More information : (ST 60827163) Lodge (NAT)
(ST 60847162) Lodge (NAT)
(ST 60747153) Mortuary Chapel (Nonconformist) (NAT)
(ST 60847149) Mortuary Chapel (C of E) (NAT). (1)
Arno's Vale cemetery was opened 1837-8 many of its tombs, the chapels and lodges are listed. (2)
Cemetery arranged as an Arcadian landscape, landscaped between 1836-40, and contains buildings designed by Charles Underwood. The chapels are in a classical landscape of winding paths and planting. The cemetery also contains many listed grade II tombs, monuments, an obelisk monument and a First World War memorial. (3)
Cemetery situated two kilometres southeast of Bristol city centre, covering an area of 17 hectares. It was laid out in 1837-40 by the Bristol General Cemetery Company to designs by Charles Underwood with planting by Bristol nurserymen James Garraway and Martin Mayes. The Anglican section of the cemetery was consecrated in 1840, the Roman Catholic cemetery was opened in 1860. The cemetery was extended in 1891, 1904 and 1944. (4)
The Cemetery extends over 45 acres. Prominent burials here include WD Wills, HO Wills, ES Robinson, A Robinson, George Muller, Urijah Rees Thomas, Mary Carpenter, Raja Rammohum Roy Bahadoor, Thomas Gadd Matthews, Mary Leonard Matthews, Robert Leonard, John Hare. The graves of many of these people are Listed Grade II. The tomb to Raja Rammohun Roy Bahadoor and the Matthews Tomb are Listed Grade II*. There is also a War Memorial, which is Grade II listed. [Please see individual child monument records for further details] (6)
Dr Thomas Tovey Smart, Lt James Gardner, Dr Joseph Williams, the Challenger Family, Susannah Clark, Jane Clark, Henry Clark, PC Richard Hill, Thomas Reynolds, Rev. John Adey Pratt, Elizabeth Padon, Francis Benn, Rev. Walter Whiting, Mary Whiting, Florence Harwood, Mary Breillat, Isabella Weston, Heber Denty, Francis Barber, James Bartlett, John Tilly and Thomas Lucas. The graves of these people are Listed Grade II. The tombstone of Heber Denty is made of wood and is very rare. [Please see individual child monument records for further details] (7)
In 1837 the Bristol General Cemetery Company was formed and petitioned Parliament for an Act to enable formation of a general cemetery in the City. Following the granting of the Act, the Company purchased the Arnos Vale Estate and in 1838 demolished the villa and commissioned plans for the laying out of the site and the construction of walls, lodges and chapels from Charles Underwood. This work appears to have been completed by October 1840 when the Anglican section of the cemetery was consecrated. (8)
The cemetery opened in 1839. The style of the chapels and gatelodges is NeoClassical. There is a WWI memorial, a WW2 Cross of Sacrifice, and a Commonwealth war grave for sailors. Prominent local people buried here include Sgt Henry Blanchard Wood, Maj Gen Gronow Davis, Lt GA Gardner, William Budd, Lant Carpenter, Robert Hall, Joseph Weston, Private Anthony Wilder, Sgt Maj James Kelly, Augustus Phillips, Mary Phillips and Bessie Burch. There is also an area of unmarked graves for paupers. (9)
A cemetery laid out 1837-40 by the Bristol General Cemetery Company to designs by Charles Underwood, with planting by the Bristol nurserymen James Garraway and Martin Mayes.
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
In the late-C18 the land which was to be developed as Arnos Vale Cemetery probably formed part of the estate associated with Arnos Court, a mansion built by William Reeves, a Bristol copper merchant c 1760-5 (Pevsner 1958; Pearson Assocs 1999). Reeves became bankrupt in 1774 and his estate was divided and sold. During the early-C19 a villa, known as Arno's Vale, was constructed to the west of Arnos Court and within the area subsequently developed as Arnos Vale Cemetery. A plan of the Arnos Vale Estate by George Ashmead (1830) shows that the villa was situated towards the north-east corner of the site with an entrance approximately on the site of the present principal entrance to the cemetery (copy plan included in Pearson Assocs, 1999). The villa was screened from Bath Road by a belt of boundary planting, while there was further boundary planting to the south and south-east. A combe ascending south-west from the villa was planted with clumps of trees. Much of this planting was retained when the cemetery was developed on the site of the villa.
By the mid C19 the burial grounds attached to the city's churches were essentially full. Matthew's Bristol Directory for 1845 noted that 'upwards of 2,400 bodies are now annually added to the mass of corruption already existent in about ten acres of ground, most of which is situate in densely populated districts of the city' (Pearson Assocs 1999). In 1837 the Bristol General Cemetery Company was formed and petitioned Parliament for an Act to enable the formation of a general cemetery in the vicinity of the city. Following the passage of the Act, the company proceeded to purchase the Arnos Vale Estate. In 1838 they demolished the villa and commissioned plans for the laying out of the site and the construction of walls, lodges, and chapels from Charles Underwood (c 1791-1883). This work appears to have been completed by October 1840 when the Anglican section of the cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. In 1841 the directors reported that the cost of purchasing the site, building the chapels, roads and other structures, planting, and preparing 112 brick graves for use had cost £13,340 (Annual Report, 1841). The Tithe map of 1843 shows that while only the eastern half of the site was initially appropriated for burials, the company retained existing tree belts to the north and west on land held in reserve for future expansion. This planting forms the backdrop to the cemetery in an engraved view of c 1850 (BRO). As early as 1845 the Bristol Mirror reported that the company had ordered the construction of new 'walks, paths and terraces' and the planting of some 2000 ornamental trees and shrubs under the direction of the Bristol nurserymen James Garraway and Martin Mayes (c 1801-58) (Pearson Assocs 1999). Despite these embellishments, it was not until 1855 when the city churchyards were finally closed that the cemetery began to see a significant rise in the number of interments (ibid). The late-C19 OS map (1882) indicates extensive ornamental planting within the cemetery, while comparison with the 2nd edition (1904) shows further development of the path pattern. In order to maximise the usable ground within the cemetery, new parallel walks were laid out within areas enclosed by the mid-C19 curvilinear drives.
Between 1855 and 1880 the company extended the area used for burials to encompass the whole estate purchased in 1837. A second Act of Parliament obtained in 1880 enabled the company to purchase additional land to the south of the original cemetery. A further extension was purchased in 1891. The western portion of this ground was laid out by 1904 (OS), while the remainder had been appropriated for burials by c 1944 (OS). To cater for changing fashion, a crematorium, cloister, and columbarium were designed by H G Laing of Lincoln's Inn, London in 1927. These structures, together with a garden of rest, were developed around the C19 Nonconformist chapel in 1927-9, and continued in use until 1998 (Pearson Assocs, 1999).
During the late-C20 revenue from the operation of the cemetery and crematorium decreased and reduced maintenance led to the growth of scrub and secondary woodland within the cemetery. In 1987 the site was sold to a new private owner, and proposals were made for the redevelopment of the upper sections of the cemetery; these plans were not implemented. Today (2002) the site remains in private ownership. (10)
A First World War memorial was erected in 1921 and was restored by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 2006. The remains of nearly 200 casualties of war lie in the triangle of ground in front of the monument, known as Soldiers Corner. The cemetery holds the remains of more than 600 military personnel from both World Wars.
In 1987 the cemetery was under threat of commercial development so Association for the Preservation of Arnos Vale Cemetery (now the Friends of Arnos Vale Cemetery) was formed to lobby its survial. In 2003 the site was purchased by Bristol City Council and it is now maintained by the Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust. Arnos Vale Cemetery reopened in May 2010 after a £5 million restoration project. (11) |