Description of Historic Place

St. Peter's Cemetery is a small graveyard adjacent to Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, located at the crest of a hill in one of Nanaimo's oldest neighbourhoods, adjacent to the downtown core. The historic place is limited to the legal boundaries of the cemetery.

Heritage Value

St. Peter's Cemetery is a rare, tangible link with Nanaimo's Roman Catholic heritage and speaks to the earliest ecclesiastic, social and spiritual history of Nanaimo. The first recorded burial took place in 1876, although the church was established in Nanaimo at least 15 years earlier. St. Peter's Cemetery is the only surviving single-denomination graveyard in Nanaimo. Still in active use, St. Peter's Cemetery is important as a communal, spiritual space and as a publicly accessible, outdoor history museum.

St. Peter's Cemetery is important as a green space in a dense residential neighbourhood. This peaceful oasis offers excellent views of the western section of the city.

Source: City of Nanaimo, Development Services Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of St. Peter's Cemetery include:
- all the grave markers and mature trees and plantings within the legal boundaries of the cemetery.
- the cemetery's location in a residential neighbourhood at the crest of a hill, overlooking the western section of the city, and adjacent to the church.