Perhaps one of the most remarkable women of the nineteenth century was Francis Power Cobbe.
When she died in April 1904, the terms of Frances Power Cobbe’s Will were very specific. She left instructions for a surgeon
“to perform on my body the operation of completely and thoroughly severing the arteries of the neck and windpipe (nearly severing the head altogether) as to render any revival in the grave absolutely impossible. “
Like many Victorians she had a profound dread of being buried alive and then regaining consciousness within a coffin deep underground. Her fear she said had been provoked by the story of her great-grandmother, who apparently revived during her own funeral as a young girl and later married and gave birth to twenty- two children.
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This is one of the stories in my next book, Grave Tales of Wales, which was published by Cambria in July 2021. The book explores the stories represented by thirty gravestones from across the whole of Wales, from Anglesey to Cardiff, from Llangrannog to Newport.
The stories are about the surprising lives of the people who still lie beneath those stones, who still lie beneath your feet, and who still have something to say.
There are stories of anguish and sorrow, stories of courage and achievement and these tales from the past that can still speak to us today. There are great events here – the Titanic, the sinking of The Royal Charter, the execution of a King, the exploration of the Antarctic – but there are also terrible murders and tragic deaths.
Find out more by looking for Grave Tales From Wales in the menu or by following this link
Through these graves you can explore fascinating and sometimes unexpected stories from Welsh History
The book is 190 pages long and is illustrated throughout with full colour photographs
If you subscribe to the mailing list in the box below, then I will contact you as soon as the book is available. you will also be offered a subscribers discount before its general release.