Description:
A memorial was erected on the site of Charles Thompson's (1714-1484) grave at Berry Hill by the Brunts Charity was officially inaugurated on 17th Sept. 1932. The Bishop of Southwell, The Rt. Rev. Henry Mosely (1868-1948), dedicated the memorial which was unveiled by Mr Joseph Albert Beck (1878-1946), Chairman of the Brunts Charity. See also NCCW000052.
Charles Thompson was an agent for a firm of Russian Merchants in Persia, and later a cloth merchant in Lisbon where he escaped the great earthquake of 1755.
In his will, amongst other charitable bequests, he directed that his funeral be without display and that he be buried on the Forest on the left hand side of the way leading to Southwell, which is still perceptible as a hollow nearby. He allso stated in his will that he be buried 6 yards down. The reason for this comes from the fact that when he was in the Lisbon earthquake he saw bodies thrown from their graves when buried at a mere 6 feetThe location of his grave also was chosen by him as the view over the pantile roofs of Mansfield apparently reminded him of Lisbon.