Wednesday 24 July 2013

Chatham Cemetery - Maidstone Road

 
LOCATION:

The site is located on Maidstone road in Chatham, Kent. The nearest station would be Chatham station, however, it is a bit of a walk. There are buses that pass by there however,

FIRST OPENED:

It was first opened in 1859.

FAMOUS RESIDENTS:

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ALSO KNOWN AS:

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SIZE & LAYOUT:

The site is of a rectangular shape. As to the actual size of it, I couldn't find out.

THE WALKABOUT:

I seem to have got myself into a bit of a bad habit lately. As I now live in a new town, I am finding it hard locating all the local graveyards (without having to go into London). Instead, I seem to be doing these guides on places that I just come across, which granted, is not always a bad thing, but I feel like I cannot fully give my time to the place like I would do had I planned to go there. Anyway, that said, I was on a trip and I went past this beautiful looking, and very big, graveyard that I had no idea was this close to where I live. What did I do? Pulled in to investigate it of course! On entering however, as my very bad luck would have it, there was a funeral taking place and it was quite a big one. I have never been one to show disrespect so I had to be extremely careful whilst walking around. The funeral plot was quite near the church so unfortunately I could not have a closer look at it.

When you enter, you will notice that it seems a lot bigger from the inside than it does from the outside. Strange I know, but if you look in on it, it just looks quite big, when you are inside however, it seems huge, almost like you are in another world. Despite the fact that it is smack bang next to a main road, and a busy one at that, you can barely hear it. Everyone knows how much I love my peace and quiet! There is a huge chapel straight in front of you with and arch way in the middle. The site apparently has a Jewish section with a synagogue. I will be honest, I couldn't find much evidence of one and the exterior of the chapel is hardly stereotypical Jewish. It could have been inside but I can't say for certain. One for you guys to investigate.

I honestly thought that a big place like this would be pretty packed out but a lot of it is actually quite sparse! Right in one of the far corners there is even a monument which is just standing there all on its own. One thing I did find out whilst walking around is that there had been a recent case of vandalism which utterly disgusts me. Some of the graves were so badly damaged, they had to take them away to get them repaired. People like that truly make me sick. Near the back is a patch of land which I believe they are turning into a nature site. It has a wooden fence around it and I believe that it is a memorial garden. It is stunning and it will only look better through time.

Despite the size, it is very well maintained which pleases me! The one thing that I love about it the most is the presence of trees. They look especially gorgeous at this time of year. There are even wild bushes of flowers which are actually looked after as apposed to people just cutting them away. My stay was cut short by the funeral procession. I felt quite bad about being there so decided to cut my trip short and leave. As beautiful as the place was, it was someone Else's day to shine.

ANY GHOSTS?:

Upon my arrival, like I mentioned before, there was a funeral going on. This right away, like it would most people, made me very sad and at the same time, quite spiritual. Again, I had not prepared myself for going there so I didn't expect anyone to be prepared for me! Most times I would put not catching something down to a bad day but today, I think it is more of a case of they were busy welcoming someone home....and I was happy enough with that.

FINAL (RESTING) WORD:

Aside from the awful incident which happened there, it really is a beautiful place and I would still suggest it to anyone. Those of you who know me well enough know that I do not promote disrespect to a resting place in any shape or form so if you decide to go there, treat it well! It is one of the biggest ones in Kent so make sure you truly take some time to really appreciate it.


"Respect those who are not physically here, you can’t see them but they can see you, and disrespect is something they don’t want to see"

RATING: 4/5 - Certainly one to go an see, it is guaranteed to be beautiful in any weather.

LINKS: N/A
 

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