William and Stephen Stiles
Buried: 10/03/1868, aged 68 and 23/12/1889 aged 83
Plot no: 21238 | Section: M06 / C8
The large red granite pedestal of the Stiles family grave often gains attention due to the spiked wheels that adorn the railings of the plinth. The monument stands over a double vault.
Nine members of the Stiles family of Shoreditch and Hackney are buried in this vault. Three siblings: William Stiles, Elizabeth Stiles & Stephen Stiles, along with Elizabeth, Stephen’s wife, and at least three of their children lie here. Their 14 year old daughter Louisa Stiles (d. 1858) was the first to be buried in this grave, followed by 40-year old son Stephen Stiles (d. 1872), and 24-year old son Frederick Stiles (d.1875).
The children of John Stiles and Mary Stiles, William and Stephen were baptised at the Holywell Mount Congregational Chapel, an Independent Dissenting Chapel situated on the junction of Chapel Street and Curtain Road, Shoreditch. They started their working lives as a stone mason/statuary and carpenter respectively, and went on to become successful in both their trades. They were both noted philanthropists and Stephen in particular was a lifelong supporter of the Congregational Church in Dalston.
Their sister Elizabeth Stiles was born 8 Feb 1804, and she was also baptised at the Holywell Mount Chapel, Shoreditch.
Elizabeth never married and remained in Shoreditch and Hackney throughout her life. In 1841 - 1851 she lived at Edward Street with brother William Stiles with sister Sarah Stiles and nephew William Stiles. From 1861 she was living at Robert Street as Head of House with the notable occupation “Proprietor of Houses”, her nephew William Stiles still living with her. Elizabeth died in 1875 while living at Dyson Cottage, 104 Albion Road, leaving an estate of under £1,500.
William Stiles (d. 1868) and Stephen Stiles (d. 1889) lived at Edward Road (now Drysdale Street), Shoreditch in the 1840s. They are described as “Born of poor but hardworking and honest parents…in Shoreditch, Stephen was apprentice to a carpenter and for many years worked very hard…frequently from 5 in the morning until 12 at night”.
William went on to set up his stone and marble business at Wenlock Wharf, City Road and in later life lived at ‘Fountain Cottage’, Green Lanes. In the early 1860s, “William Stiles, Esq, an old and respected inhabitant of Shoreditch, presented the charity (of Judge Fuller’s Hospital, Stepney) with a piece of land at Wood Green, Tottenham”. This is where the Shoreditch Almshouses of Nightingale Road, Wood Green were built. These are still in use today by the United Charities of St Leonard as accommodation for ‘past/present residents of old Shoreditch borough’. In 1865 William Stiles was one of the signatories of a memorial petition to the Vestry of St Leonard, Shoreditch for road improvements needed to Shepherdess Walk.
William left a substantial estate of £35,000 when he died in 1868 (equivalent to £2.2m in 2017.) William’s wife, Eliza, lived a further 24 years after his death. She died 2 February 1892 at Elmfield Lodge, 201 Evering Road, Clapton, leaving effects worth £5,530 9s. 11d.
Stephen Stiles built and owned multiple properties in Shoreditch and Hackney. He also built many public houses including the Royal Oak on Royal Oak Road, the Spurstowe Arms on Greenwood Road, the Alma Tavern on Barnabas Road and the Prince George on Parkholme Road.
The Alma Tavern circa 1890. ©unknown, no infringement intended.
He was a prolific philanthropist, donating repeatedly to the Nonconformist Chapels and Sunday Schools of the Dalston Congregational Church on Middleton Road and Shrubland Road and funding recreational outings to Margate, the Jubilee Retreat, Hawk Wood, Chingford (an alcohol-free entertainment facility opened in 1887 in the year of Queen Victoria's Jubilee), and the Crystal Palace. He was elected a member of the Hackney Vestry and sat on multiple Parochial Boards for over twenty years.
An extensive list of his philanthropy can be found in the British Newspaper Archives, including:
in 1888, the funding the excursion of 300 juniors of Middleton Road Congregational Sunday School to Jubilee Retreat, Hawk Wood, Chingford,
in 1887, a contribution towards excursion of Dalston Congregational Church Middleton Road, 1885 an American organ for the “Mission associated with Middleton Road Congregational Sunday Schools”,
in 1884, the Shrubland Road Congregational Sunday Schools outing to Rye House, also in 1884 the “annual excursion of the Dalston (Middleton Road) Congregational Sunday and day schools” to the Crystal Palace,
in 1884, Stephen Stiles lays the foundation stone of Shrubland Road School Hall and Mission room, with also a further donation to help clear the debt on the “Dalston Congregational Church buildings”
Tablet fixed by Stephen Stiles in the Dalston Congregational Church on Shrubland Road. (Now known locally as ‘the Tin Tabernacle’) Image ©Palmer Estates 2021, used with permission.
Stephen’s son, Stephen the Younger died in 1873, aged 40. He was also noted for his generosity and support of those in need. His donations included 21s to Gospel Mission Hall, Union Crescent, Union Street, Hackney for a seaside trip for the poor in 1871. He also donated 1s in Christmas box payments to 86 workers of the Board of Works road-men, as well as a donation to the National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War in 1870.
Stephen Senior died on 16 Dec 1889 in his place of retirement, Margate, Kent, and was buried on December 23rd. He left an estate of £28,687 12s 2d, equivalent to £2.3m in 2017.
The Dalston Congregational Church on Shrubland Road. Image ©Palmer Estates 2021, used with permission.
The report of his funeral in the Hackney and Kingsland Gazette illustrates the ornate nature of funeral arrangements for the well-to-do buried in Abney Park:
“The remains of the deceased had been brought from Margate, where he had died. They were conveyed to their last resting place in an elegant hearse fully plumed, followed by four mourning coaches, each drawn by four horses, fully equipped. The cortege was of an imposing character and attracted much attention; and there was a numerous attendance at the internment. The portrait of the deceased gentleman, which hangs on the wall of the Shrubland Road Congregational Lecture Hall, Dalston, has been draped in black, in respect to his memory”. (The current location of this portrait is unknown.)
Nine members of the Stiles family, including Elizabeth and Eliza, the wives of Stephen and William, lie beneath the imposing red granite pedestal above the family vault. No sources have been discovered as yet which contextualise the iron spiked wheels on the rail at the base of the pedestal. Research into the family has not given any obvious answers - perhaps they are symbolic of the various building trades people held. The meaning of the wheel as a symbolic entity is similar to that of the circle, representing eternity, with the additional quality of movement. Another possible meaning could be that as a symbol of the Sun, the wheel spokes parallel the rays of the sun. At the moment, we can only theorise the meaning of the symbolism of the spiked wheels, who chose them to adorn this monument and why.