Discovering Mary Shelley’s Grave in Bournemouth
Having visited Bournemouth several times to see family, I took a stroll around St Peter’s church and churchyard, which are both close to the town centre.
Here, I discovered the grave of Mary Shelley (she who penned ‘Frankenstein’), along with other members of her family.
While I don’t attend church, I like exploring churches and enjoy looking at the gravestones, wondering at all those peoples’ lives, and hoping they’re all at peace.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I came across the gravestone which includes the remains of members of the Wollstonecraft and Shelley families.
There is also a blue circular plaque commemorating the Shelley and Wollstonecraft connections.
Mary Wollstonecraft is born in 1759, sadly passing away 11 days following childbirth in 1797.
She was an eminent writer and also a member of a radical group which included William Godwin, Thomas Paine and the painter Fuseli.
Mary married William Godwin, who is buried with his wife and daughter in the same plot in St Peter’s churchyard.
Mary wrote ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’ published in 1792, now part of the canon of feminist works and a must for any feminist student bookshelf.
Frankenstein and Mary Shelley.
Mary’s daughter, also called Mary, went on to write and publish ‘Frankenstein’ or ‘The Modern Prometheus’, aged just 20.
She also marries poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Mary and Percy Bysshe have several children; only one survived and sadly Percy Bysshe drowned in a boating accident in Italy in 1822.
Legend has it that Percy Bysshe’s heart refused to burn during his cremation, so his heart was retrieved and eventually given to his wife and latterly their son, Percy Florence.
Percy Florence purchased land at nearby Boscombe, and created Boscombe Manor, an Italian-style property where his mother and wife could live in comfort.
It is thought his mother expressed a wish to be buried in the area, hence her eventual interment in Bournemouth, along with those of her father and mother (their remains were moved from London), heart of her husband and latterly those of her surviving son and his wife, Jane.
Mary Shelley was just 53 when she died in 1851.
Percy Florence and Jane didn’t have any children. He passes away in 1889 and his wife dies in 1920.