Watler Cemetery
| Watler Cemetery | |
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|---|---|
 The Watler Cemetery | |
| Location: | 19°16’26"N, 81°20’6"W |
| Information | |
| Website: | NTCI: Watler Cemetery |
The Watler Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in Prospect, a neighbourhood of Grand Cayman. It was donated to the National Trust for the Cayman Islands by the Watler family in 1991.[1]
The family cemetery was donated to the National Trust by the Watler family in 1991.
History
Although the graves in the cemetery date from the beginning of the 19th century, the site was in use before that time: the Watler family have lived in the Cayman Islands since the 17th century and were among the original settlers of Cayman.
Watler Cemetery is notable for the number of grave monuments constructed in a traditional Welsh style, from the original abode of the family, which monuments still stand today. Shaped like houses, the memorials are constructed from a combination of crushed coral and limestone daub. Similar markers dating to the Middle Ages, if not in coral, have been found in Greart Britain, and markers in this style dating to the 17th century may be seen across the British West Indies.[1] The boulders are heavy enough that only the most violent storms can dislodge them. Some graves may have had a mahogany tablet set into one wall, but this is not universally accepted. More modern stones may cover numerous burials, but these structures were designed for only one body each.[1]
The cemetery today
Today the Watler cemetery is enclosed by a stone wall. The original entrance is now filled in, but evidence of its original location can be seen almost directly across from the current entrance. Mature trees surround the graveyard, and the Prospect Youth Centre is located on the eastern side of the cemetery. The centre is run by the United Church.
The cemetery is almost all that remains of Prospect, although residents still identify the area by name when describing their neighbourhood.
Styles and memorials
The National Trust for the Cayman Islands placed several plaques in the Watler Cemetery which together describe aspects of the site and its history.
The Watler family cemetery
It was the custom of early island settlers to set aside a portion of their land as family graveyard. The Watler Cemetery is a good example of a typical Caymanian family graveyard. The graves date from the early 19th Century, but it is believed that it was in use for a considerable period before that. Many of the early British pioneers are buried at Prospect.
The Watlers were among the earliest settlers in Cayman. A popluar local tale is that the first Watler was a deserter from Cromwell's army. Historical souces, with their annoying tendency to acuracy, have denied this. The Watler family is of Welsh origin, their name being apparently a vocational one.
House-shaped graves
Characteristically, most of the graves are marked by house-shaped tombs. Tomb structures of this nature originated in parts of Britain where shallow rock made grave-digging for underground burials impractical. This is also the case in many British West Indies islands where the coral islands, known as the "iron shore," also make underground graves impractical. When British settlement began from the 1600s onward, this method of burial was one of many customs imported to the islands.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Watler Cemetery) |