The Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery (FoSOC) are pleased to announce a significant milestone in 2026, the Old Cemetery will mark its 180th anniversary.
To commemorate this special occasion, FoSOC will be hosting a celebration on May 10, 2026. The event will feature a variety of activities, including live music, informative talk (in the Non-Conformist Chapel) and guided walks, please note the talk is now booking only, limited number due to the size of the Chapel. There will be displays highlighting the history and importance of the cemetery as well as Artwork from King Edwards VI School. Both chapels on the grounds will be open to visitors throughout the day.
The TALK will be given by FoSOC’s Geoff Watts and will be dedicated to the memory of our late President, Professor James Stevens Curl. In ‘A Porch Of Eternity’, Geoff will explain how Southampton came to have an historically very important Victorian Cemetery. It will include the burial crisis in the early part of Queen Victoria’s reign, the steps taken in regard to it and how it was solved, in Southampton, through the involvement of cemetery designers John Claudius Loudon and William Henry Rogers. The cemetery opened on 7 May 1846
