The barely discernible inscription on this headstone reads Mary Ridge died June 1, 1891 aged 87 years – Thy will be done.

Mary Parcells/Parsells was born in Kentisbury, Devon is around 1809. She married William Ridge in 1846 in the Barnstaple registration district. At the time of their marriage Mary was about 37 years old and considerably older than her husband. She also had a three year old son, Arthur Parcells and had given birth to twin daughters Emily and Mary Ridge. She had a third daughter Elizabeth in 1850.

Mary raised her family in this beautiful area on the North Devon coast. In 1861 the family were living at Hele Cottage in the Village of Heal where William worked as a Sawyer but sadly, by 1871 William had died. Mary continued to live at Hele Cottage with her daughter Mary and a young domestic servant called Mary Annie along with two lodgers, Emma Spratt, a schoolmistress and William Vincent Bowen Hewett, a Lieutenant in the Royal Marines (on half pay).

In 1881 Mary can be found on the census of that year living with her daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Edwin Sims at 59 Wellington Street, Swindon. Edwin worked as a Coach Painter in the Works and the couple had a family of five children. (It would seem that the census enumerator mis-transcribed Mary’s age, stating that she was 51 years old when she was closer to 71).

Eventually all Mary’s daughters made their way to Swindon. Emily was the last to marry in 1906 at the age of 59. After a lifetime working in domestic service with a period as a lodging house keeper, Emily married widower William Henry Lawrence, a checker in the GWR Works.

By the time of the 1891 census Edwin Sims had been promoted to Foreman of the Painters Shop and the family were living at 4 Temple Street where Mary died a few weeks later.

Mary was buried on June 5, 1891 in grave plot B2024. Her daughter Elizabeth Sims, wife of Edwin Sims, died in 1899 and was buried with her mother. Another daughter, Mary Small, wife of John Small, died in 1903 and was buried with her mother and sister.

The burial registers indicate that this plot was originally a public grave. Perhaps the two brothers-in-law ultimately bought the grave to memorialise their two wives, sisters Mary and Elizabeth, and their mother-in-law Mary Ridge.