WISBECH GENERAL CEMETERY

We were taken round the cemetery at our August meeting by Sue Beale & Sarah Ledger who belong to the Friends of the Leverington Road Cemetery Society.
The grave – yard at St Peter & St Paul Church in Wisbech was full & the area became a source of infection. As a consequence a three – acre parcel of land was purchased in 1836 from the non-conformist Mr Joshua Bland, primarily for the burial of non-conformists. A company was formed & shares sold although the burial ground never showed a profit. The ground was set out as a formal garden with trees & shrubs & a chapel was built within the grounds. A photograph of the chapel taken by Samuel Smith was shown. Several prominent Wisbech people, including Samuel Smith were buried there. There have been 6,500 burials in the grounds over 100 years. Long closed the cemetery fell into decay & became very overgrown. It became the property of the Cambridgeshire County Council.
In 1992 a group of volunteers joined with the Fenland District Council, The National Trust & the Wisbech Tourism Group, amongst others to formulate a plan of restoration & long term management.
This has produced areas of clearance, replanting of young trees & plants, restoration of some of the memorials stones to create a pocket park for tourism, educational purposes, studies & to give access to wildlife. Ongoing are ecological studies & an updating of the history of the site.
We were shown the elevated area of the cemetery where the rich & well known people were buried – proven by the very elaborate & large memorial stones.
The chapel is in a dangerous state of collapse & the area has now been cordoned off whilst a decision on what should happen to the chapel is reached. The friends continue to maintain the pathways & some memorials. Several benches have been placed in the cemetery allowing one to sit & contemplate, & relax in this peaceful pocket park.
The tourist office has a register of burials & the volunteers are pleased to help & advise anyone researching this area for the burial of family within the cemetery.
We visited in the evening & the light was not the best for viewing, but we were encouraged to visit again during the brighter daylight to appreciate this peaceful area.
We left full of admiration & appreciation for so much work done by volunteers, which it would appear will go on ad infinitum.
[Barbara Holmes]