The inscription

It took three days to clear the site of trees and other vegetation. At this stage, Dr. Mowbray called in members of the local amateur genealogical society to record the inscriptions on the gravestones. Their findings, published in the Dorset Genealogical Quarterly, make fascinating reading, not least because of the rich supply of epitaphs that came to light. One such marked the last burial in 1699, the recorded year of the parish amalgamation. This final interment was commemorated by a stone bearing the following inscription:

Beatus vir qui timet Dominum

Good people as ye do pass by this place
Please pray I do besech
For one who hopes for grace
For once like thee I livd begott and breathed
But now lie still in death
My soule to God bequeathed
Remember ye that life doth pass away
Thou livest now but death may have his way
His fatal dart will pierce thy flesh anon
Therfor enjoy thyself ere life is gone

Guillielmus Throckus

Obit 1699

The simple sentiments and typically dire warnings of the epitaph caught the imagination of Mowbray and his team. Remembering the old belief (still current in some parts of the County of Dorset) that the last person buried in a churchyard was doomed to watch over it for all eternity, they decided to exhume William Throck's coffin (Guillielmus Throckus was, of course, a Latinized version of his name), the quicker to speed him to his final resting place.

The coffin, found at a depth of seven feet, was in remarkably good condition, considering its three centuries in the ground. It was of plain lead, with the letters 'W.T.' stamped on the lid. It was carefully raised using portable lifting gear and taken to a tent, erected nearby, for the purpose of examination. When the lid was removed it was discovered, incredibly, that another lead coffin lay inside. This casket was also marked on the lid, but this time with the name 'William Thuck'. This was no great surprise to the team. Seventeenth century spelling was nothing if not haphazard, and it was not unknown for even the well-educated to spell their names in four or five different ways. The inner coffin was duly opened, and the team came face to face with the mortal remains of Master William Thuck.