John Peacock

The appearance of the town cemetery today owes a great deal to the dedication of one man who spent over 40 years of his working life keeping it in order.

The cemetery was opened in 1856 on four acres of land in South Road to make room for more burials because the churchyard adjoining the Abbey Church was full.

The first cemetery keeper had been appointed by the newly constituted Bourne Burial Board in February that year but was known only as the gatekeeper because he was responsible for opening and closing the grounds. He was Charles Christopher who was not paid a salary but was allowed to live with his family rent free at the stone lodge house which was incorporated in the original design for the cemetery chapel by Edward Browning and built at the same time, his only other duty being to ensure that the grounds were not damaged by intruders.

Charles Christopher was succeeded by Thomas Durant but he resigned in 1878 when the post of lodge and groundkeeper was advertised and 37 applications were received for the job. Half of them were selected for interview by the Bourne Burial Board on Friday 27th December 1878 and John Peacock, then living at Gladstone Street, Peterborough, was selected to begin his duties on 7th January 1879 at a salary of £50 a year with the lodge for himself and his family to live in.

By this time, the position was not only paid but the duties had been increased to take in grave digging and maintenance of the grounds. Nevertheless, Peacock tackled the job with zeal and over the next four decades organised more than 3,000 funerals and was therefore responsible for the bulk of the burials that took place there during the 19th century.

It was his habit, while digging and arranging graves ready for interment, to decorate them with flowers and foliage and descriptions of this artistry survives in the obituaries reported by the local newspapers of the many important townspeople he was called on to bury.

But he left instructions to his friends and family not to do the same for him because he desired a plain funeral, the actual spot of his own burial near to the southern boundary being selected by himself shortly before he died on 21st October 1922, aged 83.

It is therefore appropriate that he is buried in the very place to which he devoted so many years of his life together with his wife, Jane, who died on 2nd November 1933. During his lifetime, it was his greatest joy to keep the cemetery spick and span and he was fond of describing it as "one of the beauty spots of the locality".

The cemetery has changed since his day, notably his home at the lodge house which was demolished circa 1960 and replaced by a modern bungalow. There has also been a dramatic change in the appearance of the chapel and the tombstones. A photograph which survives from 1900 reveals their pristine condition because none of them were then more than 50 years old. Today, wind and weather have taken their toll and the inscriptions on many are unreadable while others have either fallen over or are leaning through soil subsidence and neglect.

Nevertheless, John Peacock would be gratified by the present state of the cemetery which remains a most attractive haven of peace and tranquillity, notably through the work of later managers such as Peter Ellis who won the Cemetery of the Year award in 2002 and his successor Alan Townsend who repeated this success in 2006 and therefore carries on a tradition that began 150 years ago.

PHOTO ALBUM
The cemetery lodge (top) which was demolished circa 1960 and (below) John Peacock proudly standing outside. On the right is his tombstone which can be found in the cemetery.

WRITTEN MAY 2012

Return to The town cemetery