Stories in Stone : Overleigh Cemetery - Walk
Stories in Stone : Overleigh Cemetery - Walk

25th June - 12:30pm
Led by a local Green Badge guide, the tour will outline the cemetery’s history and take in around 25 of the most notable graves, including those of Mary Jonas, mother of 33 children including 15 sets of twins; Mabel Francis Blackburn, said to have died from chewing too much gum; an elaborate monument to Henry Raikes, Chancellor of the Diocese; Marjorie Tucker, an RAF driver killed by a train just before World War 1 ended; Edward Langtry, the husband of Edward VII’s mistress, who was sent to Chester Lunatic Asylum and sadly died nine days later, Ishizo Ishimura, a Japanese acrobat who broke his neck performing a backwards double somersault onstage; and William Bidulph Cross who made his own coffin from thousands of wooden matchboxes, illuminated inside by lights from a battery.
The final stop of the tour will be inside the Greek Orthodox Church of St Barbara the Great Martyr, with its impressive, gilded iconostasis and beautifully painted icons. Part of the fee for the walk will be given as a donation for the upkeep of the church.
Please note that some sections of the walk are not fully accessible. The walk is short with a duration of approximately 90 minutes.
Your guide will be Paul Woods, a qualified professional guide and an Associate of the Institute of Tourist Guiding. He specialises in walking tours of Chester, covering its rich heritage, quaint pubs, historic churches, ancient walls and the Rows, delivered in a friendly and informative way and paying close attention to participants’ specific needs and interests.
