Denne Road Cemetery in Horsham was opened in 1852 and then an extension of it was opened in 1885. It was almost full by 1900 and so a new burial ground was established in Horsham, namely, Hills Cemetery on the other side of the town. Although a handful of burials continued at Denne Road up until the 1960s, if you visit there today, you could be forgiven for thinking you had walked into a wonderfully forgotten place.
Take a moment
Walk away from the hustle and bustle of the town and head down Denne Road until you see a beautiful lychgate. As you step through the gate, you’ll immediately be struck by the birdsong, the sense of spirituality and a series of emotively overgrown paths and tombstones.
Horsham museum
Many of the great and the good of Horsham’s past are buried here and a visit to the Horsham Museum and their website provide useful background information about the cemetery’s role in Horsham’s history, the people you’ll find here and of the Cemetery Trail. Your first visit here will be the most special. Just explore for a bit. Walk the overgrown paths. Pull back the ivy. Trace forgotten names carved in the stone and let your mind drift back over the years. If there are ghosts here, they are benign and the cemetery has a wonderful feeling of peace.
Wildlife and nature
The cemetery was designated a Local Wildlife Site in 1992 and is a veritable haven for wildlife. There is also a Garden of Remembrance at the far end. At the other entrance to the lychgate, there is a lodge which was also built in about 1880. There are also some beautiful old trees, including cedar and yew some of which date to 1885 and some of which were donated by the then owners of Leonardslee. Other trees were planted after WWII.
Lest we forget
Lots of the headstones are too faded to make out the details but if you’re lucky (or go on a tour) some are easy to find, like the recently tidied grave of William Piries, one time headmaster of nearby Collyer’s who used to travel in a donkey and cart (a statue of which you’ll find in Piries Place today).
If you’ve visited the museum, you will have seen a painting of Thomas Honywood – founder of the town’s fire service, photographer, artist, archaeologist and all round Horsham good guy. He’s another of the cemetery’s residents as are 15 members the Hurst family contained within an impressive and grand memorial which is all the more poignant for its brambles and its overgrown corner.
A special place
Denne Road Cemetery may not be large (there were just under 3,00 burials here) but it’s a very special and enigmatic place. It’s well worth leaving the well trodden pavements of the town and deviating here for a moment or two of reflection.
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