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The original St Faith's church was
built about 1150 on what could have been the site of an
earlier Saxon church and its adjoining graveyard
provided Havant's main burial ground.
The parish records covering the period
of 1653 to 1851 record that some 6,000 departed souls
were buried there and from this figure it has been
estimated that the graveyard could contain the remains
of over 20,000 people. Most of these would not have been
in individual coffins but be placed side by side or on
top of each other.
As the graveyard became full it would
have become necessary to bring in further earth that
resulted in its original level being raised to what we
see today. (The 1853 drawing of the crossroads shows
the church wall to be much higher).
However by 1851 further burials became
difficult without disturbing those already there or the
tombstones that it had become the practice to erect. It
was therefore decided that a new burial ground
(cemetery) was required and this was achieved through
the generosity of Sir George Staunton of Leigh Park who
was `Lord of the Manor of Havant and Flood'.
The following record of its
establishment is taken from Charles Longcroft's
“Topographical Account of the Hundred of Bosmere”
published in 1856:
The site was presented to the parish [of Havant] by Sir George Staunton,
and the subsoil is flint gravel. The mortuary chapel
and necessary walling have been erected by subscription.
One statute acre has been inclosed for the members of
the Church of England, and one quarter of a statute acre
for the dissenters. The inclosure walls are of
flint and brick. The entrance gateway and the chapel
are built of flint, with Caen stone dressings.
The style of the work is Gothic, and the chapel will
accommodate about fifty persons. The windows are of
stained glass, the floor of red and black tiles six
inches square, and there is an outer iron gate which is
closed during the day, the inner door being left open to
secure proper ventilation. A small turret and bell
complete the whole, and the total sum expended did not
exceed £416, of which the chapel cost £200.
The first Church of England burial was
that of Merinda Fearn, aged 28, which took place on 29
August 1851. As by now everyone a separate grave space
the cemetery filled up much quicker than the old
graveyard and by 1895 it had become full so more land
was required.
Fortunately alongside the cemetery was
the Stone's allotment site. This was an area of land
given by Sir George Staunton's successor at Leigh Park,
William Stone, to be held in trust for the establishment
of allotments for
`the labouring classes of the Parish of Havant'.
On 25 March 1895 the Urban District
Council of Havant entered into an agreement with the
trustees to exchange 1 acre 3 roods 8 poles (0.73
hectare) of the allotment site for a similar area of
land to the north to enable the cemetery to be extended.
An enclosing wall that matched the original was
constructed which was topped with metal railings. These
railings were removed to help the 1939-45 war effort.
Whether they did or not is debatable as I have seen it
recorded that much of the metal that was collected was
not suitable for further use and was dumped.
Fortunately the fine entrance gates survived.
The first burial took place on 31 July
1896 and was that of Edward Till. Edward was a council
road foreman and had died of cancer at the early age of
45. Like so many council workmen he was also a
volunteer fireman so he was accorded the honour of
having his body conveyed to the cemetery on the fire
engine that was drawn by two black horses.
It can be seen from the 1897 Ordnance
Survey map that a `nonconformist' mortuary chapel
had been built but by 1940 the reference to it had been
changed to `general' mortuary chapel. It was
still in use in the early 1950's when the service for my
grandmother was held there but at some time later it
fell into disuse or disrepair and was demolished. It is
not known when the original chapel was demolished.
Laurie Booth has, by means of
`dowsing', located the foundations of both of these
chapels. In addition he has found clear evidence of a
third, previously unknown chapel to the south of the
second chapel. This chapel was smaller than the other
two but appears to have had an altar and an aisle with
three pews on either side. Two footpaths lead off from
its west door, the one going towards Leigh Park and the
other towards Havant.
This `new' cemetery, which
contains approximately 6,000 burials, provided
sufficient space until about 1976 when it was closed for
new burials. However burials are still taking place in
those graves where there is an adequate depth and with
the permission of the grave owner. There are about 600
`common', that is `unpurchased', graves
that could be reused in the future if legislation
permits.
Researched by
Ralph Cousins, Chairman of “Friends of
Havant Borough Council Cemeteries”
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