Sir Charles and Lady Katharine Parsons passed away in the 1930s, and were buried in Kirkwhelpington. They had one son (Algernon) and one daughter (Rachel), but both children died unmarried and there were no grandchildren.

Parsons created Heaton Works in 1889, and the factory now owned by Siemens, still exists today, employing 600 people. At its peak there were over 12,000 personnel employed. Thousands of local people have benefited from employment at Parsons over the years, and hopefully the factory will go on to create jobs for many years to come. There are many places where you can read and learn about this extraordinary man, his achievements, his contribution to the North East and most people know of his record-breaking ship Turbinia which is at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.

Lady Parsons was a founding member of the Women's Engineering Society in 1919 (www.wes.org.uk) and served as the 2nd President of WES between 1922-1925, following her daughter, Rachel Parsons. Lady Parsons was an engineer of ability and had the distinction of being an Honorary Fellow of the North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders. At the time of her appointment she was the first lady to be elected an honorary fellow or honorary member of any British engineering society.

Major Algernon Parsons lost his life after 4 years service during WW1, and Rachel Parsons was a pioneering woman who took responsibility for training women for the Ministry of Munitions during WW1. (You can learn more about Rachel here - https://parsonstown.info/people/rachel-parsons)
Their family home at Wylam was handed over as a military hospital, and the factory made over 8000 searchlights during the Great War.

The stones need to be restored, and then I would like to leave the local parish a sum of money to look after the stones in the future.