It's not long until the Queen's Jubilee celebrations begin. To mark this Platinum Jubilee, Ford Park Cemetery will be putting on a number of events. To begin there will be a display in the Visitor Centre from Saturday 12th June until Thursday 17th June.

Please note, however that we will not be having our regular Bric-a-Brac stalls at the cemetery over the Bank Holiday weekend (4th June), the stalls will return on the 11th.

The Bric a Brac & Craft stall will be closed this Saturday 4th June due to our Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The Visitors Centre will be closed 19^th May due to a wake.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Our next exhibition starts on Saturday, Murder, Mystery & Mayhem in Victorian Plymouth.

Today (Wednesday) is the final day of our Artists in Residence exhibition at the Visitor Centre so if you haven't yet had a chance to call in to view it, today is your last opportunity.

And the final poster of our exhibition to be exhibited here features the paintings of George Henry Jenkins.

We feature another three local artists today, Charles Edward Brittan, his son, also called Charles Edward, and William Brace Darton.

Next Sunday evening (22nd May) at 7pm, the Heritage Team will be leading a walk around the cemetery, telling stories of murder and misadventure in Victorian Plymouth.

These are all new stories, researched during the periods of lockdown in 2021, and are sure to make you relieved that you live in 21st century Plymouth.

The tea room will be open afterwards but we'll understand if you feel the need to slip away for something stronger!

We hope you will join us but can't guarantee you a good night's sleep afterwards.

Some dramatic images on this poster show the skills of Richard Brydges Beechey, including a rare view of both Eddystone lighthouses before one was moved to Plymouth Hoe.

Two more local artists, Philip Mitchell and William Pike, who produced rather beautiful paintings of the coast and countryside of Devon and Cornwall.

The Box holds a large collection of the works of Philip Mitchell.

Plymouth born Francis Lane is our next featured artist and as is apparent from the poster, he was primarily a portrait painter.

Works from a selection of three artists form today's offering as we feature James Cobham Harris, John Barrett and James Penson

Charles Lock Eastlake was a neo-classical painter.

One of his early works was of Napoleon on board the Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound. Later he became the first Director of the National Gallery.

Today it's the turn of the man known as "The Barbican Artist".

William Gibbons was born in Exeter but moved to Plymouth and worked from a studio on the old Commercial Wharf.

The Box hold a number of his works.

We could not have wished for better weather for our first Heritage walk on Sunday. About 40 people came along to walk in the sunshine and hear the stories of local artists who are featured in our exhibition, Artists in Residence.

Another father and son are featured today, Richards Lyde Hornbrook and Thomas Lyde Hornbrook, whose works were rediscovered in a rarely used basement of a London art gallery in 1982.

Another Cornishman is the subject of our third poster. Edward Opie was known primarily as a portrait painter but also painted Cornish life in celebration of the love of the county of his birth.

Today we turn to Cornishman Samuel Cook and his son, William, both of whom produced some beautiful paintings of the Devon and Cornwall coastline.

Plymouth History Festival 2022 begins today and over the next 12 days we will be sharing images of our current exhibition posters - Artists in Residence - but not all of them. If you want to enjoy the full experience of our exhibition please come along to the Visitor Centre. 

For the duration of the Festival, the Visitor Centre and tea room will be open every day (apart from Tuesday 10 May when the Visitor Centre will be closed for a funeral and wake).

Our first poster celebrates the work of Cornelius Francis James.

PLEASE NOTE

The offices and Visitor Centre will be closed on Thursday 5th May as the premises are being used as a Polling Station.

The offices will be open as usual on Friday 6th May and the Visitor Centre will open again from Saturday 7th May

PLEASE NOTE

The offices and Visitor Centre will be closed on Thursday 5th May as the premises are being used as a Polling Station.

The offices will be open as usual on Friday 6th May and the Visitor Centre will open again from Saturday 7th May

Our first public walk of the year will be on Sunday 8th May at 2pm starting from the Visitor Centre. The theme of this walk supports our current exhibition, Artists in Residence, and is part of the 2022 Plymouth History Festival 

https://plymouthhistoryfestival.com/2022-events/

We look forward to welcoming you to the cemetery.

The Bric a Brac & Craft Stall will be open in the Northey Room and Visitor Centre this Saturday 22nd May from 10.30am - 1.30pm.

Usual refreshments available including bacon rolls @ £2.00.

All donations, except electrical good and clothes, will be gratefully accepted.

Look forward to seeing you all - The Friends of Ford Park Cemetery.

The Bric a Brac, books, DVDs & Craft Stall etc will be open in the Visitors Centre, on Saturday, 15^th May 2021, from 10.30am until 1.30pm,  plus usual refreshments including bacon rolls. 

Please come and support us.

The Visitor Centre will be closed this Saturday 8th May (no Bric a Brac sale) due to bad weather.

Look forward to seeing you next Saturday 15th May.

The baby graves have been inspected this morning and the area tidied up, it is definitely the birds. We have the same problem every year when the birds are nesting, they remove things from the graves.

 Please be assured there has been no damage caused to the monuments.

The Cemetery grounds will remain closed and the gates locked every Saturday and Sunday until further notice.

The baby graves have been inspected this morning and the area tidied up, it is definitely the birds. We have the same problem every year when the birds are nesting, they remove things from the graves.

 Please be assured there has been no damaged caused to the monuments.

Ford Park Cemetery goes to great lengths to ensure that the cemetery and graves are maintained to a respectful standard. We are aware of the potential emotional impact on people, especially parents.

We have recently had issues with rooks attacking the babies garden, they seem to be attracted to shiny objects and are pulling toys apart for nesting material. It is currently the nesting season and the days are long. They are powerful birds.

In looking at the photographs, it looks like this may be the problem rather than vandals.
The garden will be inspected first thing Monday to tidy up the area and establish the cause.

The Cemetery grounds will remain closed and the gates locked every Saturday and Sunday until further notice.

Our heritage team will be leading another walk this weekend to complement our current exhibition, Plymouth's Lost Churches.

The walk is on Sunday 26th May starting from the Visitor Centre at 2pm.

The cafe will be open from 12.30 so there is an opportunity to browse the exhibition and perhaps enjoy a tea or coffee and a slice of cake before the walk.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Our next event during Plymouth History Festival will be on Wednesday 22 May at 7.30pm in the Victorian Chapel.

We are delighted to welcome guest speaker Graham Naylor who will be giving a talk on Plymouth's Lost Churches.

Graham is an entertaining speaker who has carried out extensive research on this topic. Tickets are available in advance from the cemetery office at £3 or you can take a chance that there will be some places available on the night and pay at the door.

The visitor centre and cafe will be open for refreshments and an opportunity to view our current exhibition on Plymouth's Lost Churches. We look forward to welcoming you.

Good news -

Mad Dog Mcrea who are described as a British folk band from Plymouth. Their music blends a mixture of folk rock, pop, gypsy jazz and bluegrass.

To get a taste of their music look them up on Youtube but to get the full experience you need to see them live.

Come and join us on Friday 2nd August at the Railway Social Club, Pennycomequick.

The evening starts at 8pm and tickets are on sale now from the cemetery office priced £10.

All proceeds from the event will be used towards the Bell Tower appeal for our Victorian Chapel.

Mad Dog Mcrea are performing free of charge and the Railway Social Club are also providing their premises free of charge. Many thanks to both.

Our new exhibition - Plymouth's Lost Churches - opens next Saturday (18 May).

Some churches, such as Charles Church, were victims of the Plymouth blitz. Others, for example St Barnabas in Stuart Road, were victims of falling congregations and high maintenance costs and were replaced by houses or blocks of flats.

Research by people such as Brian Moseley and Graham Naylor has ensured that this part of Plymouth's history has not been lost forever.

Our heritage team has called upon Brian and Graham's research and added information from other sources where available, to prepare our poster exhibition.

A walk to complement the exhibition will take place on Sunday 26 May.

This Wednesday morning (15 May) we are holding a coffee morning from 10.30 until 12.30 in the visitor centre.

As well as tea and coffee and snacks there will also be a craft stall with items made by our craft club.

If you have some time to spare on Wednesday morning and fancy a coffee and a chat, we would be pleased to welcome you.

Almost 100 people joined us yesterday afternoon for our guided Murder, Mystery and Mayhem tour of the cemetery.

As a balance to the dark stories the heritage team told, stories which in many cases were not for the faint hearted, the sun shone throughout the afternoon and the cemetery was covered in a profusion of wild flowers.

Thank you to all who came along to support our volunteers who researched and prepared the event. We hope that you enjoyed our guided tour.

Plymouth City Council are unveiling four Commemorative Paviours to honour four men, born in Plymouth, who were awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery during World War 1.

Ford Park Cemetery were pleased to be invited to the unveiling of the Commemorative Paviour for Brigadier-General George William St George Grogan VC, CB, CMG, DSO and Bar who received the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery and leadership throughout three days of intense fighting (River Aisne, France) 27 - 29 May 1918.

Several members of the family were in attendance together with soldiers from the Worcestershire Regiment and members of the British Legion. The Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Sam Davey carried out the unveiling.

Brigadier-General Grogan's mother and grandmother are buried at Ford Park Cemetery.

An entertaining talk by Dr Ian Hodgins.

On the evolution of healthcare in Plymouth.

With particular focus on the Greenbank, Freedom Fields, Royal Albert and Homeopathic hospitals that were the forerunners of Derriford.

Thank you to Dr Ian Hodgins for a very interesting evening.

A thank you to all who supported this event and helped to make the evening a success .

The Heritage team will be leading a walk around the cemetery on Sunday 27 May.

visiting the graves of local physicians, nurses and other medical professionals.

It's going to be a busy week and we look forward to welcoming you to one or more of these events.

Dr Ian Hodgins will be giving a talk on "Plymouth Hospitals and the formation of the NHS" in the Victorian Chapel starting at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available from the Cemetery office in advance.

The NHS will have been in existence for 70 years in July.

Starting on Saturday 19 May we have a new exhibition featuring Plymouth's Hospitals both before and after the NHS was formed.

More than 50 people joined our volunteers on a sunny Sunday afternoon for the Remarkable Women guided walk.

Thanks to all those who came to listen to the stories, for their support.

Thank you to the volunteers who spent time carrying out the research on our remarkable women.

Our guided walks around the cemetery usually result in our volunteers relating stories of the lives of notable men with a link to Plymouth, although our researchers do their best to include at least one or two women who fit the profile of the theme of each walk.

As part of our involvement with Plymouth History month, we decided that it was time to focus on some of the remarkable women who are buried in the cemetery.

This coming Sunday, starting at 2pm our walk will tell of the lives of women such as Mabel Ramsay, Ann Farley, Rosina Whitelegg and Mary Ann Hockaday.

There may be a passing reference to one or two husbands but we can promise that this afternoon really is all about our remarkable women.

Plymouth History Festival begins this weekend and we have several events featured.

On the evening of Wednesday 9th May, one of our trustees, Dr Ian Hodgins, will be giving a talk in the Victorian Chapel on "Prostitution in Victorian Plymouth".

It is not essential to book, but Ian's talks are very popular so if you want to be sure and guarantee your place, please contact the office to order a ticket, priced £3.

The walk in connection with our Crime and Punishment Exhibition, which took place on Sunday 7th, was one of our most successful with an attendance of sixty five.

It was held as a part of the Trust’s contribution to Plymouth’s History Festival.

The cafe was open, serving home-made cakes, which were enjoyed by many. There was no charge for the walk itself, but generous donations totalling £55 were received.