Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

James Smith was the head of a large an influential family in Berkhamsted, the Smith family. Through marriage to the Drevers of Haresfoot, it gave rise to the famous Smith-Dorrien dynasty. He is not buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery, but in the family vault inside St Peter’s Church. A noted and wealthy parishioner, he donated £25 toward the establishment of the new cemetery, and this gift is inscribed on the cemetery foundation stone.

James Smith had his roots in the Smith banking family of Nottingham. Smith’s Bank (est. c. 1658) is believed to be the first bank to be formed outside London. James moved to Berkhamsted with his family in 1801 and acquired Ashlyns Hall. His first wife, Frances Arbuthnot, died and he remarried in 1803 to Mary Isabella Pechell (1783-1823), the daughter of another noted Berkhamsted family, the Pechells. Although not a noble family, the Smiths were landed gentry in good standing in the parish, and James Smith served as a churchwarden of St Peter’s Church 1811-1816.

James and Frances had one child, also named James; he died at the age of only 11 after falling off a pony. James and his second wife Mary Isabella had five children:

• Augustus John Smith (1804-1872) – a noted figure in local history, famous for his role in the “Battle of Berkhamsted Common” of 1866
• Theodore Samuel Smith (1806-1829)
• Frances Mary Isabella Smith (1812-1902)
• Robert Algernon Smith (1814-1879) – on his marriage to Mary Ann Drever, he adopted the maiden name of his mother-in-law, Dorrien, and established the Smith-Dorrien dynasty
• Pauline Wilhelmina (1820-1835)

Family tragedy struck again in 1823 when Mary Isabella died in Paris. A beautiful marble monument was erected to the memory of Mary Isabella in St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted. The monument was placed above the Smith family vault in the north transept of St Peter’s. It was subsequently inscribed with the names of family members who were later buried here.

Four months after Rectory Lane Cemetery was opened, James Smith died. He was not buried in the Cemetery that he generously supported, but in the family vault within St Peter’s Church.

In a vault beneath rest the mortal remains of
James Smith Esq of Ashlyns hall.
Born 3rd Sept 1768 died 16th Feb 1843.

This monument still stands in St Peter’s Church today, although it was relocated during Victorian restoration work to the other side of the church.

the Smith-Dorrien Memorial in St Peter’s