Were any of your ancestors buried at the Queens Road Cemetery in East Grinstead?

[Sarah Jones]

I am keen to learn about the lives of those laid to rest in the old Queens Road Cemetery in East Grinstead where it is believed almost 4,000 are buried. The cemetery has been closed for a number of years to the public due to landslip because of the topography of the land (being on a slope) and the historic presence of badgers in the cemetery which have rendered parts of the land hazardous for walking. I am passionate about restoring the Cemetery to allow relatives / friends to pay their respects in safe & serene surroundings. To that end, i am looking to start a "Friends of East Grinstead Cemeteries" and apply for funding. in order to achieve the funding in particular, i want to show that all lives matter and that everyone has a story - so if you have any stories and/or photographs you would be willing to share or you wish to be a part of setting up and running the "Friends" group - please get in touch

[dawnsh]

Hope you get replies for this, it's such a good idea.

Dawn

[Sarah Jones]

Me too! It is going to be a huge project but as Benjamin Franklin said “Show me your burial grounds and I’ll show you a measure of the civility of a community”

Cemeteries like Queens Road are rich  distinctive architecture and provide quiet places to commemorate our deceased. I also think that they are an invaluable educational tool to research genealogy, educate our youth or delve into our local history! Cemeteries often provide us with some of the earliest written local history. Headstones reveal names and dates for locally significant persons (although i believe everyone is significant). They offer glimpses into local illness and epidemics and tell of a community’s sacrifices in our nation’s wars (we have 4 war graves at Queens Road) so i am incredibly keen to bring this back into the community.

[dawnsh]

As I explained in one of your other posts, topics aren't routinely removed from Rootschat and are indexed very quickly by internet robots, so you may get posts in time rather than straight away.

You may want to post here the names inscribed on the war graves in case poeple are doing internet searches for them. 

[Sarah Jones]

Great suggestion!

PrivateVICKERY, W F
Service Number G/37223
Died 09/11/1918
Aged 24
3rd Bn.
Royal Sussex Regiment
Son of George and Annie Vickery, of 20, Durkins Rd., East Grinstead.

PrivateBOYLETT, HERBERT
Service Number 703129
Died 12/04/1917
Aged 25
23rd Bn.
London Regiment
Husband of Elsie Kate Boylett, of R/4, Queen's Rd., East Grinstead.

Shoeing SmithWHITING, RICHARD WILLIAM
Service Number TS/8365
Died 03/04/1917
No. 4 Coy. 41st Div. Train
Army Service Corps

SerjeantBALLARD, GEORGE BERNARD
Service Number 94516
Died 23/09/1917
"A" Bty. 52nd Bde.
Royal Field Artillery

[Sarah Jones]

Also laid to rest at Queens Road Cemetery is Sarah Elizabeth Wardroper (née Bisshopp; c. 1814–1892) who was matron of St Thomas' Hospital, London, and the first superintendent of the Nightingale School of Nursing at that hospital.

Florence Nightingale selected St Thomas' Hospital as the site for her new nurse training school. She and Henry Bonham Carter, as the secretary of the Nightingale Fund Council, worked closely together for decades to send out teams of trained matrons and nurses from St Thomas' to bring in the new high standards to other hospitals. She took visitors to St Thomas' to show how the reformed system operated, and visited hospitals on Nightingale's behalf which were considering the introduction of trained nursing.

Apparently, on Wardroper's death, Florence Nightingale wrote, "The Reform of Sick Nursing and the Late Mrs Wardroper”

[Sarah Jones]

Also of interest is Lady Emily Maria Somers-Cocks who was the youngest daughter of the late John 2nd Earl Somers and Caroline Harriet (Nee Yorke) who was the youngest daughter of Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwick K.G.

Lady Emily Maria Somers-Cocks (also spelled Cox) was laid to rest registered as a sister of mercy from St Margaret's in East Grinstead under "Sister Emily Maria" at Queens Road Cemetery.

Additionally, Emily's older sister, Caroline Margaret Courtenay (nee Cocks) was the maid of honor to Queen Victoria.

[forester]

Hello Sarah,

I have just come across your thread.

I was most disappointed, some years ago, on a return visit to East Grinstead to find that there was no access to the cemetery, just a high, solid fence, the chapels turned into private residences and a notice saying that you could book a brief visit in advance for £30, or similar.

I have fifteen members of my Gatton family buried there between 1869 and 1900 alone. That was gleaned from the first volume of the Burial Register. I have not been able to access the later volume, in which there should be many more.

Although they probably couldn't afford a headstone between them, I would have loved to have been able to just spend a bit of time there. I do hope that one day, Queen's Road will be accessible again.

Phil

[Romilly]

I too have many Pattenden and Dyer Ancestors Buried at Queens Road Cemetery.

The last time that I enquired about visiting, I too was quoted a charge.

However, the new Cemetery Officer is proposing free, but accompanied access. I had hoped to visit this summer, but it's quite a trek for me, - hopefully next Spring though!

Romilly.