South Park Street Cemetery

South Park Street Cemetery
South Park Street Cemetery
	South Park Street Cemetery main entrance
Details
Established	1767; 257 years ago
Location	Park Street, Kolkata
Country	India
Coordinates	22°32′47″N 88°21′37″E / 22.54639°N 88.36028°E
Type	Historic
Owned by	Christian Burial Board, Kolkata

South Park Street Cemetery, formerly known as the 'Great Christian Burial Ground', was one of the earliest non-church cemeteries in the world.

Mother Teresa Sarani (also known as Park Street), Central Kolkata, India

.

History

The burial ground, along with a new road leading to it, known as the Burial Ground Road, was built in 1767. The cemetery and the road were later renamed Park Street after a private deer park established by Sir

cemetery

was opened to the east of the Lower Circular Road.

After the independence of India, the Park Street cemeteries were decided to be leveled off, as funding for the colonial civil cemeteries were withdrawn. This decision met with resistance from Anglo-Indian citizens of Calcutta.^[1] In 1953, the North Park Street Cemetery was decided to be demolished, and the income obtained by leasing the land was used to upkeep the South Park Street Cemetery.^[1] In the late 1970s, the cemetery came under the purview of the Association for the Preservation of Historical Cemeteries in India (APHCI) and the Christian Burial Board.

In 1984, Apeejay Trust attempted to demolish the cemetery in order to build an arts center, which was later stopped by an intervention from the Calcutta High Court.^[4]^[5] Nevertheless, substantial damage had already been done by then, and many graves were lost. The grave of Charles Stuart was destroyed (and was later restored) and the demolition of Derozio's grave had been initiated. In the early 2000s, a restoration project was launched to conserve the cemetery's heritage and prevent its further deterioration.

Notable tombs

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809–1831), teacher and poet, pioneer of the Young Bengal movement
Sir
Asiatic Society
Lieutenant-General Sir John Clavering (c.1722–1777), army officer and diplomat
Augustus Cleveland
(1754-1784), colonial administrator
Captain Edward Cooke (1772–1799), Royal Navy officer
George Bogle (1746–1781), diplomat
Colonel
Indian Botanic Garden
Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Mackenzie (1754–1821), Surveyor General of India
Lieutenant-Colonel Valentine Blacker (1778-1826), Surveyor General of India
Sir John Hadley D'Oyly, 6th Baronet (1754–1818), politician
Major-General Charles Stuart (1758–1828), army officer and Indophile, popularly known as “Hindoo Stuart”
Walter Landor Dickens, son of English novelist Charles Dickens. He was buried initially in Bhowanipore war cemetery, and the tombstone was later moved here in 1987.
Grave no. 363 of an unknown woman (d. 1825) whose epitaph reads “A virtuous mother”.

Architecture

The cemetery is considered to be an important example of colonial-era architecture, with its Gothic-style tombs and monuments, mixed with the rich flavor of the Greek, Egyptian, and Indo-Saracenic styles. In certain instances, elements from Hindu architecture and Islamic tombs have also been adopted.^[6] Many of the monuments in the cemetery are adorned with intricate carvings, sculptures, and epitaphs. The structures are primarily constructed of sandstone, marble, and bricks, and feature a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from simple headstones to grand mausoleums.

Gallery

South Park Street Cemetery
Main gate
The marble plaque which reads: "South Park Street Cemetery, opened 1767, closed 1790"
The pavilions inside the cemetery
A tomb inside the cemetery
The tomb of Charles Stuart, known as "Hindoo Stuart"
The tombs inside the cemetery
Tomb of Sir Henry Vivian Derozio