Druitts and Stonemasonry

[m_w_r]

Hi -

A couple of things I spotted while pottering about in the Tower Hamlets Cemetery today.





They are footstones. The Druitt named on them is, I suppose, the stonemason. Thought it might be interesting - a relation of Monty's, perhaps? I'm sure someone knows more about this than I do. I notice that in his letter to Gertrude Elizabeth Druitt (25 October 1888), Jabez Druitt mentioned that his "grandfather carried on the business of a Stone Mason in the parish of St. George in the East on a site now occupied by the London Docks" - but that would be far too early for these footstones. Was the business handed down?

Regards,

Mark

[aspallek]

Good spotting! These stones are indeed the work of Jabez Druitt, who was described as a "monumental mason," i.e. a sculptor of cemetery headstones. By the 1880s he was quite well off and employed many workers so it is not surprising to see his work in Tower Hamlets.