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bear the expense of laying out the Burial Ground, and the
Society, on condition that the Faculty was granted, undertook
to lay out flower-beds, plant shrubs, and carefully remove the
stones and monuments as necessary. The Yestry agreed to
take over the ground when completed and mantain it in
future. On January 5th, 1887, it was reported to the Yestry
that the petition had been presented to the Consistory Court
of Rochester, and had been heard on November 30th, by the
Chancellor of the Diocese, at Rochester, when evidence
was given in support by the Incumbent of St. George's (the
Rev. Norman Campbell), one of the Churchwardens of that
Parish (Mr. J. Sugden), and the Chairman of the Mortuary
Committee (Mr. G. C. Whiteley). The faculty, so far as the
laying out of the Burial Ground as an Ornamental Space
was concerned, was granted.
The Public Gardens Association landscape gardener,
Miss F. Wilkinson, then proceeded with the laying out of
the Churchyard as a Public Garden, and on June 16th,
Mrs. W. E. Gladstone attended, and declared the Garden
open. The key was handed to Mr. E. Dresser Rogers, as the
Chairman of the Yestry.
The Vestry have since appointed T. Windlev, Caretaker
of the Garden, and Mortuary Keeper.
Mortuary. In the same petition was incorporated a request
for permission to use one of the rooms of the Mortuary (the
erection of which was permitted by Faculty on 22nd July,
1884), for holding ordinary inquests. It was found that the
building contained a room sufficiently large to be used for
that purpose, and it was thought that its use for unimportant
enquiries would mitigate the present evils attending the holding
of inquests in public houses. As stated above, the Vestry
Clerk therefore attended at Rochester, and in addition to the