A NINETEENTH-century illustrator has become a mystery after his death, due to a missing grave.
The final resting place of Arthur Frederics, the illustrator of Jerome K. Jerome’s Victorian comic novel, Three Men in a Boat, is St Paul’s Church, Wokingham.
But its exact location is unknown, prompting calls for a memorial to be created.
Art historian and member of the Jerome K. Jerome Society, Dr Mark Bryant said there is no record of where the great artist is buried in the churchyard.
Frederics, whose real name was Frederick Arthur Hipp, was born in London in 1849.
He spent most of his life in the city, but his uncle and three of his aunts lived in Wokingham.
His eldest sister, Amelia, married Tyndale Heelas of the famous family, who was once mayor of Wokingham.
Frederics died in his last home, Hensington, on Edneys Hill in 1929.
This was registered by his nephew Arthur Tyndale Heelas, the eldest child of Amelia and Tyndale.
He was head of the family firm and was living in Fairview Road, Wokingham.
Dr Bryant said being unable to locate Frederics’ grave was a double disappointment.
He had recently found out the artist’s London home in Tooting is about to be demolished to make way for a hotel.
Dr Bryant hopes there might be a chance to commemorate Frederics in Wokingham.
He searched, with help from St Paul’s Church and the Berkshire Records Office, for a sign of his grave.
While the graves of his uncle, three aunts and three of his sisters have been found in St Paul’s cemetery, the illustrator’s resting place remains lost.
Dr Bryant said all that has been confirmed is that Frederics was buried in the churchyard on December 31, 1929, three days after his death.
Jeremy Nicholas, president of the Jerome K. Jerome Society, actor and writer, said he is sad to learn the grave of an important artist cannot be found.
“It would be very fitting if a memorial plaque or headstone could be erected to his memory in the town in which he died,” he said.
Father Richard Lamey, St Paul’s Rector, said his team was really excited to hear of the link between the churchyard and Three Men in a Boat.
He added: “We are working hard to establish where Frederick Hipp is buried and look forward to supporting the Jerome K. Jerome Society in their campaign to have a new headstone placed on the grave as a fitting memorial to a talented artist who did so much to shape people’s enjoyment of the story, as well as all of the other things he achieved in his life as an illustrator.”
