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Newmarket Avenue, BOURNE, PE10 0WT

Jane Redmile (1800-83), a farmer’s daughter, lived a life of unyielding faith, selfless service and sense of charity which singled her out as a special person in her lifetime and her memory shines undimmed today as an example of the perfect life. She is buried in the town cemetery where a stone memorial marks her last resting place, now discoloured and the inscription eroded by wind and weather, the grave shared with her father, William Redmile, who died in 1858.

A replica of the Angel of the North by Antony Gormley measuring 14 feet across and six feet high was made from wheat reed and foam by Sarah Walton, an art graduate who previously worked as his assistant, for the British Food Fortnight Exhibition in 2007. It was then offered to parishes which participated in the Britain in Bloom competition, so ending up at the far end of the town cemetery at Bourne “for as long as it lasts” which was expected to be around one year in outdoor conditions but has now disappeared.

The town cemetery was opened in 1855 covering four acres but in 1904 it was extended to 5½ acres and in 1999 when land for further burial plots was exhausted, a further two acres were added beyond the original red brick perimeter wall and this is known today as the new cemetery.

The town cemetery opened in South Road in 1855 and more than 10,000 people have since been buried there. Further land was added in 1904 and these memorial stones commemorate interments towards the end of the old cemetery which was extended again in 1999 beyond the hedge. See also Image

Wooden seats in memory of those who have died have become a feature of the town cemetery with engraved brass name plates on the back rail but there are now so many lining the main paths that Bourne Town Council has called a temporary halt on permitting any more until a permanent policy on future installations has been decided.

A ceramic relief mosaic which can be seen on the front wall of Bourne Grammar School in South Road was installed in 1999 showing a female head with four strands of hair flowing backwards depicting aspects of the locality including the school, the town, the Bourne Eau and the nearby woods. Artist Jane Ashdown and 16 students spent nine months working on the panel which measures twelve feet long and is mounted on a brick panel consisting of more than 130 pieces of high fired and glazed ceramics.

One of the few stone monuments in Bourne is the Ostler memorial fountain, a fine example of Victorian gothic erected by public subscription in 1860 as a memorial to one of the town's 19th century worthies, property owner John Lely Ostler (1811-59), and paid for by public subscription. The fountain was originally sited in the market place but a century later it had become an obstruction to increasing traffic flows and so in 1962 it was moved stone by stone to the town’s cemetery in South Road. In July 2007, the fountain was given a Grade II listing and Bourne Town Council subsequently agreed to spend £9,000 on restoration which included the erection of protective iron railings. See the memorial before restoration Image

The memorial drinking fountain erected to celebrate the life of John Lely Ostler (1811-59) began life in the market place, now the town centre, but was moved to the cemetery in 1962 and is pictured here before being Grade II listed and restored by the town council at a cost of £9,000 - see Image

Not everyone who passes on wants a tombstone and at Bourne, many who are cremated are remembered with a rose bush planted in a memorial avenue between the graves, each bearing an engraved plaque.

One of the oldest local families buried in the town cemetery is that of William Mays (1794-1889) and his descendants whose line ended with the international motor racing pioneer Raymond Mays (1899-1980). Four headstones stand together to remember this business dynasty through three generations but although Raymond was the most famous of them all he is not with them, having been cremated after his death and his ashes were not preserved.