The Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery were very pleased to welcome local children from Year 4 of St. Catherine’s Catholic Primary School, Greystoke Gardens, Jesmond. Their Teacher, Ms. Barnes, is helping the children to explore World War 1 as part of their current studies, and we were asked to help them examine how WW1 is remembered and commemorated today. Four of our lovely Friends, Gary, Gill, James and Pauline, took the children on a tour of Jesmond Old Cemetery, looking at a range of graves and monuments where men and women had lost their lives during WW1. The children were particularly interested in hearing about the stories behind each individual’s private life, as well as their military life. Lots of questions were asked – they were all very curious – and, hopefully, we were able to provide them with the right answers!!

The children were all very respectful of the environment and it was a great pleasure to help them with their studies.

If any other local Schools would like us to arrange educational visits to Jesmond Old Cemetery, then do feel free to contact us.

Well, what a blast we had on the two tours we hosted as part of this year’s Jesmond Community Festival. We had a ‘full house’ of people joining us on both tours, the weather was fantastic and the coffee and cake afterwards was very well received!!! All in all, a great time was had by all, including ourselves, and the feedback and comments we received from the lovely people who came along on our tours, was music to our ears.

So, just a big ‘thank you’ to the organising committee behind the Jesmond Community Festival, particularly Chris Clarke – they do a great job and are very supportive of our efforts. We will, as ever, be taking part in future JCF’s, but if you missed out or can’t wait until next May, look out for details of our Heritage Open Day Festival tours, taking place this coming September.

As part of the Northumberland and Newcastle Society’s ‘Centenary Celebrations’, they had a display of books, publications and events that they have been involved in over the last 100 years. Amongst the fantastic array of interesting items on display was a drawing of an ‘alternative scheme for Jesmond Road presented by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society at the public enquiry 1973’.

At the bottom of the images, below, you can see that the proposal by the N.N.S. was to keep the grand entrance to Jesmond Old Cemetery, (given its original name of Newcastle General Cemetery here on the drawing), with a new westbound carriageway being built within the walled boundary of JOC, this area having previously been cleared of burials. This would result in a central, grassed area, separating the east and west bound carriageways, with traffic bypassing the now isolated entrance to JOC….. what an interesting solution to keeping such an iconic structure, whilst still accommodating the proposed dualling of Jesmond Road. A bit better than the original idea, which was to dismantle the arched entrance, along with the East and West Chapels, and rebuild them as a new feature at the ‘Crem’ on the West Road. Thankfully, as we now know, neither proposal came to fruition.

Some of the Friends attended the Christmas party held by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society last night at the Northumberland Golf Club. On sale was their new publication, ‘Our City, Our County: an anthology’, which is a celebration of the first 100 years of the N.N.S. For the anthology, members of the Society – the Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery are members – were asked to write about the buildings, features and landscapes that have a special meaning for them. So, we submitted a piece on Jesmond Old Cemetery, which was accepted for publication and is included in the book.

To see what we wrote about our special place, you could buy a copy of the book by clicking here: https://bit.ly/4iz5AGe

It’s a great Christmas present for anyone interested in our local heritage and history.

As part of our background work in improving our knowledge and understanding of the biodiversity within Jesmond Old Cemetery, we have recently carried out a survey of the lichen that is present throughout the cemetery. We had the help, experience and enthusiasm of Philip, Mima and Pru, as we identified the many lichens that live in JOC, particularly on the limestone and sandstone headstones that are obviously present there.

Philip, Mima and Pru (from extreme left to right) helping us identify tree lichens.

As well as helping us understand more about lichens, the survey is also helping to contribute to the content of our forthcoming ‘Walk on the Wildlife’ nature trail that we are busy designing. Watch out for further news on this development coming up soon!!

From a few pallets, kindly donated by Newcastle City Council, and the skill and expertise of James and Pauline, we now have two new, luxury ‘bug hotels’ in Jesmond Old Cemetery. They are a bit hidden away from human view, but we’re hoping potential ‘guests’ will be able to find the path to their new accommodation!!

Good quality pallets, for sure!!

Good foundations supporting the first three floors….

Bug Hotel completed….look at all that diversity of living quarters!!

Well, our Heritage Open Day’s were a great success, with over 60 people attending our two tours on the 7th and 12th September. We had some lovely ‘official’ feedback from the evaluation that the HOD staff conducted on our behalf, namely:

“It was a very interesting visit, the tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. The tour of the cemetery was respectful. I enjoyed the history aspect of the tour. I want to return to the site to find out more and maybe be  involved with the volunteers that operate there.”

“Very enjoyable and interesting because it opened a window on a lot of the history of Newcastle upon Tyne that I was not aware of. Was also interested to learn that The Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery exists as a group.”

“Very well organised by the Friends of Old Jesmond Cemetery – welcoming, knowledgeable, nice small group and very friendly. It made me interested in finding out more.”

So…..if you haven’t been on one of our fantastic tours, look out for future dates and get yourself on one….too good to miss!!

Heritage, History and Hospitality, all in one go.

On the 28th July 2024, the Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery, in conjunction with the Natural History Society of Northumbria, hosted a ‘Bio Blitz’. The idea was to find out exactly what crawls, flies, grows and walks in Jesmond Old Cemetery – a kind of urban safari, if you like – with a view to contributing to the Gosforth’s Wild Web project, and also to help us produce a wildlife trail of JOC, highlighting what can be found there, in addition to the gravestones and monuments!!

So, the sun shone, we had lots of visitors and, with help from the experts at the NHSN, we found and identified loads of flora, fauna and insects. Find out more by clicking here.

The Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery were asked by Izzy, a Student from Newcastle University, for help and advice with her Final Year Dissertation. Obviously, we were very keen to help Izzy with her work, entitled ‘Gravestones of Grief: revealing women’s experience of grief, mourning and loss in Jesmond Old Cemetery.’ The aims of Izzy’s study were to determine the extent to which graves JOC gravestones provide insights into the mourning experiences of women in Newcastle upon Tyne during the Victorian Era and to investigate whether these experiences changed over the Victorian period and whether gravestones reflect these changes.

A very detailed investigation by Izzy highlighted that, ‘overall, the gravestones at JOC encapsulate the shifting mourning experiences for women over the Victorian era, highlighting the profound emotional toll and resilience required to navigate these changes. They reflect the transition from a period marked by high maternal mortality to one where advancements in healthcare began to mitigate these losses, thus changing the nature and increasing the frequency of mourning for women. These gravestones
serve as poignant historical records, providing insight into the personal and collective experiences of grief specific to women and the changing landscape of Victorian Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Through meticulous documentation and analysis, this study reveals the profound impact of socio-economic and medical advancements on women’s experiences of grief ,mourning, and loss.’

Izzy was awarded a Distinction for her Dissertation – a great result…..many congratulations, Izzy.

Izzy on one of our tours, with Gary and Susie.

Izzy was kind enough to acknowledge the input of the Friends in her Dissertation, writing, ‘I am profoundly thankful to the Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery, whose invaluable assistance greatly enriched this study. Special thanks go to Pauline Martin and Ray Hayes for their dedicated efforts in providing historical context and facilitating access to critical resources.’

The Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery had a great time at this year’s JCF. As usual, we had lots of lovely people join us on our tours and everyone enjoyed themselves in the sunshine. As well as finding out more about some of the people buried in JOC, the discussions over a cup of coffee and a cake after our tours are always well received and, inevitably, we always find out additional information and stories from these nice chats, all of which adds to the growing body of knowledge about Jesmond Old Cemetery.

We are very grateful to Chris Clarke and his colleagues from the Jesmond Community Forum for their help in facilitating our involvement in the Festival and, if you’ve never been to any of the many events on offer before, make sure you do next year, including giving us a visit!!

Ray and his wellies talking about Arthur Munro Sutherland

James highlighting the life of Julia Darling.

Gary and Susie entertaining their group of visitors!!

Tea, coffee and craic afterwards….