Wednesday 19 AUGUST 2009
Unfortunately, only four of us were able to take the tour of Southampton’s Old Cemetery – Buddies Georgie, Jan, Janet and June.
We had the most wonderful weather, sometimes chasing the shade to stand in to listen to the very informative tour guide. Some of the grave sculptures and monuments are magnificent and there are separate areas for Catholic, Non-conformist, Christian and Jewish burials.
The Old Southampton Cemetery is one of England’s earliest municipal cemeteries and is located on the Southampton Common.
Parts of this cemetery are listed Grade II on English Heritage's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Established by the Southampton Cemetery Act of 1843, it was landscaped by W H Rogers, a local nurseryman and the first burial took place on 8th May 1846. The Cemetery was extended northwards in 1863 and eastwards in 1886.
The Cemetery is in itself important historically as a record of the people of Southampton and over the years a great diversity of wildlife has developed in it. For these reasons, the City Council has decided that the cemetery will be maintained in such a way as to preserve the diversity of flora and fauna, whilst maintaining its historical interest and its continuing use as a burial ground.
The cemetery covers 27 acres and over 116,000 burials have taken place since 1846 with a number of graves associated with the Titanic, Battle of Waterloo, Charge of the Light Brigade, the Indian Mutiny and Boer War.
The Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery (FOSOC) work tirelessly to keep the tracks clear and to keep the brambles and saplings at bay. They also spend a good deal of time researching graves and finding particular plots. We were shown some of special interest, including General Gordon of Khartoum’s family plot and General Rosas of Argentina’s monument (he was shipped back to Argentina during the conflicts but his daughter, son-in-law and grandchild still remain). We also saw the headstone of “John Ross”, a special friend of King Shaka of Zulu and an opponent of slavery – what an interesting life this man had. A memorial took place in May 2009 to re-dedicate his grave, with a bagpiper, the Mayor of Southampton and several Zulus in attendance.
The three chapels, Christian, Non-Conformist and Catholic still remain. One is now a private dwelling as a Lodge House, one is the office of a graphic designer and one is a store for the Scrap Store – the Council are hoping to find alternative accommodation for the Scrap Store and the FOSOC then hope to open a Heritage Centre in this building.
It was a very interesting and informative visit, with just the right amount of history and humour. Our tour guide, Jilly, was an excellent speaker and kept us all well entertained.
Juniper June
Branch Manager
back to reviews