Survey Data
Reg No
30319007
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Archaeological, Architectural, Social
Original Use
Graveyard/cemetery
In Use As
Graveyard/cemetery
Date
1450 - 1860
Coordinates
130207, 225048
Date Recorded
11/09/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Graveyard, established c.1500 and in continual use to today, with various cut-stone grave markers and mausolea, earliest visible date being 1745, although inscriptions on many markers now weathered beyond recognition. Gravelled paths, grassed areas and shrubs between graves. Pentagonal in plan with bare limestone rubble enclosing walls with camber-headed entrance having coursed limestone pillars, parapet with cross finial over cornice and cut limestone voussoirs with wrought-iron gate. Four-bay chapel to south of entrance, having flat corrugated-iron roof and roughly coursed limestone walls, whitewashed to front elevation. Plaque depicting carved skull and crossbones, of nineteenth-century date, commemorating dedication of cemetery to St Augustine, applied to front elevation. Lancet widow openings having replacement stone sills and limestone voussoirs with replacement uPVC windows. Square-headed entrance opening having double-leaf wrought-iron gates. Altar to rear comprised of reused tooled, carved limestone grave slabs. Plaque commemorating burial of sailors from Spanish Armada of 1588 displayed on northern wall. Grave of Augustinians marked by ten-foot high Celtic cross and contains burials dating back to 1860.
Appraisal
This cemetery is located on the site of the original Augustinian friary and an inscribed plaque in Latin commemorates the dedication of the site to St Augustine in 1500. The extension and entrance gateway dates to 1852. In 1602, noting the strategic value of the hill, the friary was walled and turned into a star-shaped fort with the church converted into a store. In 1652 the Corporation ordered the demolition of the entire monastery to prevent Cromwellian soldiers capturing it. An extensive cemetery, it forms a picturesque landmark in the city. A number of the grave markers are of some design merit, and attest to high quality craftsmanship, while the gateway and boundary wall to the perimeter of the site form and attractive feature in the townscape.