1848 Great Grimsby · Birth & 1858 Filey · Baptism Elizabeth Ann CROSIER (left) and Dame Margaret Shaftoe ROBERTSON have more than the Ides of March in common. They had a business connection. Dame Madge, as she was affectionately known, lived in Filey now and then, between theatrical tours around Britain and the Empire. She brought work for Elizabeth to do, perhaps repairing costumes damaged while treading the boards.

Photo of Elizabeth Ann courtesy of Joanne Cammish, (who made me aware of this relationship some years ago). Madge has been cropped from a signed Victorian “fan photo”, courtesy of the Filey Museum.

Elizabeth Ann is with her elder daughter in St Oswald’s churchyard; Dame Madge in later life was, I think, estranged from some of her children.

1785 Coppenhall · Death The Reverend Thomas is here because it was John UNETT, his grandson, who had the plans drawn up for what would become The Crescent of “New Filey”.

1874 Filey · Burial  The cross that marked Henry John KILBY’s grave fell many years ago and lay partly buried. It has recently been resurrected and you can see how well it was protected from the weather.

Elizabeth, Henry’s wife, married again, choosing a man almost twenty years her junior, a bankrupt and occasional drunkard. But here she is, sleeping eternally with Henry. In the register, the clerk penned her maiden surname, THOMPSON. I’m sure the whole town knew what she had been through.

Abstract 94 · Hut