Text provided by Mike de Carteret - 1999
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The Register of Inscriptions of Memorials that were to be found "en le Cimetere des Estrangers, en Ruette Meurtriere".(Now Upland Road.) Taken as far as possible completely in the year Jan.1933 by me.
Rev. P Carey-Curtis.
NB. From the History of The Cemetery, April 16th 1780 at a meeting Chef de Famille, called by the Rector and Church Wardens of the Parish of St Peter Port, to consider the purchase of land to form an additional cemetery to the one at Cimetiere des Freres, Rue des Freres, et Cimetiere des Soeurs, location Rue de Cornet, Which are insufficient for the needs of the parish.
Notes from the meeting indicate April the 18th a Proposal in favour of purchase, wardens autherised to find site.
23rd meeting called to be held on the 27th where the Wardens, reported that Reverend Wm. Dobree, had offered to sell, 2 vergees of his land at, Le Vallon ouest de Ruette Meurtriere, on the basis of 5qts per vergee, Parish to build at their own expense a fosse, (earth bank) 7 feet in height.
Shortly after the contract had been agreed ,it was found inadvisable to build earthworks of this height due to, continual danger of falling.
4th June 1780 meeting called to be held on 8th - replace earth with Croture. dry stone wall - on condition of Rev Wm. Dobree, to be allowed to deduct 1qtr from the 10 qtrs agreed price of land, Dobree rejected this,
Apparently on the grounds that the meeting had agreed the extra cost of Le Croture, be equally divided between both Parish and Rev Dobree, and Nicolas Dobree, present on the behalf of the vendor.
The 15th Oct of 1780 Rev Dobree"f inding that the cost of a 7'wall too much, offered to pay for a Wall of Masonry 8'high 22"wide, in place of the Croture agreed on the 8th June, this to be party wall rights. (Mitoyennete) being ceded to him and that the parish pay to him the price agreed on the 8th inst.
Tressor, date 30 Nov1781 cost of Wall to the Parish £225.6.0.tournois equivalent to £16.1.10.Sterling.
Date 29 Jun 1783 Paid to Rev Wm. Dobree, £305.19.4. proportion for walls valuation of Mess's. Chas Andros. Henry de Jersey. Experts.
Date 27Jul1784 further to accont, £66.0.0.Tournois paid to building "Pillars" gate posts.
Meeting Feb 1 1807 called for the 3rd,consider to close Ruette Meurtriere, as it was nearly impassible in winter! and to carry across the cemetery a New Road at the Expense to the Parish, for use of foot and horse traffic, the old road being added to the burial ground.
Meeting 24 Nov 1830.for widening the road, and seperate and enclose in a seemly manner and cede the necessary land. Scheduled Billet d'Etat. 30 March 1829, and referred to in Billet of 7 May 1830.Order in Council viz 16th July 1829, Cemetery "usually called Stranger's burying Ground" was for the Garrison and Strangers.
Along with this it was found necessary to erect a wooden fence proposed by the States to be paid for by the Parish at the cost of £65. This Wooden fence would not stop the "Unseemly Proceedings which took place in the Cemetery" £65 added to the cost would be sufficient to have a stone wall with balustrading and necessary gates in its place, this was agreed with a wall of 5' in height.
Meeting of 15 may 1833 called for the purpose of having a shed built in the Cemetery at the cost of £200,to house the Fire Engine, buckets etc. Constable, Douzaine to Superintend work.
Tresor was called to provide Vaults for the interment of paupers,2 Sep 1841, 10 Feb 1847, 28 Feb 1851 and again on 9 Mar 1853. Trustees objected to provide space in the New Candie Cemetery.
That Cemetery provided funds of £30 on the 15 June 1838 towards building a wall alongside the wall, which seperated property of Mr Wm. Brock from Strangers, in order to make use of the land on which formerly Rue Meurtriere used to bury Strangers in.
Cimetiere des Estranger, was rapidly becoming full by 1857. On the 8th May of that the Trustees of Candie Cemetry proposed that part of the Eastern Section where the Cholera Victims had been buried, should be set aside for construction of vaults for burying paupers, in similar to the vaults in Strangers. These were the last to be built. 9th March 1853.
Town Church Register gives 1847 as the date that specifically recorded burial.
But we have Peter Pilkington Br Nov 6 11782 age 60(GV64) They also say the last was buried on 18th May 1882 being Mary Picktheim age 72, However(GV 50) Jane Peveril wife of Cutherbert Johnson of Wallington County of Berkshire. died 20th Dec 1826 this Vault was to all intents and purposes open up till 1948 when my father James de Carteret was sent by his employer to break up the vault. He was stopped in the process, by some man saying I've to go in there yet son. He was at the time 56 years of age. As of this the work stopped, my father died in 1949 and the vault was still there in 1987 which raises a question or two.
On the 16 December 1928 a meeting was held of those in the Parish as to the future use and administration of the cemetery's to the Constables of St Peter Port. The Ecclesiastical Authorities having no futher use for them as no burials had taken place for some fifty years. To this end protocol, required that a notice of proposal be affixed to the door of the Town Church to give any Parishioner the opportunity of raising objection, if he should see fit to so do.
Agreed at this meeting "No further burials, should take place No buildings should be erected in the Cemeteries, No digging involving disturbance of the human remains be permitted that the land may be laid out as Gardens with Trees Shrubs and Pathways ,and that existing vaults should remain until by the process of time they perished, when it would be permissible to fill them in and level them off to the surrounding ground. Who broke their word and why to what end. Some of the stones moved to the side of the three front areas, near the road. Information to hand removed to a property in Mount Durand, to be used as paving slabs. On checking the rights of removal of Memorials with Winchester, I was told that a Faculty would be required to dispose of the stones, "The Ecclesiastical Court granted a Faculty on the 4th May 1929,to carry out the no further burials request of the 16th December 1928, not the disposal of the stones,
Rev P Carey-Curtis undertook the reading of the Memorials, of which there were some 500 line for line. and drawing up a index of his work.
Quotation. Church yards Hand Book.
1.The Name of the deceased person should be in full without abbreviation or addition.
2.The object of an epitaph is to identify the resting place of the mortal remains of the dead....'and perhaps some words which may console or instruct whoever reads it.
3.An epitaph becomes public property and it will be read by those who have no personal interest in the person to whom it refers.
St Peters Churchyard Liverpool. c 1700
Demolished 1922, builtover-a sacrifice on the altar of commerce by the church commissioners of the time. however the inscriptions were photographed before being destroyed.
Strangers Cemetery Memorial Book.
Project of Michael de Carteret,
Since May of 1987 I have been active in researching those burials whose stones were read by Carey-Curtis. The amount of History attached to those buried in this soil takes one around the world, from the French, and American Revolution's in Mathurin Hettier, Contesse d'Lardnoy émigré, Harmman Blennerhasset, Barr, of Upper Canada, sailors, Soldier's of Waterloo, Victims of human panic, Church lights go out 15 die, Cholera epidemics, and many more stories. I would hope I will be able to achieve a small biography of each burial or a correction to a worn stone. Working out the stones which only give initials and date. Known unto god.
Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit, spectmur agendo
Mike de Carteret
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