Headstone, Templecorran old church, Ballycarry (2)
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Headstone, Templecorran old church, Ballycarry (2) by Albert Bridge as part of the Geograph project.
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Headstone, Templecorran old church, Ballycarry (2)
Image: © Albert Bridge Taken: 5 Jun 2012
There are many interesting old headstones in the graveyard. This one records the death of Thomas McCleery, on 20 December 1776, at the age of 84 – a remarkable example of longevity for the time. I cannot find any specific statistics for the period but this source http://www.localhistories.org/life.html has this information “Things improved in the 18th century in Britain. Life expectancy at birth rose to about 40 by the late 18th century. Nobody is sure why. Plague died out, which must have helped. (The last outbreak of plague in Western Europe was in Marseilles in 1720). Furthermore in the 18th century eating potatoes became common, which probably improved nutrition. Improvements in 18th century agriculture may also have helped”. Image shows part of the inscription.
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Image Location
Latitude
54.770044
Longitude
-5.750312