This photograph was published in Swindon in Old Photographs collected by The Swindon Society in 1988. The pet tombstones were discovered in the grounds of the Goddard family home The Lawn, but it is unlikely they will be there now.
Jessie Henrietta Goddard was born in 1850 at the London home of Ambrose Lethbridge Goddard and his wife Charlotte. She was baptised in Swindon on June 7, 1850 in the old parish church of Holy Rood during a service to bless the building of the new one, Christ Church.
Charlotte Goddard died in 1904 and following a lifetime devoted to her mother, Jessie moved into Tollington House, Faringdon where she would spend her last years surrounded by her pets.
But, the instructions in her will may seem at odds with her reputation as an animal lover.
‘My dogs Jill and Gem, to be put to sleep when I die, and buried with me if possible.’ She added:- ‘I should like Mr Crundell to come and put to sleep my pony Kitty, and my dogs Jill and Gem and Jasper, if he is still here.’
Perhaps Jessie feared for the future of her much loved pets after her death. Who would take care of them? Would they pine for their mistress – perhaps they too were elderly.
Jessie was buried on September 23, 1920. Whether her beloved dogs were buried with her is not known.
Jessie is pictured here with her parents and her four brothers published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
Sudden Death of Miss Goddard
We deeply regret to announce the death of Miss Jessie Henrietta Goddard, which took place with most painful suddenness at her residence, Tollington House, Faringdon, early on Sunday morning. It was the custom of Miss Goddard, who was a great lover of animals, to rise early in the morning and tend to the needs of her pets, often before the rest of the household was astir. On Sunday morning it was noticed that she had not performed her customary duties and about 8 o’clock, the maids having heard no movement upstairs, entered her room and were horrified to find their mistress lying dead on the floor in front of the bedroom window, which she had evidently been in the act of opening when seized with heart failure, which must have proved instantly fatal. Medical aid was sent for but Dr. Dornford, who was quickly in attendance, pronounced life to have been extinct for about two hours.
Miss Goddard, who was the daughter of Mr Ambrose Lethbridge Goddard, J.P., of “The Lawn,” Swindon, had resided at Tollington House for the past fifteen years and was held in high esteem by a large circle of friends. She was a great lover of nature and besides her animal pets, took a keen and personal interest in her garden, where it gave her much pleasure to welcome her friends and neighbours. A few years ago she took an active and practical interest in the advancement of the effort to encourage home industries, a movement, which it is to be feared, has not materialised, as she, for one would have wished.
The funeral took place at Swindon on Thursday afternoon, when the remains were laid to rest in the family vault in the Old Churchyard, which immediately adjoins the family residence, in the company of numerous relatives and friends.
Extracts from The Faringdon Advertiser, Saturday, September 25, 1920.
There are no members of this branch of the Goddard family buried in Radnor Street Cemetery. They have their own mausoleum at the ancient Holy Rood Church.
Radnor Street Cemetery 