Often research trips don't turn out the way you planned. Sometimes they are even better! So it was when I checked out some of my Northamptonshire family lines. When I reached the village of Little Weldon, I thought how well it fits its name; it was small. It was quiet too. I don't remember seeing anyone when I made my way from the bus stop to the churchyard. It wasn't hard to pick out the church among the sparse buildings at the centre of the village. It was the big building with the graveyard at the rear.
I made my way through the gravestones reading as I went. There were several for my Chambers family. I knew that my ancestor, John Chambers, had died in Little Weldon but I was surprised to see the names of his wife and son on the stone. They had died much further away in Bournemouth. It made me wonder who had commissioned the stone and when it had been erected. I haven't looked for that information yet and don't know if the records would still exist.
But in this case, bricks and mortar still exist. The church where my ancestors worshipped probably looked much the same as when they went there. While I was out tromping around the gravestones taking notes and pictures someone was watching from inside the church. The custodian came out to see what I was doing. When I explained my quest, he asked if I would like to see the inside of the church. That was how I came to see where they would have sat and listened to the minister every Sunday. Now that's an experience that can't be replicated through an internet search!
Weldon Independent Church is visible at the back of the gravestones
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