CFHS code : AL385
Parish : St Andrew the Less
Inscription : In Loving Memory of CHARLES J RICHFORD d Jan 2 1878 aged 34 also his youngest son ARTHUR W RICHFORD d Feb 7 1885 aged 10 also of ELIZABETH RICHFORD d Dec 30 1917 aged [73]
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
Inscription
Charles James Richford (1844 – 2 January 1878)
Charles was born in Cambridge and grew up with his grandmother Sarah Richford, at 15 Adam and Eve Row (1851/1861). Aged 17 Charles was working as a servant and married Elizabeth Creek in 1867. The couple had at least four children: George William (1868-1944), Harry Charles (1872-1935), Arthur Wilfred (1875-1885) and Florence Kate (1876-1966). In 1871 they were living at 25 Adam and Eve Row and Charles was working as a tailor. He died at Paradise Street aged 34 years old.
Arthur Wilfred Richford (1875 – 7 February 1885)
Arthur died at Paradise Street and his funeral was held on 12 February.
Elizabeth Richford (née Creeke) (1844 – 30 December 1917)
Elizabeth was born in Comberton, a village four miles southwest of Cambridge and was baptised there on 19 May 1844. She was the daughter of Sterling (1809-1850) and Esther (née Mills) (1810-1892) Creeke. Sterling was an agricultural worker who died in November 1840 when Elizabeth was 6 years old. She then lived with her mother – a pauper, and five siblings at Church End, Comberton (1851). She was widowed when she was 33 years old, and lived at 34a Paradise Street, which was a Higher-Grade School, of which she was caretaker.
Elizabeth died at Paradise Street aged 73 years old and her death was mentioned at a meeting of the Education Committee in January 1918. Mr Starr noted that she had been connected with ‘the Paradise-street Boys’ School for upwards of 40 years, and she followed the school when it was transferred to Melbourne Place two or three years ago. Mrs. Richford was a devoted official of the school, not only as a caretaker, but she took an active part in the school looking after the boys and attending to them if anything went wrong. When the school was transferred to Melbourne Place her friends advised her to give up the work altogether, but so devoted was she, that she felt she could not give it up, and she continued to do it until her death. He felt that the Committee had really lost a devoted servant and one who faithfully did her duty to the school during the whole time she was connected with it’. The committee then had to consider that they had had difficulty in getting ‘a man to fill the place’ due to the lack of accommodation on offer. Eventually they had rented a house at a rate significantly higher than they had been used to paying. Mr Young seconded Mr Starr and said ‘when he came up as a freshman more years ago than he cared to think, she was then caretaker of the Sunday School in Jesus Lane, with which he was connected…..She did most splendid work. She not only cleaned the rooms but she was the one woman in Cambridge at that time who was able to look after the hot water apparatus. It was absolutely impossible to get that work done except by a man. Besides that, she had an extraordinary influence with the children. She had also looked after the Hope Class Room and the children there, taking charge of them when at dinner, which was not at all an easy job. Her death was a very great loss to the Committee in connection with the Hope Class and he would loke to express how sorry he was about it’.
Sources:
Ancestry
Newspaper archives
Parish burial records transcribed by CFHS
by Claire Martinsen
[If you have any information about this family, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]