Just off Castle street in Wallingford is a more or less forgotten churchyard. The entrance is of the lane which takes you to the George Hotel. For years it lay overgrown beside the Conservative hall. I never knew of it's existence till I walked past to the castle grounds one day.
The picture above is how I first saw the place. The church which was here till around 1643 when it was pulled down as part of the towns defences in the civil war. The cemetery remained in use till 1859 now it is used more for a small park and is kept by the town council. The large memorial you can see is called the Bennett Memorial and how it looked back in 2008
The Memorial with more tombs in the background
The inscription on the Bennett Memorial
In the winter of 2010 I visited the churchyard again
This time I had a wander around looking at some of the tombs there
Well the tow that could be seen and were in good condition
Another covered in snow some one had left beer cans on
Beside a headstone an empty beer case
There were more headstones than I expected
and the odd tomb which were covered in ivy
forgotten about, I felt if was a shame they ended like that
The Bennett Memorial stood out in the snow
In the winter of 2010 I visited the churchyard again
This time I had a wander around looking at some of the tombs there
Well the tow that could be seen and were in good condition
Another covered in snow some one had left beer cans on
Beside a headstone an empty beer case
There were more headstones than I expected
and the odd tomb which were covered in ivy
forgotten about, I felt if was a shame they ended like that
You can visit the pace any time and you will pass it on your way to visit the castle gardens behind the wall on the right, I do see people go to the old churchyard as it is now considered a small park. It is good the area was cleared of all the shrubbery and is still there. One of these days I will pop in a gain and take some new photos
I always think it is a sad thing to loose a church and sadder sill they get forgotten. At least this little Churchyard survives and is remembered.
Till Next Time Take Care
I always think it is a sad thing to loose a church and sadder sill they get forgotten. At least this little Churchyard survives and is remembered.
Till Next Time Take Care
5 comments:
Great post. I always find it sad when cemeteries and graveywards are forgotten. But I suppose in some small way blogs like ours make sure they are at least remembered for a small while.
Thank you for linking up with Cemetery Sunday
Beneath Thy Feet
This just proves how peaceful and calm some cemeteries are!
It is like finding a hidden gem.
He sounds like he was a benevolent knight to the folk of Wallingford.
This must make for a pleasant park.
I'm glad you were able to take photos ---- which at least preserves this little bit. I agree with Hamilton - this is a hidden gem!
And, Bill, I responded to your comment about Taphophile Tragics. I missed posting last week, due to illness, but there have been 3 previous TT posts on my blog. I've got the fourth one ready go for tomorrow (Tuesday), and I look forward to your link! :)
And by the way, my comments here are always under my Google Account, not my Wordpress (which is what I use for MarbleTowns) because your blog apparently just accepts Googld. :)
Thank you for your comments Jo I hope you are ok now.
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