As fans of Time Team and Digging for Britain will know, grave goods are essential for dating pre-historic burials. From jewellery found recently in a Bronze Age tomb in the sand dunes at Cape Trafalgar on the Cadiz coast to the unpublished book of poetry Dante G. Rossetti buried with his wife Lizzie in Highgate Cemetery (he later exhumed her body to retrieve the book), we have buried significant and sentimental items with our loved ones. And in 1905 Hannah West was buried in Radnor Street Cemetery with her collection of class tickets* collected over more than 70 years.
Hannah Ride was born on October 14, 1815 the daughter of John Ride and his wife Martha. As a young child Hannah left for a brief stay in America with her family where her mother died of a fever. John returned to England and dedicated his life to the work of God after meeting Hugh Bourne and William Clowes, co-founders of Primitive Methodism.
Hannah converted to Primitive Methodism at the age of 17 and pursued a lifetime of devoted service to the cause. In 1842 she married the Rev Samuel West and the couple had eight children. Hannah and Samuel’s last home together was in Kingswood, Bristol where Hannah remained following the death of her husband in 1867. In 1903, by then aged 88, Hannah moved to Swindon to live with her eldest daughter Mary Williamson, the wife of a draper with a shop at 24 Regent Street.
The obituary written by W. Scruby and published in the Primitive Methodist Magazine describes Hannah as follows:
‘When visited she was always bright and quietly confident of her acceptance with God. Her trust was beautiful in its simplicity. Although so far advanced in life her memory was most tenacious; she would recall events of the last eighty years with the greatest accuracy. To the last she retained an intelligent interest in all that was passing, and would converse on social, political, and religious events with great zest. Her Bible and Hymnal were her daily companions, and the daily paper was carefully read. She had her political preferences, and with the condition of the working classes previous to the abolition of the Corn Laws vividly before her mind, she concluded that Mr. Chamberlain was a very bad man. Until within a short time of her death she hoped to get to services again, and desired to attend another old fashioned Camp Meeting.’
Hannah West died at her daughter’s home in August 1905 and was buried with her class tickets in plot E7652 on August 15. Her youngest daughter Emma was buried with her on August 31, 1932.
*A class ticket was a certificate of membership of the Methodist Church, and was first issued by John Wesley in 1742. Hugh Bourne revived this tradition when he issued the first Primitive Methodist class ticket in May 1811.
Examples of class tickets are published courtesy of My Primitive Methodists.
Radnor Street Cemetery 