You may recognise the name Wantage from a previous Blog. The churchyards having become full so a cemetery was built for burials on Chain Hill near the town and opened in 1850. There are 13 identified Commonwealth War Graves in the cemetery I had passed it many times and finally got around to visiting one morning with my wife
The was in was off a small entrance on Chain Hill and you walked along the path you see above passing graves like on the left
Further along the cemetery opens out
And you can see some of the older headstones in the shrubbery
Quite a few of the stones are becoming covered in Ivy
Private G Kite one of the 13 Commonwealth war graves recorded in the cemetery
More of the older graves
The was in was off a small entrance on Chain Hill and you walked along the path you see above passing graves like on the left
Further along the cemetery opens out
And you can see some of the older headstones in the shrubbery
Quite a few of the stones are becoming covered in Ivy
Private G Kite one of the 13 Commonwealth war graves recorded in the cemetery
More of the older graves
This cross is a family Memorial and overlooks the west side of the old cemetery
some of the graves you can see here
Over towards the centre more of the cemetery is overgrown
Hiding many headstones
RAF Graves of A.H. Anns & F.H.J. Pounds
A small angel watching over the grave of a young child
Another ever watching her charge
An unusual cross in the cemetery and the grave of Private A.J.Alder
Another wrought iron cross beautifully decorated
E. K . Harris and C. W. Akers
Not see a pillar like this in a while
The graves of E.W.Carmichael & W.G. Kelly
More of the cemetery by the path
The west side of the cemetery with boxed hedging
Near the to of the old cemetery I came across these old Family Graves
Unusual in that they were wood with a concrete base
The Ivy had taken it's toll on one of them rotting the wood away
Another simple wooden cross which has broken off at ground level soon to be lost in the grass
Getting nearer to the top and the more recent burials
I don't normally take photos of recent graves but this one stood out. The last words saying he was "A True Son of Wantage Berkshire" rang true to me as well. Like many I feel we lost a bit of our heritage when the area became Oxfordshire. I too still think of myself as coming from Berkshire
The Grave of Lance Corporal Sarah Jayne Holmes
Looking along the newer burial site which a year ago was subject to some vandalism
This part as you can see is now full
The new were part of the cemetery which as you can see is filling up and there are plans to extend it out to the left of those trees I think
By this time it was starting to rain so I too this picture from under the trees
Where I spotted this little angel
We left the cemetery out of the road entrance and walked past this overgrown area of overgrow
Where I noticed this headstone poking out of the shrubbery which I will leave you with.
Have a peaceful weekend
8 comments:
This is packed with interest, thank you for posting it, I particularly like the wooden crosses.
I often find myself wanting to pull away the ivy and clear brambles in the overgrown places, I restrain myself, of course.
Bill, you have lovely military stones!
Lovely cemetery I especially like the angels. Thanks for sharing.
This cemetery has so many different feels (moods) to it.
Interesting place! I love the angels!
A very interesting tour of the cemetery. Thanks, Bill.
how would I find a family grave thanks
Try Find a grave or check with the Oxfordshire records office if the graves are really old then the Berkshire records office
Post a Comment