Hi, that is interesting re the two chapels. I know that there was the boys home, which you referred to, and a girls home which later appeared to become a college moving to Percy Road. I believe both started off at Queens Road, in different houses. I read somewhere that Watford R/C first worshipped in a small church, Paddock Road, New Bushey, (as it was then Called). It was served from Barnet. A mission was then opened in Water-lane. That old building still stands today, belonging to another denomination. I have walked past it several times. It seems to be a single storey building. A Mr S.T Holland then built the church at Market St. He was a convert from Anglican apparently. I had a look inside one of the church walls, some time back, and Father Hardy's name is on a wooden plaque as being one of the past priests. If it was the same Fr Hardy who buried George he may have stopped his roving ways and settled down to be a parish priest, instead of a secular one. I think the dates did appear to tally.
Ages ago I wrote to Michael Gandy who specialises in Catholic research in England. His quote..
"It sounds as though George Goodman is likely to have been of an ordinary Church of England (or perhaps Protestant nonconformist) family and only got involved with Roman Catholicism when he met Mary McCarthy. The rules about mixed marriages were not so strict then but if he converted then there will be a conditional baptism somewhere-probably in the parish registers of Clonmel shortly before marriage."
Unfortunately I was unable to locate any such documentation from Ireland therefore I presume the parish priest wasn't too bothered. I didn't have any luck with Westminster Archives either re George's children's baptisms in England therefore I laid that one to rest. Having found that other members of George's family have since been buried in consecrated ground I can now dismiss the protestant nonconformist idea also.
I have contacted Three Rivers Council today and hopefully will soon know exactly where James is buried in Chorleywood Road cemetery. I was informed that it will be just a patch of grass with no head stone. The grave was used after James by another unrelated person. It appears James, the Blacksmith, grave will be very similar to George, his son, sad really.
