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Gravestone Recording

Of the 55 gravestones on the Chapel Stores' site, some are already very eroded and are only partially readable

 

Thanks to players of the National Lottery we were awarded funding to produce a digital record of the gravestones and their inscriptions before they are eroded any further.

In preparation for recording, the gravestones were cleared of the masses of brambles and ivy and cleaned by teams of volunteers  following War Memorial Trust guidelines. This revealed some text that was not previously visible.

We are very grateful to the volunteers who have helped us prepare for the imaging by clearing away the brambles and ivy and meticulously cleaned the gravestones. 

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The inscriptions have been captured using two different techniques to produce remarkable results:

  • Reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) reveals surface information not normally visible. Images are created from multiple photos, each taken with light projected from a different direction to produce varying highlights and shadows. These are combined to disclose fine details of the surface.

  • Photogrammetry delivers a 3D image by combining multiple photos of an object taken from different angles all that’s needed is a camera.

Opportunities to Get Hands On with Heritage

Family Tree Workshops

We will be organising a series of workshops in December 2024 to share skills and sources of information for researching your own family trees.

 

They will cover the records available for such research and how to access them as well as how to best use Ancestry UK to build an accurate family tree.

 

We'll be using some of our gravestones as hands on case studies providing you an opportunity both to learn and to contribute to our research on the Baptist Chapel's history.

 

If you would be interested in taking part, maybe so that you learn skills to research your own family tree then please get in touch.

Gravestone Imaging Results and Biographies

The gravestones are laid out along three sides of the narrow strip at the back of the site. The layout below reflects this. Click on the name boxes alongside each gravestone to see the imaging results and to find out more the people each gravestone commemorates.

RIGHT HAND SIDE

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Benjamin Biddlecombe

Ann Biddlecombe

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