The Rev Cutfield Wardroper on his horse and, right, with his fourth wife, Jane McGeoch.
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Grave restoration celebrates the life and work of Rev Cutfield Wardroper
The restored grave of the Rev Cutfield Wardroper.
By Kath Hinchliffe
The grave of the Rev Cutfield Wardrope was uncovered in St Lucius' churchyard in July 2024 by a member of probation service Payback Team working with church's Eco-group.
This characterful figure lived from 1815 to 1906 and was the third vicar, serving the parish for 51 years from 1848. He was renowned for riding around his parish on a white horse, and the Eco-group certainly approve of his choice of a wicker coffin, which he commissioned long before his death.
Funding to restore the grave was raised by St Lucius' with a generous grant from Kirkburton Parish Council, whose circular walk around Farnley Tyas – 'The Rev Cutfield Wardroper Wander’ – is popular with visitors and locals. There had been attempts by local historians to locate where he was buried, but several early burial records were lost during Diocesan changes. His grave had been covered over for at least 50 years until 2024 and had suffered significant damage. Permission was obtained from the Church of England and his next of kin to sympathetically restore it.
On Sunday, July 5 at 10.30am, the Parish Patronal service at Farnley will include an act of commemoration to mark the restoration, honouring the life and legacy of this priest and his family. A warm invitation is extended to all. The renovation has been undertaken and project managed by Calderdale Grave Care with help from D. M. Memorials [stonemasons].
Cutfield Wardroper was born in Sussex, the son of Richard and Frances Wardroper, and baptised at Midhurst. By 1841, he was studying at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge, and was ordained deacon in 1843.[1] He was awarded an MA in 1847. His first wife, Marie-Antoinette, died near Paris, aged 26, in December 1845. They had one unmarried son, Eugene who died aged 37 in 1881 when his ship, RMS Teuton sank. In March 1848, while a curate at Slaithwaite, Wardroper was ordained priest by the Bishop of Ripon. He became the incumbent of St Lucius' two months later, living at Woodsome Hall.
In January 1849, he married Jane Green, eldest daughter of the late Rev James Carter Green, at St Mary's, Cheltenham. She died in August 1859. In 1852, he had been appointed Chaplain to the Earl of Dartmouth. His third marriage, to Anna Warmoll, eldest daughter of Stephen Butcher of Norwich, was in November 1862 at Farnley Tyas, in a service conducted by the Lord Bishop of Ripon. In February 1867, his niece, Frances Wardroper, married the Rev James Lacy Hulbert, son of Rev Canon Hulbert. In November 1899, Rev Wardroper retired to Norfolk where the following year he married Jane McGeoch, daughter of commercial traveller John McGeoch and his wife Jane. She was 45 years younger than her 86-year-old husband.
According to an article in the Yorkshire Post, he had commissioned a wicker coffin some decades before his death which he kept in his house. It was instead used for a niece who died while visiting him. He commissioned another, which he left at Farnley Tyas with instructions that he should be buried in it. He died aged 91 on 30 October 1905 and his body was brought by train to Huddersfield. He was laid to rest at Farnley Tyas, fulfilling his final wishes. He left an estate valued at £1,426 16s, 6d to Jane, mostly in the form of shares in the Great Western Railway Company.
Notes and References (including photographs)
https://huddersfield.exposed/wiki/Rev._Cutfield_Wardroper_(c.1815-1906) Ordination" in Gloucestershire Chronicle (30/Sep/1843). Cambridge Chronicle & Journal (10/Jul/1847). The Gentleman's Magazine: (1845), volume 178. Leeds Intelligencer (13/May/1848). "Married" in Cheltenham Looker-On (13/Jan/1849). "Marriages" in Huddersfield Chronicle (15/Nov/1862). Yorkshire Evening Post (06/Nove/1899). Yorkshire Post (16/Mar/1933).
Acknowledgements
St. Lucius Church is grateful to the following people for their support and help in this project:
Mr Andy Powell of Calderdale Grave Care who project managed and undertook the renovation work. Contact: [email protected]
Jill Walker LlB who generously shared her research on the Rev. Wardroper family tree.
Mr N. Lacy Hulbert, Rev. Wardroper’s great, great, great nephew who gave us his permission to undertake the renovation. Kirkburton Parish Council for their support and grant towards the cost of renovation Kirklees Probation Service [Pay back team] Diocese of Leeds, Diocesan Advisory Committee [DAC} for their advice and support
The grave of the Rev Cutfield Wardrope was uncovered in St Lucius' churchyard in July 2024 by a member of probation service Payback Team working with church's Eco-group.
This characterful figure lived from 1815 to 1906 and was the third vicar, serving the parish for 51 years from 1848. He was renowned for riding around his parish on a white horse, and the Eco-group certainly approve of his choice of a wicker coffin, which he commissioned long before his death.
Funding to restore the grave was raised by St Lucius' with a generous grant from Kirkburton Parish Council, whose circular walk around Farnley Tyas – 'The Rev Cutfield Wardroper Wander’ – is popular with visitors and locals. There had been attempts by local historians to locate where he was buried, but several early burial records were lost during Diocesan changes. His grave had been covered over for at least 50 years until 2024 and had suffered significant damage. Permission was obtained from the Church of England and his next of kin to sympathetically restore it.
On Sunday, July 5 at 10.30am, the Parish Patronal service at Farnley will include an act of commemoration to mark the restoration, honouring the life and legacy of this priest and his family. A warm invitation is extended to all. The renovation has been undertaken and project managed by Calderdale Grave Care with help from D. M. Memorials [stonemasons].
Cutfield Wardroper was born in Sussex, the son of Richard and Frances Wardroper, and baptised at Midhurst. By 1841, he was studying at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge, and was ordained deacon in 1843.[1] He was awarded an MA in 1847. His first wife, Marie-Antoinette, died near Paris, aged 26, in December 1845. They had one unmarried son, Eugene who died aged 37 in 1881 when his ship, RMS Teuton sank. In March 1848, while a curate at Slaithwaite, Wardroper was ordained priest by the Bishop of Ripon. He became the incumbent of St Lucius' two months later, living at Woodsome Hall.
In January 1849, he married Jane Green, eldest daughter of the late Rev James Carter Green, at St Mary's, Cheltenham. She died in August 1859. In 1852, he had been appointed Chaplain to the Earl of Dartmouth. His third marriage, to Anna Warmoll, eldest daughter of Stephen Butcher of Norwich, was in November 1862 at Farnley Tyas, in a service conducted by the Lord Bishop of Ripon. In February 1867, his niece, Frances Wardroper, married the Rev James Lacy Hulbert, son of Rev Canon Hulbert. In November 1899, Rev Wardroper retired to Norfolk where the following year he married Jane McGeoch, daughter of commercial traveller John McGeoch and his wife Jane. She was 45 years younger than her 86-year-old husband.
According to an article in the Yorkshire Post, he had commissioned a wicker coffin some decades before his death which he kept in his house. It was instead used for a niece who died while visiting him. He commissioned another, which he left at Farnley Tyas with instructions that he should be buried in it. He died aged 91 on 30 October 1905 and his body was brought by train to Huddersfield. He was laid to rest at Farnley Tyas, fulfilling his final wishes. He left an estate valued at £1,426 16s, 6d to Jane, mostly in the form of shares in the Great Western Railway Company.
Notes and References (including photographs)
https://huddersfield.exposed/wiki/Rev._Cutfield_Wardroper_(c.1815-1906) Ordination" in Gloucestershire Chronicle (30/Sep/1843). Cambridge Chronicle & Journal (10/Jul/1847). The Gentleman's Magazine: (1845), volume 178. Leeds Intelligencer (13/May/1848). "Married" in Cheltenham Looker-On (13/Jan/1849). "Marriages" in Huddersfield Chronicle (15/Nov/1862). Yorkshire Evening Post (06/Nove/1899). Yorkshire Post (16/Mar/1933).
Acknowledgements
St. Lucius Church is grateful to the following people for their support and help in this project:
Mr Andy Powell of Calderdale Grave Care who project managed and undertook the renovation work. Contact: [email protected]
Jill Walker LlB who generously shared her research on the Rev. Wardroper family tree.
Mr N. Lacy Hulbert, Rev. Wardroper’s great, great, great nephew who gave us his permission to undertake the renovation. Kirkburton Parish Council for their support and grant towards the cost of renovation Kirklees Probation Service [Pay back team] Diocese of Leeds, Diocesan Advisory Committee [DAC} for their advice and support
