Friends of Hebron Burialground

The History of the Site

Hebron Methodist Church opened in 1854 with an adjoining plot of about half an acre – formerly the pleasure grounds of Mr Goulstone’s Academy – having been purchased for a burial ground. The first recorded burial took place on January 9th 1858 and the last on 11th September 1965. During this time nearly 1200 people were buried here.

The burial ground remained in the possession of the Methodist Circuit until 1968 when the church and the burial ground were sold for £5,500. Conversion of the church into accommodation started in 2002 when the suggestion was made by the developers that the burial ground could be made into a car park for the residents of the new accommodation, now called Hebron Court, and a memorial garden. These proposals were not put before Bristol City Council and following an outcry by the newly formed Friends of Hebron Burial ground the plans were dropped. This resulted in the burial ground been sold at auction in November 2002 for £21,500.

At the present time the burial ground is not maintained by the owner in accordance with its restrictive covenants (as was the case with the previous owner) and there is no easy access into the burial ground (the gate to the burial ground not being in the same ownership).