Henry Andrews Sneath
1860-1931

Harry Garwood Sneath
1887-1979

One of the foremost religious and political personalities who left a lasting impression on Bourne was H A Sneath, best remembered today for a slim volume dedicated to the growth of his beliefs called Methodist Memories, now out of print although copies occasionally surface at local sales. Such was his reputation that when he died, the eulogies at his funeral recalled a man of unalloyed purity and greatness whose life had been crowded with good deeds.

Henry Andrews Sneath was born at Thurlby in 1860 and after a village education, went into farming, a career that became a family business known as Messrs Sneath and Son, corn, hay and straw merchants, but also specialising in steam power and mechanisation, specifically for harvesting. He became the owner of the 300 acre farm at Bowthorpe Park, Manthorpe, near Bourne, and later moved back to Thurlby.

His public life embraced many roles, being a member of Kesteven County Council for six years, and of Bourne Rural District Council and the Board of Guardians, chairman of the Rutland and Stamford Divisional Liberal Association for 20 years and holding every office open to a layman in the Bourne Wesleyan [Methodist] Circuit as well as being secretary of the Bourne and District Free Church Council. He was also a formidable speaker with a penetrating voice and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of public appearances, whether from the pulpit or political platform.

Farming was his career but religion was his life and his love of Methodism was infectious. He died on New Year’s Eve, Thursday 31st December 1931, aged 71, and the funeral scenes at Thurlby Wesleyan [Methodist] Chapel on Saturday 2nd January were impressive with telling panegyrics from those who were proud to call him a friend. He had been a tireless worker for the chapel and the service was conducted by the circuit minister, the Rev H A Riggall, assisted by Pastor T W Ashby (Billingborough), Mr Arthur Wall (Bourne), Mr Edward Clark (Castle Bytham) and many friends who gave a personal address. Before the service began, a letter from the late Vicar of Thurlby, the Rev G M Davis, was read out by Mr Riggall expressing his deepest sympathy with the family and testifying to the high appreciation in which he had held Mr Sneath.

In his address, Mr Wall told the congregation that he had known the deceased since they were boys together: “This is a painfully difficult task after so long a friendship and at his passing, I feel something of what David experienced at the death of Jonathan. I have known him for 60 years and although as boys we had little in common, he being a few years younger, for the best part of 50 years ours was a friendship, hallowed and happy, which became more binding as the years rolled by.”

Mr Wall spoke of the deceased’s public work and political associations but said that his main concern was always his beliefs. He added: “His love for Methodism was one of unalloyed purity and greatness and very few men have been called upon to face such a sea of trouble as he has confronted yet he piloted the ship single-handed through rough and stormy seas. Lesser men would have gone under but he overcame all of the difficulties in those dark days which he met with strong faith and undaunted courage. When anyone was overtaken in a fault, he was there to help and to bring them through successfully. We will be the poorer for his passing but I pray that the fragrance of his memory with its enriching influence will abide with us all. We thank God for Henry Sneath.”

Edward Clark, who was also a local magistrate, added his voice to the high regard in which Sneath was held: “I speak for a large circle of friends who appreciated his sterling character whose life was crowded with good actions. Whether in business or in regard to his benefactions, we have lost a good friend and there are many who would call him blessed. Those who sat with him in public life always knew that his sympathies were with the downcast. His spirit ever revolted against anything that savoured of injustice and his heart was always full of sympathy and love for the poor and needy. What he did he did with the purest of motives and with the one idea of helping those less favoured than himself. They thanked God for his life, for his ministry and for all those unrecorded works of love, help and benevolence.”

Henry Sneath's book, Methodist Memories, was published shortly before he died, outlining the growth of Methodism in and around the Bourne area from the earliest times and comprised a series of articles that had previously been published in the Lincolnshire Free Press. “With the editor’s assistance”, he wrote in a postscript, “these articles are now found in a more permanent form and published for the benefit of the [Methodist] Circuit it has been my honour and privilege to serve for so many years.”

Mr Sneath was buried in the churchyard. He left a widow, Elizabeth and two sons by his first wife, Alec, then living in Ceylon, and Harry, who took over the family business.

Harry Garwood Sneath was born at Bowthorpe Park in 1887 but by the time he was of school age, the family had moved back to Thurlby and so he was sent to the village council school and then on to East Dereham Grammar School in Norfolk, before starting his working life in the drapery trade at Newark, Nottinghamshire, subsequently moving to similar appointments in Leicester, Manchester and Seattle, USA. During the Great War of 1914-18, he served with the Army Service Corps in France and after being posted home to Aldershot, he was appointed a motorcycle orderly to King George V.

When his father died in 1931, he returned home to run the business that had already been named Messrs Sneath and Son and continued to do so for the next 30 years, living at Capstone House, a property that had been in the family since 1862. He also took an active role in local affairs, serving as a member of Thurlby Parish Council for 22 years and his record of attending 62 successive annual meetings has never been surpassed.

Mr Sneath was also a car driver for more than half a century, owning the same Ford V8 for 28 years, although he was also a keen cyclist and until 1970, when he was 83, he regularly rode from Thurlby to Bourne and back until the increase in heavy lorries on the road made the journey too hazardous to continue.

One of his main hobbies was collecting grandfather clocks, owning 14 of them at one time after giving another ten away as wedding presents. He was also an avid reader of classical literature and at the age of 80, he began learning to play the piano. Sport was also a preoccupation, particularly football, and as a young man he turned out regularly for Bourne Town.

He married his wife Phyllis, a native of Marple, Cheshire, at the Wesleyan Chapel there in 1912 and they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 1972 with a party for 65 families and there was another grand party in 1976 to mark Mr Sneath’s 90th birthday.

Like his father, he was a lifelong member of the Liberal Party and a devoted worshipper and worker for the Methodist Church, attending the chapel at Thurlby for 42 years and serving for a period as steward.

He died at Capstone House on 6th February 1979, aged 92, and his wife died the following day, aged 89. They were buried in the village churchyard after a double funeral service at Thurlby Methodist Chapel conducted by the Rev Eric Foster. In his will, Mr Sneath bequeathed Capstone House to the Youth Hostels Association together with £4,000 to convert it into overnight accommodation for 30 visitors.

See also Capstone House