St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Gosberton.
If you look down to the paved floor of the South Porch, you can’t fail to see a inscribed stone grave cover dedicated to Reverend John Topham. It reads:
“In Hope Of Eternal Life. This stone is placed as a mark of esteem by the parishioners of Gosberton and Clough District, in memory of the REVD. JOHN TOPHAM, M.A., Vicar of this parish 26 years, who died June 2nd, 1879, aged 66 years. ALSO in memory of JANE, widow of the above who died Feb. 13, 1892, aged 81 years.There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.”
Who was Reverend Topham?
Reverend Topham was Vicar of Gosberton for 26 years, from 1853 until 1879. He was very well respected by all those that knew him, and in his time at Gosberton he oversaw an extremely extensive renovation programme at St. Peter and St. Paul’s church, He also oversaw the procurement of a Mission Room at Gosberton Clough, for those parishioners in the furthest outreaches of the parish. He was also instrumental in securing the erection of Gosberton Public Hall in 1872.
His sad demise
Rev. Topham’s death came as a shock to all in the parish. On 2 June 1879, a concert and reading was taking place in the Marjorum school room at Gosberton Risegate to raise funds to pay for the fitting up of a new building at the Clough as a mission-house in place of the old one. He was rather late in arriving, having travelled on foot from his home (what we now call the Old Vicarage on Salem Street) and on nearly reaching the school, he took ill and was taken to the nearby house of Mr. William Freir, a wheelwright and carpenter. The doctor was called, who found him to be suffering great pains in his chest and feeling cold. He was given a stiff brandy, and hot water and mustard were applied to his feet. He died a few minutes later. News was passed to the audience at the concert, who were deeply shocked and so the concert was abruptly ended. The word then quickly spread around the parish.
His funeral service in the church was attended by around 1000 people, who filed past his open grave here in the south porch, his coffin lying in what was described in the press at the time as a ‘well-built vault’
The inscribed grave cover was placed over the grave in February 1880. An interesting feature on the cover is the anchor motif at its head. The anchor was a Christian symbol of hope and steadfastness.
