CFHS code : AS113a
Parish : All Saints
Inscription : Sacred to the Memory of ELIZABETH the [wife] of JOHN BALLARD d [5] May 18[5]8 aged —
Monument : Headstone
Above information amended from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.203565, 0.13674155 – click here for location
Monument
This headstone stands against the west wall in the north west corner of the parish of All Saints. Marked as row 1, plot 25 in the burial book, which is about 7 plots north of the south wall. This area is often hard to access and when photographed was partially hidden by bramble and ivy with a holly tree growing in front. The rectangular base of the stone bears the carved inscription which is now badly eroded. This is surmounted by a large ‘clover leaf’ stone cut out and an inner solid stone circle.
Inscription
stone circle
I believe (several words illegible) IH (T or R} The usual inscription is IHS standing for Jesus and I am not sure what the 3rd letter is, or stands for)
rectangular stone
Sacred to the Memory of ELIZABETH the [wife] of JOHN BALL]ARD who died [5] May 18[5]8 aged [55]
Elizabeth Ballard née Pryke (1803 – 5 May 1858)
Elizabeth was born in Freckenham, Suffolk to William a farm bailiff. We do not have her mother’s name.
We think she came, with her younger brother Joseph, to work at St John’s College as they were both there in 1841. Joseph married Elizabeth Holcombe in London in 1842. They raised 7 children in Cambridge, the eldest William Emanuel appeared to have lived with his aunt Elizabeth as he was with her in 1841, 1851 and with her widowed husband John Ballard in 1871 before becoming a student at St John’s College.
In the 1851 census, aged 48, Elizabeth was running a student lodging house in Malcolm St also living with her was nephew William Emanuel (born 1843 to her brother Joseph)
Elizabeth married widower John Ballard at All Saint’s Church on April 15th 1851. John was born in Spalding, Lincolnshire, the son of a grocer, but at the time of his marriage he was described as a gent. He owned several houses in Cambridge. Elizabeth died at Rhadegund Buildings ‘after a long illness, borne with patient resignation’ aged 55. Her funeral was held on 10 May..
After Elizabeth’s death John moved to Madingley Rd with Elizabeth’s nephew William Emanuel Pryke and remarried in 1864. He died in 1866 ‘after a long illness’ William Pryke was one of his executers.
The Rev. W. E. Pryke, became Canon and Chancellor of Exeter Cathedral. He died on the 1st February, 1920. You can read his obituary by using the link below.
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Exeter/ExeterGen/WilliamEmmanuelPryke1920
Joseph (d1858) is also buried in this parish and his daughter, Elizabeth Jane (1845-1865). We have not found a monument.
Sources:
Ancestry
Parish burial records transcribed by CFHS
Newspaper archives
Cambridgeshire Archives online catalogue
by Claire Martinsen and Mary Naylor
[If you have any further information about this person, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]