TIM WHITTON - Carved: ABNEY PARK - THE SEARCH FOR SAMUEL BAGSTER

SAMUEL BAGSTER

My wife Judith has an aunty called Joy Bagster. Joy, like my dear wife is from the Dublin, Ireland. On a recent trip to London. Joy and myself, made a visit to Abney Park Cemetery, in search of the graves and final resting place of long lost relatives. In Joy’s case these relatives turn out to be quite famous.

Abney Park Cemetery is in Stoke Newington and is one of the Magnificent Seven London cemeteries. A total number of 196,843 burials have taken place there as of the year 2000. In 1832 Parliament passed a bill encouraging the establishment of private cemeteries outside London, and later passed a bill to close all inner London churchyards to new burials. Over the next decade seven cemeteries were established: Kensal Green Cemetery-1832, West Norwood Cemetery-1837, Highgate Cemetery-1839, Abney Park Cemetery-1840, Nunhead Cemetery-1840, Brompton Cemetery-1840, Tower Hamlets Cemetery-1841. Many famous people have been buried there and if you like looking around over grown grave yards, this is just the place. It comes complete with a derelict chapel in the middle of it. A perfect back drop if you wanted to film a Hammer Horror film.

But myself and Joy weren’t here to film a horror film, we were in search of the Bagster clan and in particular Samuel Bagster.

SAMUEL BAGSTER

Samuel Bagster was an English publisher and printer. He was born in 1772 and died in 1851, the second son of George and Mary Bagster of Lyme Regis, Dorset on the south coast of England.

When Samuel was seven years old he was sent away to school with the Reverend John Collett Ryland, Baptist minister and father to his more famous son (also) John Ryland. On leaving school, Samuel became an apprenticed to a bookseller in The Strand, after which time he took the entrepreneurial step of opening his own bookshop at No 81 The Strand on 19th April 1794, when he was still only twenty-one years old.

SAMUEL BAGSTER FAMILY GRAVE. UNDER THE DAME YOU CAN SEE THE FAMILY MOTTO IN LATIN.
WHICH I BELIEVE MEANS "MANY TONGUES ONE FAITH"

Unsurprisingly, given this very specific Christian background, Samuel committed to never selling any book which might be considered questionable in taste or subject – an approach which set him apart from the general run of society. It wasn’t long before Samuel soon turned his attention to the publication of bibles, bringing out a Hebrew bible, the Septuagint (Greek) version, and the English version, with 60,000 parallel references, followed by his great polyglot bible, which in its final form showed eight languages at the opening of the volume. As the firm grew over the years Samuels children joined the family business and it became Bagster & Sons.

INSCRIPTION FOUND AT THE FOOT OF THE GRAVE

Samuel married Eunice Birch on the 19th December 1797. Eunice was said to be a “brave” woman of equally high principles and a steadfast faith – a real helpmeet to her husband throughout their long married life. They had twelve children together. Eunice died on the day before her hundredth birthday in 1877. Only a few months earlier she had been honoured by a personal visit from Queen Victoria, who knelt at Mrs Bagster’s bedside to receive the blessing of her “revered and venerable servant”.

Abney Park Cemetery

Below you can see some other of the pictures I took on the day. The day was overcast most of the time, so some of the pictures are in black and white, which I think work with the subjects.

CROSSES AND ANGELS

I LOVE THE WAY TREES AND PLANTS WRAP THEMSELVES ROUND THE STATUES

TWO GREAT HEADSTONES, I REALLY LIKE THE ONE WITH THE OLD CAR

THESE SMALL HEADSTONES ARE PAUPERS GRAVES

ISAAC WATTS

Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English hymn writer and theologian . A prolific and popular hymn writer, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 650 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in use today, and have been translated into many languages.

Derelict Gothic Chapel in middle of the Cemetery