William Fenton Memorial

DIFFERENT CATEGORY - a home-parish memorial tablet, not at either the crime scene or the grave, which sets it apart from most entries here. Found via a search of Historic England's own listings for the word 'murdered'. William Fenton (1819-1855), only son of Samuel and Jessey Fenton of the long-established Underbank Hall family near Penistone, was murdered by robbers at Algeciras, the Spanish port opposite Gibraltar, on 13 April 1855 - it isn't clear why he was travelling there, though a local historian speculates it may be linked to the very earliest days of international tourism (Thomas Cook's first international tour also launched in 1855). His youngest sister was travelling with him and was present at his death; she made her way home and, with her three sisters, had this marble tablet placed on the chancel wall of St John's Church, Penistone - the Fenton family's home church, where many other family members are buried, though William's own remains are said (not independently verified) to be interred in Gibraltar rather than brought home.