In many ways, the search for the grave of my Great Great Grandfather was the entire inspiration behind this week-long stay in the area sponsored by Diane Wyles - my mother! The irony of it all is that although we did find so much more important data - we failed to locate the grave of John Thomas! We visited Uppingham on Monday July 28th - but despite our best efforts - we could not locate the grave in either of the two graveyards attached to the Church.
Following this disappointment, and given that Find a Grave had listed John Thomas without festering the grave itself, I emailed the Church Warden about the location of the grave - and received this quick reply (Tuesday, 29 July 2025 09:21):
Dear Adrian,
Thank you for your email.
We have a comprehensive record of burials in our churchyard and can advise that your relative is buried in our lower churchyard, south of South View.
Our record does not show exact grave locations.
I have copied in Margaret Stacey of our local history group who may have more details.
I hope this is helpful in the meantime.
Best wishes
Richard
Thank you for your email.
We have a comprehensive record of burials in our churchyard and can advise that your relative is buried in our lower churchyard, south of South View.
Our record does not show exact grave locations.
I have copied in Margaret Stacey of our local history group who may have more details.
I hope this is helpful in the meantime.
Best wishes
Richard
I was surprised to learn that the grave of John Thomas was a) recorded as existing in the churchyard, whilst b) possessing no plot number - which is the usual requirement for a paid funeral. Indeed, in the list linked above - none of the recorded graves are given a plot number.
Many of the inscriptions on the stones are no longer readable.
When we arrived at the Church (we parked a short distance away in a small car-park) I had the feeling that we may have visited this place perhaps around 2008-2009 - and despite being in a sizable small group of about five five fit people - none of us were able to locate any Wyles graves. In those days, we were not photographing and videoing as we do today - or at least no to the extent or depth we now do. One of our then group ("Liz") used to keep a note-book and pen handy - and would write down everything. Even today, this note-book remains the primary foundation of our Wyles genealogical research - despite most of its content now being digitalised and available online. Still, hope springs eternal! No doubt, we will visit again, and given the instructions obtained from the Church Warden - we may yet emerge successful and John Thomas will be united with his caring family!
What I find difficult to understand is given that large numbers of Wyles people migrated to Uppingham, worked there, and passed away there - where are their graves? Why is John Thomas on his own? We know he had a wife and children - and that his brother - Jeremiah Wyles (and his wife and children) all lived and died in Uppingham. Either the above list of burials is incomplete, or the other Wyles people were buried elsewhere - providing they did not all leave the area for some reason. Whatever the case, the two Wyles brothers were born in Duddington and we know that neither they or their families are buried in that place.
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