Margaret Anne Thornton, formerly of The Old Cottage, Warcop, has died at the age of 90. Her sudden death took place the day after the funeral of her late husband, The Rev Timothy Thornton, that was held at the end of May in Prestbury, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.
Margaret was born on 18th November, 1933. Her father was The Venerable Frederick Martin, Vicar of Shedfield in Hampshire and formerly Archdeacon of Nagpur, India. Her mother was Lillian Humphries, a nurse, whose family lived in Portsmouth and the surrounding area. Her father’s family had links with Ireland spanning several generations, many of whom held senior positions within the Church. Her great-great-grandfather, Richard Mant, was also an English clergyman who became a Bishop in Ireland. One of his lasting legacies was writing the much loved hymn Bright the Vision that Delighted in 1837 which is still sung in churches to this day.
Margaret discovered a love for the English language from an early age and studied it at university in Ireland — Trinity College Dublin — where many of her ancestors had previously studied
Following graduation she trained as an English teacher at St Hughes College, Cambridge and taught at various public schools in southern England including Beneden in Kent during the mid to late 1950s.
A love of theatre during this time developed a skill of being able to create and direct numerous school plays, much to the delight of fellow teachers and students. In later life she enjoyed watching numerous Shakespeare plays performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Her growing awareness of the Christian faith and longing to serve others influenced her decision to step back from teaching in the early 1960s and join the staff at USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) — an Anglican mission organisation which partnered with churches around the world. During this time, her work included being out in Papua New Guinea based at the Dorgura mission station.
During this time working with USPG she also came to know sisters and friars linked to various monastic settings in the UK including the Anglican Benedictine Sisters of Malling Abbey, Kent, the Franciscan Friars of Hillfield, Dorset and Brother Harold of Shepherd’s Law Hermitage near Alnmouth, Northumberland.
This was to set in motion a strong connection with these different communities for the rest of the life and encourage her to deepen her faith and spiritual journey. Over the next 60 years she would make regular visits to these different communities allowing her to strengthen her christian faith.
She met her late husband, The Rev Timothy Thornton, while with USPG and they married in Suva, Fiji Islands. Following the birth of their son, Charles, Margaret’s focus turned to supporting the family. In the many different parishes that Timothy served in throughout the south of England Margaret would go out her way to befriend and care for people. Many friendships resulted from this and Margaret ensured she stayed in touch with everyone through her passion for letter writing. Many of these letters and replies survive to this day and pay testament to the care and thoughtfulness of her life over many years.
On Timothy’s retirement in 2000 they moved to The Old Cottage in Warcop, a house that had been in his family for many generations having passed down the Chamley, Turner and Buckle lines. The historical family link enabled Margaret and Timothy to immerse themselves deeply in village life during their later years. Margaret became a well known and much loved member of Warcop WI and took part in many village events. Her devotion to the Christian faith resulted in strong bonds being created with the church communities of Warcop, Brough and Great Musgrave where she was much loved by all who knew her.
In 2021 Margaret and Timothy moved from Warcop to Capel Court — a Church of England retirement home in Prestbury situated near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. Here they valued the Christian community around them and the additional care support provided.
They were able to develop many friendships in their short time at Capel Court which they deeply valued. Timothy and Margaret’s deaths were only a month apart — Timothy died on 28th April in Windsor Street Care Home, Cheltenham and Margaret died on 30th May in Gloucester Royal Hospital.
Margaret was in hospital on the day of Timothy’s funeral — staff enabled her to hear the service at her bedside, a service which she had single handedly written and organised. It was to be Margaret’s final piece of work as she died peacefully the next day.
Margaret will be deeply missed by her son Charles along with his wife Naomi and grandsons Joshua and Caleb, together with other members of the wider family.
