In 1832, at
the height of the Asiatic Cholera epidemic, 55 year old Mrs Margaret Rose, a
woman from Basford, near Nottingham, heard that her married daughter, Anna
Seagrave, had fallen ill in nearby Bulwell town.
A caring
mother, Mrs Rose
immediately hurried to her daughter's bedside. But, despite constant nursing
around the clock, Anna never recovered — becoming yet another cholera statistic
at the age of 26.
The funeral
was arranged for Tuesday, August 28th at St Mary's Church, Bulwell, and after it
was all over Mrs Rose went back to her daughter's house to care for her
son-in-law and her grandchildren.
Midway
through the morning the following day, after leaving a cold meal ready for her
daughter's family, Mrs Rose set out to walk the short distance home along
Bulwell Lane. She
had no sooner reached the outskirts of Basford than she broke out into a cold
sweat and began to feel dreadfully ill
Stopping by the roadside for a rest didn't help and suddenly the poor woman began to panic.
Frightened and faint, her one thought was to get home as quickly as possible.
After a seemingly endless journey,
Margaret Rose completed the mile long walk, arriving at her cottage somewhere
around noon — absolutely drenched in perspiration and feeling extremely weak.
She went to bed and the local surgeon was sent for.
When Mr
Hemingway arrived, he recognised what was wrong with Mrs Rose only too well
because most of his patients seemed to have the same symptoms. He sighed
heavily when he saw her, because there was so little he could do apart from
prescribing the usual pills and powders containing crushed rhubarb, ginger,
sloes and cloves.
With the
help of his assistant he tried to make Mrs Rose as comfortable as possible,
arranging that soaking clothing and bedding
should be replaced
regularly. He also tried to find a friendly neighbour to sit with her but,
such was the fear of cholera, he could find no one willing to take the risk.
Although, the fear felt by the villagers was understandable, it didn't help the
hard-pressed surgeon and his assistant.
Unable to
find anyone else to nurse Mrs Rose,
he rallied round her
family and arranged that someone should sit with the patient for the rest of the
day. Sadly in the middle of
the night Margaret Rose passed away — surviving her daughter by a little more
than twenty-four hours!
Mr Hemingway’s problems were still
there. He couldn't find anyone to lay out the body and place it in the
coffin. No one wanted to risk contracting the dreadful Cholera, and it was
left to the long suffering Surgeon to do what he could.
The next
day, villagers watching from their windows and doorways saw Mr Hemingway and his
assistant struggling with the coffin as they carried it to the churchyard
At St.
Leodegarius Church in Old Basford, the gravediggers received the body, and
Margaret Rose was buried immediately and deeper than was usual.
Her
relative were upset that Mrs. Rose had been denied a decent funeral service in
the church and that there was to be no ceremony held over the grave.
They
complained to Mr. Hemingway who persuaded the Vicar that something ought to be
done.
Two hours
after the burial, when the grave had been completely filled in, the curate, the
Rev Herbert, read the burial service and the tormented body of Margaret Rose was
finally laid to rest with the Church's blessing.
