Memorial

Plaque and Stations of the Cross F.S.J. Silvertop 1917 St. Elizabeth R.C.

Minsteracres

Memorial Name: Plaque and Stations of the Cross F.S.J. Silvertop 1917 St. Elizabeth R.C. (M11.02)

NEWMP Ref No.: M11.02

Parish: Minsteracres

Original Location:

Minsteracres Passionist Monastery. St. Elizabeth of Hungary R.C. Church.

Which War:

1914-18

Materials Used:

Alabaster and marble.

Who Commissioned:

Mrs. Silvertop.

Cost:

£600

Inscription:

Of your charity, pray for the repose
of the soul of
Francis Somerled Joseph Silvertop,
Lieutenant Oxfordshire Yeomanry,
who was killed in action at Gillemont Farm
May 20th 1917, Aged 33 years,
and was buried at St. Emelie British Cemetery
Villers Fanron, and to whose memory these
Stations of the Cross were erected by his
Wife, and on behalf of their little Son.

Memorial Description:

Plaque with 14 Stations of the Cross.

The plaque is 13 inches high x 19 inches wide x 2 inches deep (33cms x 48cms x 5cms).

The centre panel is of alabaster, with a fluted red marble frame.

The inscription is incised and painted gold, using Gothic upper and lower case lettering throughout.

The Stations of the Cross are each 25 inches high x 18 inches wide x 3 inches deep (64cms x 45cms x 8cms), and carved in half relief on an alabaster panel surrounded by a red marble fluted and traceried frame.

Names:

See above.

Notes:

1. Albert Silvertop and his son George purchased the cottages and farm lands of Minsteracres in the mid-18th century. A Catholic Mission was established on the estate in 1765. The Church of St. Elizabeth was opened in 1854. The estate was sold to the Passionist Congregation in 1949.

2. Francis Silvertop’s mother, widow of Henry Thomas Silvertop, was left with five small children when her husband died in 1893, of whom Francis, at 10 years old, was the eldest. In April 1916 Francis married Nevill Geraldine Harter; a year later he was killed in action in Flanders.

His brother William Alexander was killed in action six months later and their father’s half-brother, Arthur Edward, was drowned in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 (See M11.01)

4. See his Every Name a Story entry.

Sources:

Photos: C.N. Dallison; Tony Harding

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
08/05/1916 reports at length on the marriage of Lieut. Silvertop and Miss Nevill Harter which took place in London on April 29th.

Minsteracres Retreat Centre
(privately printed booklet)