Cooke Family Tomb In Middlewich Cemetery Circa 80 Metres South Of Mortuary Chapels

The Cooke Family Tomb, located in Middlewich Cemetery approximately 80 metres south of the Mortuary Chapels, is a stone monument dating from 1869. It features a square pier topped with a spire and has inscriptions set within gabled arched cusped panels on each side, resting on a plain rectangular base stone. The inscriptions detail the tragic fate of Edward Cooke, aged 40, his wife Elizabeth, aged 34, and their four children: Ellen, aged 7, Sophia, aged 4, Edward, aged 2, and Mary, aged 6 months, who all perished in a fire at Brierly Hulme Farm House in Kinderton cum Hulme on November 24, 1867. Additionally, it commemorates Elizabeth Shaw, aged 12, who also died in the incident. The east side bears the phrase "In the midst of life we are in death," while the north side notes that the tomb was erected by public subscription in 1869. This tragic event remains a significant memory in the local community.