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Tragic Story of the Pinchin Memorial
Suggested by Philip Bowen December 2025 The Pinchin memorial window behind the high alter in the east wall of St Thomas à Becket Church is one of the grandest pieces of Victorian imagery in the church. It appears to be a touching family epitaph declaring “To the glory of God. In Memory of Mary the wife of George Pinchin of Hatt House in this parish and five of their children, 1857”.[1] The ascension window shows Christ at the top rising towards heaven to the wonderment of the crowd. His feet are bare and his left hand is raised, one finger extended, as a traditional symbol of blessing. The eleven disciples are shown with halos and very white faces. Heaven is shown as plain pale blue in contrast to the jumbled panels depicting the complexity of life on earth. The panels show scenes of Christ’s life from the nativity to the crucifixion directly below the ascension. Mary is shown in green and crimson robes in many of the panels. |
The Pinchin Memorial Window (courtesy Carol Payne)
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All this seems straightforward but the story behind the memorial window is not as simple as that. For a start, the glass is Victorian but it has been set in an earlier 14th century stone window frame. The stone surround was probably positioned in 1713 when the wall was rebuilt as part of the restoration work of Rev George Miller. There are other complications also in the epitaph.
George Pinchin’s Family
The Pinchins were one of the most important families in the village in the mid-1800s. One branch of the family had run the Box Mill for centuries. This branch had become part of the village establishment, including roles as Overseer of the Poor for many years, responsible for adjudicating local rates and the eligibility of residents to relief.
The branch of George Pinchin (1786-1861) was separate and originated in Bath. George was a wealthy brewer who moved to Box where he established the Box Brewery in the Market Place and lived at Hatt House. George was married to Mary Bethell (1795-1833) from Bradford-on-Avon from 1816 until she died on 26 December 1833, aged 39. Her obituary described her passing after an illness of several months, borne with Christian meekness and resignation to the Divine will.[2] George remarried some years later in 1842. His new bride was Margaret Lewis (1792-1884), second daughter of David Lewis, Esq, of Henllan, Carmarthen, near the Pembrokeshire border, when she was 50 years old.
George and his first wife, Mary, had seven children but the five referred to in the epitaph had all died: Harriet (1824-23 May 1839, aged 15), Mary (1826-1857, aged 30, George (20 December 1829-1844, aged 14), Amelia (1831-18 February 1850, aged 19) and Charlotte (1833-1840, aged 7). Only two daughters were still living when George made the epitaph: the eldest child Elizabeth (1823-1864) who married Rev Richard Prichard in 1849 and Georgiana (1828-1905), the fourth child, who married Rev RA Blomefield at Wembley in 1851.
Tragic Accident, 1844[3]
It is curious that George waited fourteen years after Mary died, during which time he brought up the family as a single parent and suffered the loss of many of his children. All the time he was running a brewery business in Bath and later in Box.
The Pinchins were one of the most important families in the village in the mid-1800s. One branch of the family had run the Box Mill for centuries. This branch had become part of the village establishment, including roles as Overseer of the Poor for many years, responsible for adjudicating local rates and the eligibility of residents to relief.
The branch of George Pinchin (1786-1861) was separate and originated in Bath. George was a wealthy brewer who moved to Box where he established the Box Brewery in the Market Place and lived at Hatt House. George was married to Mary Bethell (1795-1833) from Bradford-on-Avon from 1816 until she died on 26 December 1833, aged 39. Her obituary described her passing after an illness of several months, borne with Christian meekness and resignation to the Divine will.[2] George remarried some years later in 1842. His new bride was Margaret Lewis (1792-1884), second daughter of David Lewis, Esq, of Henllan, Carmarthen, near the Pembrokeshire border, when she was 50 years old.
George and his first wife, Mary, had seven children but the five referred to in the epitaph had all died: Harriet (1824-23 May 1839, aged 15), Mary (1826-1857, aged 30, George (20 December 1829-1844, aged 14), Amelia (1831-18 February 1850, aged 19) and Charlotte (1833-1840, aged 7). Only two daughters were still living when George made the epitaph: the eldest child Elizabeth (1823-1864) who married Rev Richard Prichard in 1849 and Georgiana (1828-1905), the fourth child, who married Rev RA Blomefield at Wembley in 1851.
Tragic Accident, 1844[3]
It is curious that George waited fourteen years after Mary died, during which time he brought up the family as a single parent and suffered the loss of many of his children. All the time he was running a brewery business in Bath and later in Box.
Bromsgrove School Memorial Tablets (courtesy Philip Bowen)
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George had only one son, George junior, born in 1829. The boy was being educated in an appropriate way that might assume he would inherit the Pinchin estate and run the brewery. He was sent to a leading academy at Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire. The school had existed since the 1500s and still describes itself as one of Britain’s finest boarding schools. The coroner’s report gives these details of the accident on the Birmingham and Worcester canal:
“A most melancholy accident occurred on Saturday last by which two gentlemen of the Grammar School of King Edward VI have lost their lives. It appears that Parker, who was about 16, and Pinchin, about 14, went with a party of schoolfellows to bathe in the Reservoir at Tardebigg. Parker, an active swimmer, took Pinchin under his charge, and was teaching him to strike out, when the latter suddenly became frightened, and struggled with his companion till they both sank in a deep hole. Parker at length succeeded in releasing himself from Pinchin’s grasp, and swam towards the bank, but most generously, though exhausted, returned again to assist his friend, who seized him with a desperate tenacity that rendered him quite powerless, and both boys sank immediately. Every exertion was made by the masters who gave assistance to recover the bodies by diving, but without success, and it was not till rafts had been made that they were discovered, at some distance from the spot where they disappeared, having been in the water two hours. |
An inquest was held on Monday (at the Cross Inn, Finstall), when the jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death”.’ ‘The Worcester Journal’ reported that pupils had bathed there for years but latterly only when accompanied by monitors. It appears that, from the extreme lowness of the water, they were ignorant of having proceeded to the deeper part of the reservoir, when they slipped out of their depth, the younger pulling the elder (who was an excellent swimmer) underwater; notwithstanding every effort was made to extricate them, it was unavailing, till life was extinct.’ James Taylor Parker was from Cheltenham; George Pinchin from Hatt House, Box, Wiltshire. His father owned a brewery in Bath, one of the largest in the South-West.”[4]
Universal Grief
We don’t have George’s reaction to the loss of his only son but we might imagine it was total grief. George does not appear to have courted publicity and the death of his daughters only hints at his reaction with each child listed as daughter number “x”. It was the loss of his second daughter Mary on 13 February 1857 which appears to have triggered the installation of the memorial window. Mary’s memorial inscription reads erroneously “Third daughter of George and Mary” when she was their second daughter. The Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette of 1863 was in no doubt that George was also remembering his only son: The chancel window is a memorial of George, only son of the late George Pinchin, Esq, of Hatt House.[5]
Perhaps it is not surprising that errors arose because 1857 was a highly emotional year. The enormity of the Crimean War (1853-56) against Russia seized public attention with the loss of 22,000 British personnel. The cessation of hostilities was commemorated on 9 September 1857 in Bath with a fete to install Russian guns as trophies of war in Victoria Park.[6] George was actively involved in the details through his company Northgate Brewery and furnished artillerymen and nine grey horses to draw the first gun into position. Accompanying the procession through the city were Crimean invalids, the Somerset militia, the North Somerset Yeomanry and displays to “Honour the Brave” with banners recalling the names of battles at Inkerman, Balaclava and Sevastopol. The nine grey horses belonging to Messrs Pinchin & Co were perhaps as fine specimens of the English dray horse as could possibly be found. They were truly noble looking creatures and excited general admiration, They walked three abreast, having their heads decorated flags and rosettes, with a man dressed in a white smock frock leading each outside horse.
Conclusion
When we visit a new church or burial ground our eyes usually slip casually over the memorials until something catches our attention. Because we don’t know the background, we ignore that all burials are a tragedy for someone who wanted to remember and honour the deceased. It is only when we make the effort to dig underneath the surface of the story that we can really empathise with the circumstances.
But we must beware of putting our 21st century sensitivities into people’s motives from the past. The early Victorians were exploitative of both material and human resources, considered by some historians to be Britain seeking world dominion through the Empire, and self-congratulatory in their achievements. As well as George’s personal loss perhaps we should view his tragedy as interconnected with the national Crimean grieving and celebration. The combination of the two may have culminated in the chancel window of Box Church.
When we visit a new church or burial ground our eyes usually slip casually over the memorials until something catches our attention. Because we don’t know the background, we ignore that all burials are a tragedy for someone who wanted to remember and honour the deceased. It is only when we make the effort to dig underneath the surface of the story that we can really empathise with the circumstances.
But we must beware of putting our 21st century sensitivities into people’s motives from the past. The early Victorians were exploitative of both material and human resources, considered by some historians to be Britain seeking world dominion through the Empire, and self-congratulatory in their achievements. As well as George’s personal loss perhaps we should view his tragedy as interconnected with the national Crimean grieving and celebration. The combination of the two may have culminated in the chancel window of Box Church.
References
[1] The Church Rambler reported in The Bath Chronicle, 2 October 1875
[2] The Bath Chronicle, 2 January 1834
[3] Philip Bowen is researching and writing the history of Bromsgrove School and contacted us when he came across the report of a Coroner’s Inquest in 1844.
[4] See The Worcestershire Chronicle, 15 May 1844 and Taunton Courier, 22 May 1844
[5] Devizes & Wilts Gazette 15 October 1863
[6] The Bath Express, 12 September 1857
[1] The Church Rambler reported in The Bath Chronicle, 2 October 1875
[2] The Bath Chronicle, 2 January 1834
[3] Philip Bowen is researching and writing the history of Bromsgrove School and contacted us when he came across the report of a Coroner’s Inquest in 1844.
[4] See The Worcestershire Chronicle, 15 May 1844 and Taunton Courier, 22 May 1844
[5] Devizes & Wilts Gazette 15 October 1863
[6] The Bath Express, 12 September 1857