CFHS code : PL129
Parish : St Paul
Inscription : CHARLES BLAXLAND CLARABUT dearly loved husband of HELEN CHETWOODE CLARABUT d 12 Dec 1897 age 38 Deeply Lamented
Monument : Stone cross (broken)
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
This small Celtic cross now broken stands 2 rows west of the avenue path behind the notice board and opposite the lodge. This area is usually left to grow wild and it is not often visible. The inscription of metal letters is still intact.
Inscription
cross
In Loving Memory of
plinth west face
CHARLES BLAXLAND CLARABUT
dearly loved husband of HELEN CHETWODE CLARABUT
Died Dec. 12. 1897 age 38
Deeply Lamented
Charles Blaxland Clarabut (c.1859 – 12 December 1897)
Charles was born in Kent and was the eldest son of Samuel and Elizabeth Clarabut. Charles was baptised in Brompton, Kent on 27th March 1859. Samuel Clarabut was a linen draper, and Charles grew up in Gillingham. In 1871 aged 12 he was at Boarding School in Eythorne,
By 1881 Samuel Clarabut had re-located his Linen draper business to Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, and Charles was living at home with his parents and six siblings and working as an upholster. In 1890 he was living in Cambridge and working as a Wine Merchant. Together with Cuthbert Williams he had taken over an existing business (Phillips & Co) and was trading on Market Hill as Clarabut & Williams.
He married Ellen [known as Helen] Chetwode Belchamber on 5 October 1892 when he was 33 years old. Helen came from Hougham in Kent. Their son Reginald Blaxland Clarabut was born on 7 August 1893 and the family lived at Ashmore, 24 Hills Road. Charles died there aged 38 years old in December 1897 after being run over by a horse and carriage.
The funeral was held on 17 December at St. Paul’s Church, followed by a ceremony at the graveside. The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported that ‘there were also a number of employees of the firm present. A considerable number of wreaths were placed on the coffin which was of polished oak with brass fittings, including one of white chrysanthemums from the staff’.
Cuthbert Williams married Charles’ sister Louisa (1861 – 1929) in 1891.
Helen Clarabut married again in 1902 to Samuel West, [1875-1950] who was a widower with one son. They went on to have a further two children, and lived in East Sussex. Samuel West bought a large farm after the 1st World War, and he was involved in many public duties including foundation member of the Hop Marketing Board, a JP, chair of the local branch of the National Farmers Union etc. Helen West died in Tonbridge Wells in January 1956 aged 84 years old.
Charles and Helen’s son Reginald [1893 – 1977] became a Major General in the Army
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any information about this person, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]