Aspects of Kentish Local History

Some Kentish Gravestones & other notes

St Nicholas Cemetery, Rochester M.I.s & other information with Index of names

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Monumental Inscriptions of St Nicholas Cemetery, Maidstone Road, Rochester
                                                                                     - recorded by D. E. Williams 2007-08

LOOKING EAST FROM MAIDSTONE ROAD, 2008
CLEARANCE IS WELL UNDER WAY: OVER THE PREVIOUS TWENTY YEARS THE ANGEL ON THE
 SKYLINE GRADUALLY DISAPPEARED FROM SIGHT UNDER INCREASING UNDERGROWTH. BEFORE 
THE CLEARANCE ONE COULD STAND FEET FROM IT AND NOT BE AWARE OF IT'S PRESENCE

Introduction

St. Nicholas Cemetery lies on high ground, on the eastern side of Maidstone Road, less than a mile from Rochester High Street. About 3 acres in area, the cemetery was apparently consecrated on June 2nd 1856. It was the first of Rochester’s new cemeteries, which replaced the old parish graveyards in the centre of Rochester, (neighbouring St. Margaret’s Cemetery opened in 1865); the old graveyard closed on 1st. of July 1856, in accordance with the Metropolitan Burial Act of 1852. St. Nicholas parish covered the centre of the old city, including the High Street, where many of the merchants, professional people, shopkeepers and tradesmen buried in the new cemetery, lived; also buried here are 17 of Rochester’s mayors.
   556 monuments were recorded in the winter and early spring of 2007– 08.
   In November 2007 the cemetery was suffering from at least 15 years of neglect; self sown sycamores, ivy, brambles and wild roses had grown unchecked, smothering many of the monuments and in some cases causing structural damage and displacement; some monuments were so densely covered that several weeks passed before their presence was detected.
   In January 2008, Medway Council acted to remedy the situation, and under the direction of Mr. Alan Hardy, volunteers began the hard work of clearing the sycamores and other undesirable vegetation; urgent structural repairs were also begun; hopefully, the remedial work will continue.
   Those seeking further information will find excellent sources at the Medway Archives and Local Study Centre, currently at Strood. The burial registers, on microfilm are held here, (also available on-line on City Ark to 1888). Ancestry on-line census records are available, (and at Medway and Kent County Council libraries); there is also a census card index, 1841-91, at the archives. A great number of the people buried in the cemetery have very detailed obituaries and funeral reports in local newspapers, copies of which are available on microfilm at the archives. There is an index to the "Chatham News", 1899-1960 (with a small gap); inquests are also reported in detail.
   Also available on City Ark are excellent photographic portraits of 12 men buried in the cemetery who were members of the Rochester Book Society in the last quarter of the 19th century. The same site contains the Couchman Collection of photographs, including many of Rochester High Street. There are additional photographs of Rochester in the collections of the archives.
   Local historian, Edwin Harris, in his "Recollections of Rochester", published in the "Chatham, Rochester & Gillingham Observer" during the 1930’s wrote about the buildings of the High Street , together with personal memories of many 19th century citizens.
   Another valuable source containing references to many of the people buried in the cemetery is the "Times", available on-line at Medway archives and libraries. The death notices are the main source but there are also some news items and a few wills reported; many of the "Times" death notices state place of, and cause of death, as well as relationships.
                                                                                                               D.E. Williams July 2008

SECTIONS   It should be noted that these sections are the transcriber’s and do not relate to any "official "sections

Section A   comprises the whole area north of the main (west – east) cemetery road as far as the north wall and from the Maidstone Road to the transverse tarmac path just east of the monuments to John Ross Foord, Henry Pye and John Nightingale Boys.

Section B   is a narrow strip bounded on the north by the main cemetery road and on the south by a tarmac path which extends most of the length of the section to the east.

Section C   comprises the area north of the cemetery road to the north wall and from the western end of Section A to the tarmac path just east of the large Foord family monument.

Section D   lies east of Section C and again is bounded by the cemetery road on the south and the north wall, it extends to the path east of the Wyles, Norton and Peche monuments.

Section E  comprises the area just east of the lodge garden boundary, it is separated from Section B on the north by a tarmac path, it’s southern edge forms the boundary with St. Margaret’s Cemetery. The eastern boundary is the path which runs in front of the group of Watson headstones.

Section F   lies immediately east of Section E bounded north and south as Section E , it extends to the east as far as the north-south tarmac path.

Section G   is east of Section F , bounded north and south as before. It ends on the path which leads south into St. Margaret’s Cemetery.

Section H   comprises the area north of the road to the north wall, from the path where Section D ends to the former tree line on the east marked by the John Anthony headstone.

Section I   runs parallel with Section H on the south side of the main road, the path to St. Margaret’s Cemetery on the west and the former tree line on the east, now marked by the line of monuments, Bell on the north through Sutton to Taylor on the south, where St. Margaret’s Cemetery forms the boundary.

Section J   lies north of a projected line along the middle of the main road (which formerly ran through this area to the east), to the north wall. It is immediately east of Section H and ends on the east at the almost empty grassy area, Section L.

Section K   lies south of a projected line through the middle of the main road,(which formerly ran through this area to the east). Section I is on it’s western boundary and St. Margaret’s Cemetery on the southern. It ends in the east at the open area of grass, Section L.

Section L   is an open area of grass bounded by the northern and eastern walls and St. Margaret’s Cemetery; it contains only two visible monuments.

Plan of Sections

Index of Names - from gravestones only   -   Inscriptions are arranged alphabetically.

Locate the name you are interested in and note the letters/numbers following. Using the links below, jump to the Section containing the letter/number. Click on Edit at the top left of your screen, and from the drop down menu, click on Find on this page  (if Edit is not showing press CTL + F together) and type in the name. The cursor will jump straight to the name, highlighting it. Be sure to click on Next at the top, in case the name occurs again.
   Be sure to use the same method to search for any other names that you are interested in not listed below.
   Happy ancestor hunting.

Sections   A     1-75    B    76-107     C 108-146     D 147-176     E 177-193     F 194-225 

               G  226-244    H 245-322     I  323-372     J  373-434      K  435-553    L  554-555

Locate the name you are interested in and note the letters/numbers following. Using the links above, jump to the Section containing the letter/number. Click on Edit at the top left of your screen, and from the drop down menu, click on Find on this page  (if Edit is not showing press CTL + F together) and type in the name. The cursor will jump straight to the name, highlighting it. Be sure to click on Next at the top, in case the name occurs again.
   Be sure to use the same method to search for any other names that you are interested in not listed above.
   Happy ancestor hunting.