MARY STINTON

It was with great sadness that the Society's members heard that Mary Stinton has died.

Mary was one of the four local historians who met in 2003 to begin research into our parish history, resulting in the publication of our first book Capel Explored in 2007, to which she contributed chapters, one on the story of Capel School at which she taught for many years, and the other on the discovery of prehistoric remains and the children's study of them. She, with her headmaster husband Ken, who died just a few months ago, was uniquely qualified to write on both subjects.

Her immense knowledge and enthusiasm for bringing the history of the parish to wider notice made her the obvious successor to our first chairman, Mike Temple, when he moved to Lancashire, and it was Mary who oversaw the publication of Capel Explored Two in 2013. That book includes her chapters on Somerhill, the d'Avigdor Goldsmids and Marc Chagall.

Although she retired as chairman after the second book was published it will come as no surprise to know that she, and Ken, are mentioned several times in Capel Explored Three.

Mary Stinton was an inspiration to many, and not only did so much to tell us about the history of Capel, she will always be part of it.

Don Foreman

Chairman, Capel History Society

December 2020