 107th edition.
[S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
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This page was last updated on 17/02/23 15:28