The Strangers' Burial Ground

Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 26 Dec 2021

When Bristol's Clifton and Hot Well areas were starting to become popular venues, there followed a chain of events. As the spring waters gained a reputation for curative powers and the wealthy burghers settled in a fashionable spot, it attracted many other desperate patients who were from outside the city walls. Inevitably, the waters did not cure them all and those who perished here, far from home, were buried in this small cemetery. It served as an overflow to the (now demolished) St Paul's church. However, with the growing population came local sewage problems and the effluent eventually found its way into the very waters that were claimed to cure illnesses. With its reputation shot to ribbons, the custom of taking the waters soon stopped, and with it the area's fall from favour. The burial grounds operated for nearly a century in sympathy. Today it is being restored to some of its glory and is a public space when open.

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