Milverton has a delightful church atop the town with a well maintained churchyard. In 1638 one Phyllis Kidner married William Taylor here, but there appears to have been no Kidner involvement with Milverton until 1849, when William Kidner moved to Bickley Farm from Durston. William died in 1855, just two weeks after his sixteen-year old and eldest daughter Elizabeth. They are buried in the family plot which has suffered damage and neglect over the last seventy years:

From the left the memorials are to 1) Samuel of Bickley (1848-1935) 2) Ann Kidner (1843-1916); 3) Mary Lyng Kidner (1846-1894); 4) Ann Kidner née Smith (mother of 1,2, and 3); and 5) the presumed grave of William Kidner of Bickley, Ann's husband, probably with that of their daughter Elizabeth. The lettering is indecipherable (I shall try to rub the stone one day as one would a brass).

To the left of this plot is another defined area in which stands the handsome granite headstone of John of Thurloxton and three of his children - Elizabeth, Mary Phillips, and Anna (see photo below). John had retired to North Street, Milverton in the 1880s and died at his son Joseph's Blagroves Farm, on the outskirts of Milverton, in 1904. The headstone is still in excellent condition (it was erected I imagine at some time in the 1950s or 1960s, after the death of Anna in 1948). Were Joseph and his wife Esther buried in this plot at Milverton? I have found no memorial.

Above - John of Thurloxton's headstone after some grass cutting. It's quite a contrast to his wife Eliza's memorial at Thurloxton, where she is buried with four young children. At Milverton there is John in his 100th year, Anna aged 93, Mary Phillips aged 87 and Elizabeth, or 'Lizzie', aged 85. In the photograph below, taken at Milverton in about 1922, are Lizzie on the left, and Mary Phillips and Anna (uncertain which is which) to the right and wearing sunhats.

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Last updated on 6th June 2008

© Simon Kidner 2008

Appendix 26 - Milverton Churchyard