Yesterday evening we enjoyed another guided walk around Radnor Street cemetery, despite leadened skies which threatened rain but thankfully held off until the very end.

We arrived early to open the chapel and set up and as usual people passing through popped in to say hello.

For many the cemetery is just that, a short cut.

“I’ve walked through here hundreds of times but never really looked,” one said to me.

There is no more peaceful place to be then up at Radnor Street Cemetery. One local resident, who enjoys the wild life haven on her doorstep, expressed concern that we might be encouraging lots of people into the cemetery.

Once upon a time, when society had a different attitude to death, the cemetery would have been a busy place. William Hooper’s Edwardian view shows plenty of activity going on. Graves were regularly attended to and flowers placed even on those without a stone or memorial. Older people who join our walks have memories of visiting the cemetery as children, often with grandparents attending the graves of their parents, something that doesn’t happen now.

Today no one speaks about death, until faced with the inevitable. In the past we were better at embracing death, now we want the partying to go on forever and are shocked when it suddenly looks like coming to an end.

We could learn some lessons from the people of Wootton Bassett whose respect for the repatriated servicemen killed in Afghanistan has made national news. Once people would stop and bow their head when a funeral cortege passed by, but who does that now?

For me, however, Radnor Street Cemetery is full of life, perhaps a strange thing to say about a cemetery.

Last evening we learned about John Puzey who returned from the First World War shell shocked and a broken man who lived out the rest of his days at Roundways Mental Hospital in Devizes. One lady on our walk could remember other soldiers, returning from the horrors of the Great War, supposedly the war to end all wars, who were similarly afflicted.

But then there was Elias Isaac Webb, who I like to think of as my Victorian version of local born artist Ken White. In 1958 Ken entered the Works as an apprentice working first as a rivet hotter before moving on to become a sign writer in the carriage and wagon works. Ken sat his GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels at evening classes, eventually leaving the Works to become a full time art student at Swindon Art School. He later went on to work for Richard Branson, among others, and created the Scarlet Lady emblem which appears on the Virgin aircraft. Ken is perhaps best known for his murals, many of which used to adorn the streets of Swindon. The Golden Lion Bridge mural near the former Whale Bridge roundabout is one of the few that still remain intact.

Born in 1864 in Westbury, Elias Isaac Webb was also an artistic young man and he too entered the Works as a painter and sign writer. However, with few opportunities open to a working class Victorian family man, Elias’s artistic endeavours were destined to remain a hobby. In his spare time he painted landscapes in oils, many of which remain within the family today. Elias continued in the Works for 48 years. In old age he was at last able to indulge his hobby and aged 83 he won first prize in a local exhibition.

As beautiful as the cemetery is with its woodpecker and its wild flowers, the foxes and squirrels, it actually has a far great beauty – the lives of the people who lie there.

For details about forthcoming events check out The Friends of Radnor Street Cemetery facebook page.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here