Dissenters

The Congregationalist Cemetery which is also known as the "Independent Burial Ground" or the "Dissenters Burying Ground" was opened in 1808 to serve the Dissenting Christian congregations of Falmouth and Penryn, but what is a ‘Dissenter?
From the 16th Century Dissenters were Christians who refused to join the established Church of England and from these early days Falmouth supported a sizeable number of nonconformist religious groups.
With around 587 burials over a 120 year period it was abandoned in the 1930s.
During the 20th century the site suffered significant neglect and extensive vandalism but in 2012 a volunteer group began to restore the burial ground which combined with an adjacent Jewish cemetery forms a protected Scheduled Monument of national importance.

It can be seen from the A39 at Ponsharden roundabout on the way in to Falmouth or from the approach road to Sainsbury’s supermarket.
The guided tour on offer by the preservation group is high on my ‘Bucket List’.