the only contact I could find, the Lay Music minister. I received a response from Mrs. Sheila George. She stated that she was in charge of the choir and captain of the bell-ringers. She had seen my entry in the visitor’s book at the church, and although she had been attending the church since 1959, she told me that the name Liles did not ring a bell. She wrote, “The gravestone is for Thomas Liles who died in 1890. Since you took your photo someone else has been looking at the gravestone as the ivy has all been removed and the wording revealed.” Ok, now things were getting weird. Who else would be interested in this lonely old stone that turned out to be Chuck’s (my boyfriend) great, great uncle? We corresponded a few times and she provided me with helpful information as only a local could. It turns out that Thomas was a publican; the owner of an old pub called The Plough. He had remained in Great Gransden when his brother John left with his family for America in the mid 1800’s.
Photo by Phillip George
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