Saturday, March 30, 2013

A Mystery Solved

Some time ago I wrote a post about a mysterious memorial stone I came across in Cockerhurst Road on the outskirts of Shoreham.

 
On one face it is inscribed with a passage taken from the Bible (Hosea) - "Behold therefore I will allure her and will lead her into the wilderness and there I will speak to her heart"....
 
 
On another face the inscription reads "Pray for the soul of E.J.G.B".....
 
 
and on another "and of A.J.B".
 
Thanks to tip offs received from members of Kent History Forum I have managed to get to find out the origins of the stone.

The stone was erected in 1928 by a Miss Maud Berkeley in memory of her late father, Dr E J G Berkeley. She lived at  Little Timberden in the village and ran a Catholic mission chapel.

As well as the stone and a seat, she also erected a 15' high teak crucifix with a life size statue of Jesus.

The crucifix had a somewhat chequered history.

On the 21st January 1943 it was blown down in a gale and on the 27th October 1960 it suffered an even worse fate.

The crucifix was deliberately sawn down and the statue of Jesus vandalised. It would appear that some residents of Shoreham thought the towering crucifix an eyesore.

The crucifix and statue were removed and put into storage for a number of years. Eventually a Miss Cobbold suggested they be relocated to the Carmelite monastery at Quidenham in Norfolk where they remain to this day.

If you have found this post of interest you may also like....

The White Cross of Shoreham

My Darent Valley Walk Part 1

Tin Tabernacles in Kent