Mystery behind memorial to town man hidden away in loft for 119 years
SLATER TRAGICALLY DIED AGED JUST 26 IN 1902
A MEMORIAL to a Grimsby man has been uncovered in an attic after 119 years.
It is made out to R W Borwell, a Grimsby slater who tragically died aged 26 in 1902.
Robert Watson, owner of Watson Home Hardware in Sutton on Sea, made the discovery in 2002 when he bought the building. But it wasn’t until this year, when workers began replacing its roof that he was able to take a picture of the memorial in daylight. Robert said: “It is dedicated to a slater who presumably lost his life while working on the roof when the original property was being built in 1902.
“Written on some mortar plastered to a chimney breast, it says: “IN MEMORY OF R.W. BORWELL, 26, SLATER, 1902, GRIMSBY”. There were about eight Borwell families living in Lincolnshire in 1891, when R W Borwell would have been about 15-years-old, according to Ancestry.co.uk The only possible name given in the 1901 Census in Robert W Borwell, from Grimsby, who was married to Ellen Borwell. Robert added: “I was shocked when I made the discovery as it reminds you of the risks these men used to take in their day-to-day lives. It would be interesting to know whether he has any family still around today. They’d be more than welcome to come and have a look at the memorial.”
A statement on Ancestry.co.uk reads: “The Borwell family name
was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1880 and 1920.
“The most Borwell families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1891 there were 36 Borwell families living in Yorkshire.
“This was about 60 per cent of all the recorded Borwell’s in the UK. Yorkshire had the highest population of Borwell families in 1891.” It states ‘Builders Pumber’ and ‘Unpaid Domestic Duties’ were the top reported jobs for men and women with the surname Borwell in 1939, about 37 years after R W Borwell’s death.
A statement on Ancestry.co.uk reads: “We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.”