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This Record of the Monumental Inscriptions at the Parish Church of St Mary, Cholsey, Oxfordshire, was made by the Oxfordshire Family History Society in 2002 and 2003. It was prepared for distribution in text form as a paper copy and on microfiche. This electronic version, distributed as a compact disk, comprises the full text of the transcript, with the addition of photographs of the graves taken during the transcription. The Plan which accompanies this record, was prepared from a survey carried out by members of the society, during the transcription. It includes all the visible monuments in the church and graveyard. The Numbering System used to identify the graves, splits the church and graveyard into seven sections, designated by the initial letters C, N, S, E W, X & Y. This letter is followed by a number of three digits indicating the individual grave within the section. The Sections are: C The church itself, coloured grey on the plan. W The western area of the graveyard, coloured yellow on the plan. N The northern area of the graveyard, coloured pink on the plan. S The southern area of the graveyard, coloured green on the plan. E The eastern area of the graveyard, coloured violet on the plan. X The western end of the "new" extension to the graveyard, coloured turquoise on the plan. Y The eastern end of the "new" extension to the graveyard, coloured blue on the plan. In areas of the graveyard where graves are in clearly visible rows, the numbering system reflects this. In areas where the positioning of the visible graves is less regular, a simple sequential numbering system has been adopted. There are a number of places where one or more additional graves were discovered during the recording, for which there was no available number. In such cases the number of an adjacent grave is used, with a suffix letter added. The Convention Used when recording the inscriptions, is the standard method, whereby only the surname is shown in capital letters, with the rest of the inscription in lower case. There is no attempt to follow the capitalisation, or typeface, of the original inscription. Capitalisation of initial letters of names and the start of sentences follows modern practice. All punctuation visible on the stone is transcribed as accurately as possible, within the limitations of the computer typeface. In certain cases a compromise has to be made. Most noticeably, many stones have the word "ye" written as a small "e", directly above the "y". This is represented here with the "e" as a superscript, immediately following the "y", thus: ye. Where part of a stone is not decipherable square brackets are used to indicate missing letters or words, thus [ ]. If the spacing of the surrounding letters gives a clue to the number of missing letters these will be marked within the bracket thus: [_ _ _]. If a letter is in doubt, it will be placed in square brackets in the same way, or possible alternatives may be indicated, thus: Died 187[0 or 6]. In the standard paper and fiche transcripts the "/" symbol is used to indicate line ends, in order to save space. In this CD version, space is not at a premium and the lines are placed as found on the stone. However no attempt is made to fit the modern type to the correct line lengths and all the lines are centred. The true layout can usually be judged from the photograph. Additional Information about the grave, is shown in italics. Normally this consists of a brief description of the grave, preceding the inscription. In some cases further information may be added, in italics, following the inscription. This is often information from the burial register, indicated thus: Burial Reg. etc.. This is only included where it adds information, or confirms or contradicts something read from the stone. Grateful Thanks are due to the following people for giving us permission to carry out the recording and for offering us their help and encouragement. Andrew Petit Vicar of Cholsey, for permission to transcribe the monuments. Joan Gander Church Warden, for permission to transcribe the monuments. Ian Miles Clerk to the Parish Council, for permission to transcribe the monuments. Janet Wedgwood For permission to use the photographs and transcriptions made during 1994-5, of the monuments now concealed beneath the floor of the church. June Baker For writing the History of the Church included with this transcript. The Team Members who carried out the transcription were, in alphabetical order: Jane Billinge, Colleen Killingbeck, David Ludlow, Mrs Mac Naughton, Alan Simpson, Judith Wildsmith, Margaret Woodall.

The Parish Church of St Mary, Cholsey, Oxfordshire. | Copyright © Oxfordshire Family History Society, 2003