Blennerhassett Family Tree
Genealogy one-name study      by Bill Jehan
   Introduction      INSCRIPTIONS at Walcot, Bath, Co.Somerset
 
Inscriptions at 
the Church of St.Swithin Walcot, in Walcot Street, Bath
Church of England - Diocese of Bath & Wells
 
 
 
The mediaeval church of St.Swithin at Walcot was rebuilt 1777-1790. This is the only surviving 18th Century church within the Georgian city of Bath, and a fine church it is. This is the church attended by the Blennerhassett family of Ballyseedy when resident at Bath, also by Avice Blennerhassett (sister of Harman Blennerhassett of Castle Conway, Killorglin and "Blennerhassett Island") who lived very near this church before moving to Cottage Crescent (a.k.a. Bloomfield Crescent) on a hill just outside the city. 
 
The church contains many wall monuments, none of them Blennerhassett. Under the church is a crypt, reached from an external door off the right hand section of the old graveyard (viewed when facing front of the church, from Walcot Street). In the crypt are only a small number of wall monuments, but the crypt floor is paved wall-to-wall with grave stone slabs covering individual vaults or "wall graves". Many of the inscriptions on these are worn and illegible.
 
As part of a church refurbishment scheduled to take place in 2005, it was planned to lay a false wooden floor over the gravestones to enable better use of the crypt as a parish meeting and function facility. I assume this has now happened. It appears no record has been kept of inscriptions on gravestones in the crypt, but the Somerset Record Office, Taunton has an early 19th century floorplan, much worn through age and use, identifying graves by occupant surname & date but not showing inscriptions. This floorplan is archived with plans of St.Swithin’s Walcot Burial Grounds as [D/P/wal.sw/3/5/7]. This floorplan identifies gravestone slabs by row (1-10) & grave number within a row (e.g. grave 1-19, 1-23, etc). A few of the gravestones in this part of the crypt appear to have been moved since the floorplan was drawn. Churchwarden Mr Desmond Brown of St.Swithin’s parish has a photocopy of the floorplan.
 
 
 

Blennerhassett “wall graves” or vaults in the crypt:  

 
 
 
 
ARTHUR BLENNERHASSETT
Esqr
died June 3rd 1799
aged 79 years
 
also of
JANE widow of the above
Died July 25th 1808
Aged 84 years
 

 

 
 
underneath
in a walled grave are
deposited the remains
of ARTHUR BLENNERHASSETT
Esquire
of Ballyseedy in the County
of Kerry Ireland
who died in Bath the 1st Nov.r 1815
aet 35
 
likewise those of
his beloved sister
FRANCES MORRIS
wife of
Lt. Col. GEORGE MORRIS
of the 3rd Regt. of Foot
Who died 20th Dec.r
1818
 
 
 
To the memory
of Anne (Anna?) Giradote
late of Belmont
Died 1st of Oct. 1767(?)
aged 79
 
(Charles?) Choppin
of the island of
St. Vincent <illegible>
Died 182?
Aged <illegible>
 
 
 
 
ROW 3 GRAVE 19
 
Interred here are:
Arthur Blennerhassett d.2-Jun-1799
and his wife (Mary) Jane Cromelin Blennerhassett d.25-Jul-1808

double width slab, located against the north wall of the crypt at the end of row 3.

On the floorplan this grave is marked:
 
Blennerhasset
Blennerhassett
Wall Grave  
 
 
 

 
 
 
ROW 10 GRAVE (7?)
 
Interred here are:
Col. Arthur Blennerhassett d.31-Nov-1810
Arthur Blennerhassett d.1-Nov-1815
Mrs Frances Morris d.20-Dec-1818
Row 10 is alongside the east wall.
 
when standing in the crypt this is grave 6 (counting from wall to left), and grave 3 (counting from buttress in the middle of the crypt wall, to right).
However, looking at the floorplan it appears to be grave 8 from the left, 3 from the right.
Some of the grave slabs in this part of the crypt appear to have been moved since the plan was drawn.
 
On the floorplan this grave is marked:
 
Blennerhasset 1810
Blennerhasset 1815
Mrs Morris 1818
W.G. (wall grave)
Full (vault underneath is full) 
 
 
 
Col. Arthur Blennerhassett (d.20-Nov-1810 bur. 27-Nov-1810), the first to be interred in this vault, has no inscription.
 
 
Arthur Blennerhassett d.1815 also had a Monument at Ballyseedy, since fallen, but his inscription stone from the monument survives.
 
The wife of Arthur Blennerhassett d.1815 was Dorcas Blennerhassett (nee Twiss) d.1822 Killarney, is buried at Ballyseedy, Co.Kerry
 
ROW 10 GRAVE 5
 
Interred here are:
Mary Blennerhassett, widow of Arthur Blennerhassett (d.1810) remarried, becoming Viscountess Mount Earl.
 
She was buried at St.Swithin’s Walcot on 14-Nov-1821 but the location of her grave is unknown.
 
On the crypt floorplan, the grave immediately adjacent and to the left of the grave of Arthur Blennerhassett (d.1810) appears perhaps(?) marked:
[Mount E]arl 1821 
 
but on inspection it appears not to be her grave & carries no date 1821.
Some of the grave slabs in this part of the crypt appear to have been moved since the plan was drawn.
 

 
also
ROW 7 GRAVE 10
 
burial place of one of Giradot family, connected by marriage to Blennerhassett.
 
On the floorplan this grave is marked:
 
<illegible> 180?
Giradote <date>
Choppin <date>
W.G. (wall grave)
Full (vault underneath is full)
<illegible> 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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