……. On A Sunny Afternoon

Friday was the perfect day to do something I've wanted to do for a long time. In fact, for years. The day was perfect, the sun was shining, all was well with the world and Anna was available and interested in joining me for this trip.

Every time I went by on the bus I was curious to see what lay beyond the railings:

The Nottingham Central Cemetery a.k.a. The Rock Cemetery

         

Is this weird or morbid?……….no. Cemeteries offer an oasis of calm and contemplation in the midst of a busy city. They can be of historical significance with beautiful artwork and architecture and also offer us a glimpse of times gone by. Also wandering around old cemeteries is a VERY British thing to do (in case anyone thinks I'm a bit weird!). Besides,  as my Polish Babcia told me for years: "One should never be afraid of the dead, it's the living one should be afraid of."

                                          How true!

The Rock Cemetery is quite unusual and unlike any other cemetery I've visited. It's called 'The Rock" by locals because of the sandstone rocks and caves on which it is built. The site was originally an old sand quarry and adjoins the Forest Recreation Ground which once formed the start of the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood tales. At one time, the City Gallows stood just outside the main entrance but these were dismantled after the last public execution in 1827 when a 45 year old William Wells was hanged for robbery!

 The Lodge at the entrance to the Forest Recreation Ground

Sandstone cliffs and terraces

Beautiful monuments in memory of loved ones:

Many of the city's Founding Fathers and their families are buried here:

Daughter of John and Annie Gregg, aged 16

The family grave of Thomas Cutts Seal, Lace Manufacturer.

His first wife, Helen, died at age 29 followed by their daughter, Nellie Beatrice, age 3 years, the next day.

His second wife, died aged 30, and Thomas himself died at the relatively young age of 52. One can just imagine the grief he must have felt on burying two wives and his only child.

This could be a Hobbit house or ……..

from The Chronicles of Narnia…... with yellow gorse growing in the front yard!

There were many small alcoves and recesses forming columbaria built into the sandstone cliffs for cremated remains

And then we both saw red!!!!

Many of these plaques had been smashed and the containers removed. We saw smashed wooden boxes and ashes on the ground at our feet!! What senseless vandalism and why??? I just cannot fathom what would possess someone to do this? I had read that vandalism in cemeteries happens but this was the first time I had actually witnessed it.

It got worse:

We walked towards these caverns built into the sandstone. If you look closely you can see these have been closed off to the public with iron grilles. These had originally been excavated to form catacombs for the rich and titled but had not been used. We could see the light at the end of the tunnel on the right hand side cave and then we saw a newish grocery bag. Out of the gloom came a heavily accented and quavery voice ………... "Don't be frightened!"

And being the brave (foolhardy) souls we are, and in the words of the late and great:

We hot -footed down the path!

We were totally shaken, not only by the senseless vandalism but by the disembodied voice!

And then…. hurtling down the path towards us and looking like The Hound of the Baskervilles with bright-red tongue hanging out, a fierce looking dog appeared:

More vandalism!

And the bright red tongue turned out to be a ball he was holding in his mouth! His owner was very knowledgeable about the cemetery and showed us some points of interest. There's Anna being distracted by his second dog!

That's Connie on the left and Sam on the right. I don't know why I thought Connie was The Hound of the Baskervilles! Both dogs were rescue dogs and had been abused by previous owners; Connie had her front legs smashed by her owner and was leery of people but both were very friendly.

We were shown this beautiful spot:

St. Ann's Valley. 

This was the site of the original sand quarry and was further excavated by the working poor of Nottingham; catacombs and a road were built on the far side. This area was originally intended for the wealthy but for some reason did not prove popular and was then set aside for the poor. All the long rectangular slabs are paupers graves, used until the early 1900's and holding 15 to 20 bodies in each grave. Many of those buried here are infants and neonates, some only a few hours old. If you look closely, the few monuments there have also been vandalized.

 Against the far wall, you can see an upright headstone. This belongs to a First World War soldier who died  in 1915. He was originally buried in the paupers grave. Many years later when this was discovered, the War Graves Commission set up a military headstone at his grave. What a beautiful and tranquil spot….. unfortunately such a sad history.

Our dog owner told us that vandalism was rampant at the graveyard and the voice we heard probably belonged to a young Polish man (hence the accent!) that lived in the cave.We probably scared him more than he scared us!! Reading up and asking around after our visit, we learned that the caves are often used by transients and that the cemetery has also been used in the past for Satanic rituals…..

We left, disquieted by what we had seen. That feeling continued over the weekend. Such a pity that such a beautiful and peaceful resting place should be abused in such a way. Totally true what Babcia had told me so many years ago……

And…... on the way home:

Something a bit more uplifting: camellias and magnolias in full bloom!

Talk soon

Zoe