St John the Baptist Church, Stanbridge, the Hall of Our Ancestors.
The historic clock, raised by locals to celebrate its soldiers returning from the Great War.
I have produced the Tearle family tree in 7 pdf files: Tearle1.pdf and Tearle2.pdf are different views of the whole family, but they take about 70 pages each to print. In order to have the information in a more manageable form, I have also saved the tree into 5 branches each starting with a son of Thomas 1710 and Mary nee Sibley. So where you see the statement, for instance, that John, below is on the branch of John 1741, look for a file named John 1741.pdf. When you view or print this file you will see where the subject of the memorial fits into their particular branch, and from there, where they fit into the entire Tearle family.
The memorial to the right is for John Tearle b16 Jan 1840 in Stanbridge; “For sixty years sexton of this parish.” Also on the memorial are other members of John’s family: Maria nee Bliss b1844 in Totternhoe, Frederick b1871 in Stanbridge
Sabina b1875 in Stanbridge
John Tearle was sexton while the Rev Thomas Green was making major upgrades to the fabric of St John’s during the 1890s.
He is on the branch of John 1741.
Eliza Tearle b1873 and Kate Tearle b1873, who died within months of each other in 1954 and are in this grave by the footpath. They are the twin daughters of John the sexton (above) and are the last people to bear the Tearle name in Stanbridge. A name which had lived in this village since at least 1420 was gone.
On the right is the memorial to Phoebe Tearle b 1877 Stanbridge. She married George Horne, also of Stanbridge, and they left to seek their fortune in Leeds. Phoebe is one of the daughters of John 1840, the sexton, and Maria. Note how close her grave is to that of her sisters, Eliza and Kate.
The headstone on the right is for James Tearle b15 Apr 1827 in Toddington and Mary b1830 in Eggington. They were married in Stanbridge 26 July 1846.
James and John the sexton are brothers. James is my g-g-grandfather. While his son Levi went on to become a skilled blacksmith, running a successful business in Wing, James always described himself simply as an agricultural labourer. After his father died, Levi travelled from Wing to see his mother in Stanbridge almost every weekend.
James, too, is on the branch of John 1741.
The memorials to John and James are close together.
John Tearle d1818 and Elizabeth.
John, b1787 in Stanbridge, married Elizabeth Flint of Stanbridge on 4 May 1813. They had three children before he died in 1818, and they certainly made their mark.
Elizabeth remarried, to William Rickard, but you will notice his headstone nearby has his name only on it, whilst Elizabeth is written on John’s headstone, but as Elizabeth Rickard. You will see John on the branch of Joseph 1737, because he is a son of Joseph 1737 and Phoebe nee Capp. This is one of the Methodist graves.
John and Deborah Olney – notice the wonderful age they lived to. He owned and worked a 154 acre farm near Stanbridge, employing 6 labourers. They probably did not live on the farm since their house is in the village near the church. Deborah is a daughter of John 1787 and Elizabeth nee Flint, above. Also on this headstone is their son, James Olney b1837 Stanbridge.
Deborah often gives her children the name Tearle as a middle name eg Hannah Tearle Olney – who may have died of cancer. She is named after Deborah’s younger sister.
This small headstone ( R ) is to their four children who died – Thomas and William can be seen written there, but the other two cannot.
Hannah Tearle b 30 June 1816 and Henry Fleet b1817.
They were married in St Johns Stanbridge in 1838.
Their memorial is inside the church and tells the story of their sad and early deaths. Hannah is the second daughter of John 1787 and Elizabeth, above, and was Deborah’s younger sister.
The graves under the trees and this memorial to Hannah are of Methodists. The Methodist chapel was next door to the school on Tilsworth Rd. The memorial reads:
Hannah, the beloved wife of Henry Fleet and daughter of John and Elizabeth Tearle of this parish, who while on a voyage with her husband to Africa, was called to her eternal reward. Jan 1, 1839, aged 22 years.
Also of the above Henry Fleet, Wesleyan Missionary, who died at Sierra Leone, Western Africa, May 30 1839, aged 22 years.
The Methodist graves.
An English custom worthy of note to the family historian; in England, it is the venue that is licensed to perform marriages. Since the Methodist chapel did not have such a licence, marriages were performed in the Parish Church, in this case, St Johns. Likewise, burials could take place only in the St Johns churchyard; hence the Methodist marriages and the Methodist graves in a Church of England venue.
Another interesting thing about the Methodists is that according to The Citizen of Leighton Buzzard, 26 Feb 2004, “The village’s first school was opened in June 1876 at the Primitive (Methodist) chapel. It catered for 80 children but was soon full and so a new school was built next door in 1881.” I have often noticed in my wanderings around England that Methodist schools attached to, or run inside Methodist chapels often precede parish schools. The Methodists believed in reading the Bible, so of course you had to be able to read. Look up the story of the Tolepuddle martyrs. Methodism was for the poor, and the modern trade unions are the direct descendants of the early Methodists. The Tearles were at the very centre of that activity in Stanbridge.
At the end of WW1, a private initiative began that tried to tell the stories of the soldiers of WW1. It was called National Roll of the Great War and while volumes were written, the work could hardly be called comprehensive. However, it does include the stories of two Stanbridge men, who were lucky enough to survive the war.
Tearle, F J, Private, 8th Bedfordshire Regiment, who gave as his address Tilsworth Rd, Stanbridge. National Roll says:
He volunteered in March 1915, and in the same year was sent to France. During his service on the Western Front he was engaged in the fighting on the Somme, at Arras, Bullecourt and Cambrai, and was wounded on the Somme during the retreat of 1918. He was demobilised in November 1919, and holds the 1914-15 Star, the General Service and Victory Medals.
Tearle, E, Private, 7th Bedfordshire Regiment, also of Tilsworth Rd, Stanbridge. National Roll says of him:
He volunteered in September 1914 and in the following January proceeded overseas. He served on the Western Front and fought at Loos and the Somme, where he was wounded. On recovery he rejoined his Battalion, and was engaged in the fighting at Passchendale, Cambrai and in the Retreat and Advance of 1918. He was demobilised in March 1919, and holds the 1914-15 Star, and the General Service and Victory Medals.
These two boys, not surprisingly, were brothers, sons of John 1862 Stbg and Annie nee Walker. The first was Frederick John Tearle, 1884 Stbg and the other was Edgar Tearle, 1890 Stbg.
I have no information on Frederick, but my records say that Edgar died on 1 Nov 1950.
John 1862 Stbg, was a son James and Hannah nee Phillip. Here are John, Annie and family in the 1901 Stanbridge census:
1901 = John 1862 Annie 35 Frederick J 17 Edgar 10 Alice Agnes 6 Mabel Edith 1 in Stbg
As the enumerator walked down Tilsworth Rd, John and Annie were in the 59th house, just inside Pedars Lane.
