The boy who never was

I'm developing an interest in Victorian stained glass windows, particualrly the work of Henry Holiday, Herbert Bryans and especially Charles Kempe. I find dull grey days can provide excellent conditions for photogrpahing stained glass so I went over to St Giles Church in Horsted Keynes to look at the rather fine Kempe windows. Having a wander around the church I came across this grand memorial tablet on the south wall of the chancel erected in memory of William Pigott and his family.

William and his wife Jane had four sons and a daughter. All four boys died when they were young but look at the dates for Henry, the third name in the list. Apparently Henry died in March 1715 but was not born until December 1715. This isn't a stonemason's typo but the Julian calendar in which the new year began on Lady's Day (March 25th) so Henry was born in December and died in March the same year, aged three months. His brother Robert also died aged just three months.

In 1752 we adopted the Gregorian calendar and changed the start of the new year to 1st January.