Far from the maddening crowd
The most lovely space in the centre of town , a haven from the bustle , a world of its own . Bob Young and , below , Amanda Ogilvie look at the wonder of St Nick ’ s Rest Garden
Opposite St Nicholas Church on the other side of Dyke Road is a handsome Grade II listed archway . If you push through one of the heavy green gates beneath it , you ’ ll find yourself in a spacious and delightfully leafy park . Even though this space has always been open to the public , it ’ s one of central Brighton ’ s largely unknown and hidden places .
This is the St Nicholas Rest Garden . It was the third of the burial grounds associated with the old parish church , the earlier ones being the Churchyard itself and the ‘ new ’ northern burial ground ( now the children ’ s playground ). When these two cemeteries were full , land was acquired on the west side of Dyke Road and the eminent Brighton architect Amon Henry Wilds drew up a scheme for its layout .
Wilds proposed a long row of 23 burial vaults on the northern edge , an entrance gatehouse in the form of a small fortified castle and , most intriguingly of all , a ‘ burial pyramid ’ with room for several thousand coffins . In the end only 14 of the vaults were built , the entrance gate was simplified , and nothing more was heard of the pyramid !
Burials started in the Rest Garden in the early 1840s but stopped in 1854 when new public health regulations designed to control cholera came into force . In the 1940s , the central area was cleared of its memorials by the Council and the displaced tombstones were used to line the perimeter of the space . Fortunately some of the more splendid of the big ‘ box ’ tombs were left undisturbed in their original positions .
Before any tombstone was moved , Council staff meticulously recorded the wording of the inscription . A record of these can found via the Brighton Mortiquarian website . There also you can find the life stories of some of the more extraordinary ‘ residents ’ of the Rest Garden . Here are a few :
Sir Richard Phillips ( 1767-1840 ) whose massive box tomb is just inside the gates devised and published class materials for schools ( part of his ‘ pioneering system of education ’) and wrote many very important books — or so he claimed ! If you read the inscription on his tomb you ’ ll see that he was also an absolutely exemplary family man . Do take all of this with a pinch of salt though because Sir Richard concocted the wording of the inscription himself .
Baroness Erskine ( d . 1851 ) and her aunt Rachel Bond are buried in a splendid ‘ tabletop ’ tomb beneath the tree next to the Tierney family vault . The carved stone decorations along the top edge and the sides of the tomb are very beautiful .
One of the most eminent of all the people in the Rest Garden is Sir Martin Archer Shee ( 1769-1850 ). He was President of the Royal
Academy of Arts and a top-ranking portrait painter . The aristocracy and even Royalty were amongst his clients . As such he could have been interred in Westminster Abbey but chose instead to be buried in the leafy surroundings of the Rest Garden .
As well as all the history there is a terrace with roses , lavender , flowering borders , and an olive tree — together with a splendid sea view .
The Brighton Mortiquarian is at https :// mortiquarian . com . Select “ Recording Our Deceased ” for access to the inscription records and Mortiquaria to reach masses of information about named people .
Not many people know this , but the Rest Garden is owned by the incumbent of St Nicholas of Myra , Brighton – aka the vicar of St Nick ’ s , so this remarkable place is , in effect , the vicar ’ s garden held in trust for the parish .
Thank the Lord . Maintenance of this closed burial ground is still the responsibility of Brighton & Hove City Council as are the other two green spaces around the church . But in a strange twist , closed burial grounds remain subject to ecclesiastical law – which means that to do anything , permission is required from the Diocese of Chichester .
Only one of the 14 burial vaults has an opening door , today used to store equipment for the cheery band of volunteer gardeners who work to keep the space as lovely as it is . Bear them in mind when your dogs are doing what dogs do , and be grateful that the vicar is a dog lover . For years animals were forbidden to come through those remarkable , heavy gates .
The Rest Garden even has its own angel – a local who takes his nightly stroll with a litter picker , removing debris as he walks . One balmy sunny evening , wearing a straw hat , our hero was approached by someone who asked if he was the vicar . To which he replied ‘ No – but I know a man who is !’
How different this little-known hideaway must be to Wilds ’ original idea – used daily by dog walkers , garden lovers , people in need of a peaceful green space in the middle of this fantastic , mad , busy city . And the occasional tent .