I have not yet found Rockfield Place. Was it where Rockfield House is, off Longbrook Terrace? Anyway, in 1840, it clearly had an alarming reputation. There you could find vice, misery and wretchedly unfortunate creatures.
The Reverend Mr. Harrington who had warred against the wicked women of Rockfield Place seems to have exercised his right not to bury one of them, she not having been baptised. Her burial had been arranged but for some hours no clergyman turned up to perform the service. This report is a typical Western Times (19th August 1840) attack on what the liberal papers saw as a vicious Anglican priesthood. Declining to officiate was fairly common practise and caused problems for the relatives of the unbaptised dead in so far as a funeral service was necessary to the burial.
Fortunately that worthy Reverend Worthy turned up, albeit late, to enable this unfortunate creature to be laid to rest
"One of the wretchedly unfortunate creatures who inhabit that den of vice and misery, Rockfield Place, died, and was taken to be buried last week in the cemetry. Owing to some circumstances which we have not heard explained, neither of the parish clergymen (the Rev, Messrs Harington and Worthy) could be found for some hours; at last, after waiting from six o' clock till past ten at night Mr Worthy was found, and in the beautiful, solemn, but we regret to say, ill-applied language of the liturgy, the body of "our sister" with all her frailties was committed to its kindred earth.
"Knowing how the Rev, Mr Harrington has warred against this nest, we can easily understand the loathing with which he would turn away from the task which the ritual of the church had imposed on him - had the "sister" been a baptized member of the church."
