Church of St. Peter & St. Paul (Photographs), Upper Stoke

The entrance to the Church of St. Peter & St. Paul is located on The Street in Upper Stoke. The structure has undergone many repairs over the centuries, but parts date back to 1175.  A major restoration was initiated in 1898. With views across the Stoke Saltings, the Church backs onto Stoke Road and Church Terrace.

There might be a number of my ancestors buried in the churchyard, but I have only found a couple of surviving headstones - they probably couldn't afford such things. In another post, I have already referred to one of these graves (belonging to Henry & Emma Spencer), but the other grave, which has been well hidden over the years, contains six of my Great-Grandfather's young siblings, who died between 1871 and 1882. I usually refer to these children as 'the Watson children', but their names and ages were:  Charles (19), John (14), William (2), Arthur (2), Ernest (1) and Clara (only weeks old). Perhaps in celebration of their lives, a tree has grown from their grave (first photograph below) - quite literally giving me a family tree!

All photographs were taken on the date of this blog.