Description of Historic Place

The Holy Family Cemetery, which officially dates back to 1793, is a Roman Catholic cemetery located on St. Peter Avenue behind the Holy Family Church on a splendid wooded lot on the edge of a cliff overlooking Bathurst Harbour.

Heritage Value

The heritage values of the Holy Family Cemetery as a Local Historic Place resides in its importance as an early burial place and in the faith of some of the first inhabitants of Bathurst.

The Holy Family Cemetery is recognized for its association with the faith of loyal parishioners of the Holy Family Church. Although officially established in 1793, the first burial took place in 1760, making the cemetery one of the oldest in the municipality. Names such as McDonald and Flannery on the earlier of the approximately 75 existing tombstones and monuments indicate a strong Irish Catholic portion of the population in Bathurst during the late-18th and early-19th centuries.

In 1998, the Bathurst Heritage Trust Commission put up a plaque in honour of this Roman Catholic congregation, which has existed for more than 200 years. A new iron arch and gate was also erected at this time.

Source: Bathurst Heritage Trust Commission Inc., Historic Places Files

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that describe Holy Family Cemetery include:
- the location behind the Holy Family Church;
- the wooded lot which slopes towards the shore and contains a scattering of mostly deciduous trees;
- the wrought-iron arch and gate that serve as the main entrance;
- the approximately 75 gravestones and monuments dating back to the mid-18th century, arranged in orderly rows and oriented towards a central alley;
- the largely limestone composition of the gravestones and monuments, with the exception of a few that are either sandstone or granite.