The Waterton Story

The Waterton Family

Charles the Catholic

The Last Years
 
 
 

Towards the end of his life, Waterton was still as active as he had been in the past.  He continued to hold on to his eccentricities and unusual practices.  He unjustly accused himself of the murder of his young wife who had died in childbirth.  His self imposed penance was to never again sleep in a bed.

In May 1865 on one of his brisk walks around the grounds of his hall, Waterton caught his foot in a bramble and fell heavily against a log.  The fall seems to have caused internal damage, for Waterton's condition worsened and his son Edmund, in attendance of Pope Pius IX in Rome, was contacted.  A telegram arrived from Rome bringing a Benediction from the Holy Father, but as the Squire's condition worsened, Canon Richard Browne the chaplain was sent for and he adminstered the last rites.  He died on May 27th.
 

Waterton's Funeral Illustrated London News 17th June 1865 Courtesy: Illustrated London News Picture Library

Waterton's funeral had been pre-arranged by the man himself.  For the first and last time a Requiem High Mass was sung in Walton Hall.  The bishop of Beverley officiated with no fewer than fourteen priests, including Father Baron the Jesuit superior of St Austin's.  A funeral procession set off down the lake consisting of a number of barges followed by mourners on the lakeside.  Waterton was laid to rest at a place of his own choosing between two oak trees.

St Austin's had lost a well-loved parishioner, but there was something to remember him by should it ever be needed.  In addition to the many donations and other forms of patronage he had offered over the years, Waterton also made another special gift.  A silver Chalice and Paten was his donation to the parish and continues to be treasured.

For those critics who continued to accuse Waterton of being too eccentric, a friend had the following words: