Description of Historic Place

John Parot’s Grave Municipal Heritage Site is an 18th century gravesite located within a fenced area in a field at 478 Main Street, off the water side of the street, in the east end of the Town of Old Perlican, NL. The designation includes the land area containing the grave as delineated by the fence.

Heritage Value

John Parot’s Grave has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Old Perlican due to its historic value.

John Parot’s headstone indicates that he died in 1714 at the age of 60. It reads: “Here Lieth in Hope of a Glorius Resurrection the Body of John Parot Who Departed This Life 29 May Anno Dom 1714 Age 60 Years/ Who'ere thou art/ with tender heart,/ Come read and think of me./ As you are now, so once was I,/ As I am now, Thou soon shalt be.” Headstones such as this would most likely have been made in England and shipped to Newfoundland. This would not have been an easy task and is an indication of the status of the person being remembered on the stone.

In 2005 John Parot’s original weathered sandstone gravemarker - one of the oldest extant gravemarkers in the province - was removed from the gravesite and stored, pending conservation work.

Source: Council meeting minutes of the Town of Old Perlican, 2000/04/18.

Character-Defining Elements

Those landscape elements related to the site’s function and age, including:
-location;
-natural, grassy topography, and;
-inscribed gravemarker.