Mary Bowden

Mary Bowden was the first person to be buried in the Old Cemetery on 4th February 1856.  You will see that she was buried in consecrated ground in plot F51 in an unpurchased, “unbricked” grave.

According to the 1841 census, Mary was of independent means living in Bitton Street and was presumably already widowed.

By the time of the 1851 census she was still living in Bitton Street.  Born in Chudleigh she was head of the household, a widow aged 76 and described as a proprietor of houses.  She had a servant, Mary Ann Chamberlain who was unmarried, aged 21, born in Tiverton.  Also in the household was William Bowden, Mary’s grandson, who was unmarried and aged 18.  He was a painter, born in Exeter.

It would seem that Mary Bowden was not one of the impoverished of Teignmouth which makes it even stranger that she would have been buried in an unmarked grave.

According to the burial register she was aged 82 and buried in an unbricked grave in consecrated ground. The burial was supervised by the curate, Revd John Williams Mason.

An unbricked grave is where the soil is put back in after the interment on top of the coffin whereas a bricked grave is literally bricked (like a vault) sometimes painted then the soil is put back into the grave on top of the bricks. A bricked grave was a sign of wealth.  If a grave has not been purchased then no headstone can be erected as there is no owner to authorise the work.  (Note:  A paupers or public grave is a grave that has not been purchased.)

The plot numbering can be confusing if you do not know whether the ground is consecrated or not because the section letters are reused.

Armed only with this information we went in search of her grave. You can read the story of that search HERE