Welsh slate headstones

St Mary in the Elms churchyard in Woodhouse has a number of beautifully engraved 18th Century headstones, noticeably different in style from those in Newtown Linford, for example. By 'different' I mean to say that the writing is well laid out on the stone, the capitalisation is regular, and the spelling has not been subsequently corrected.

John Boley's headstone is a good example:

Here lyeth Interred

the Body of John Boley

who departed this life

October the 3rd Ano. Dom

1721 Aged 32 Years

Were the masons in Woodhouse more skilled and literate than those in Newtown Linford? Or were the people of Woodhouse who could not afford a more expensive mason being buried in some other churchyard?

One indication of the money being spent on the Woodhouse burials is the type of stone being used. We can get a clearer look at this on the reverse side.

 

I would need to do a microscopic comparison to be certain, but to my eye this is Welsh slate rather than the local Charnwood Slate. Welsh slate cleaves far more regularly. The unevenness of Charnwood slate gives the roofs of local houses their particular charm, but it must be far harder for the mason to work with.

 

This is certainly Welsh slate:

 

And this is local stone, complete with tool marks:

 

 

 

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