WADEBRIDGE — I’m glad I went to Padstow on a weekday. Even at 9:30 in the morning there were crowds of people wandering the streets. I can only imagine what it will be like at the weekend. After enjoying the harbourside scenery for a while I wandered up to the Padstow Parish Church. I was hoping to find the headstone of one James Dark, master mariner and second husband of my lost great great grandmother—with a bit of luck I might find her if they happen to share a headstone.

I did managed to find James Dark, but he shared the headstone with his first wife, Grace. Elizabeth Dark is still frustratingly lost. The church was open so I went inside and had a brief look around. They were preparing for a wedding and then a funeral later in the afternoon with another wedding tomorow. Could help to explain the crowds!
It was then back to the waterfront and some fish and chips for lunch before I managed to find the Padstow Cemetery. No luck there either.

On to the parish church at St Issey, a village on the road to Padstow. I was going to stop at Little Petherick first but I missed the turn-off to the car park. I figured I’d come back after visiting St Issey.
Once again I didn’t find Elizabeth Dark, but I did find the headstone for Thomas Popelstone Lake, a great granduncle who was accidentally drowned in 1846. The churchyard at St Issey was interesting as the headstones had all been moved to the periphery leaving large areas of open green grass around the church.

I then headed back to Little Petherick which has the smallest churchyard I’ve seen yet—so it didn’t take too long to not find Elizabeth!

Another old plaque, this time attached to the side of the St Issey Parish Church:

TAKE NOTICE
ANY PERSON
or persons who shall be found
treading down the Grass or
anywise injuring the Grass
and Tombstones
or doing any sort of damage
in this Church yard shall be
prosecuted according to the law