In an unassuming part of the cemetery underneath the large yew tree close to the gate and bench seating area lie the remains of brother and sister – George Stonhouse Vigor – aged 16 and Charlotte Eliza aged 19. George died from Tuberculosis of the lymph nodes whilst living in Johnstown and Charlotte from heart disease whilst staying at a friend’s house in Ferryside.
George’s mother Louisa was present when her son sadly passed away in 1847, but was not present when her daughter passed away in 1853. Their family heritage is most interesting and quite why they were living in Carmarthen at that time remains a mystery. The inscription on the grave reads as follows
UNDERNEATH
ARE INTERRED THE REMAINS
OF GEORGE, ELDEST SON OF THE LATE
REV’d HENRY STONHOUSE VIGOR, AM
AND OF LOUISA BURT, HIS WIFE, DIED JUNE 9TH 1847,
AGED 16 YEARS AND 4 MONTHS.
ALSO OF CHARLOTTE ELIZA, THEIR ELDEST DAUGHTER
WHO DIED AUGUST 1ST 1853 AGED 19 YEARS AND 9 MONTHS
WHOM THE MARBLE TABLET IN THIS CHURCH REFERS
Louisa Burt Gordon married the Reverend Henry Stonehouse Vigor on the 24th March 1829. They had three children, two of whom are referred to above and a third son named Alfred Henry Say Stonhouse Vigor who died aged 57 in 1889.
George and Charlotte were great nephew and niece to the Right Reverend George Isaac Huntingford MA.DD.FRS.FSA. Bishop of Hereford (and former Bishop of Gloucester) and Warden of Winchester College. Their Great Grandfather was The Reverend Sir James Stonhouse Vigor (1716 -1795) who was a celebrated physician, cleric, religious writer, and founder of the County Infirmary at Northampton in 1743. Sir James’s first wife was Maid of Honour to Her Majesty Queen Caroline of Ansbach ( wife of George II )
The Reverend Sir James Stonhouse BA. MA. MB. MD (1716-1795)
Here rests awhile, in happier climes to shine,
The Orator, Physician, and Divine:
‘Twas his, like Luke, the double task to fill,
To heal the nat’ral, and the moral ill.
You, whose awaken’d hearts his labours blest,
Where ev’ry truth by ev’ry grace was drest;
Oh! let your lives evince that still you feel
The effective influence of his fervent zeal.
One spirit rescued from eternal woe
Where nobler fame than marble can bestow;
That lasting monument will mock decay
And stand, triumphant, at the final day.
The above poem was written by Hannah More (2nd February 1745 – 7th September 1833) who was an English religious writer, Romantic and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical philanthropist.
