Denia’s English Cemetery

SOME 200 years ago, the then small fishing village of Denia had strong connections with Britain due to the massive amount of trade that was taking place between the two countries.

Britain had a thirst for wine, and that and raisins were the main export through Denia port.

The British presence became so large that a cemetery was consecrated in the town, specifically for the Anglican sailors:  the English Cemetery.

Over the centuries the cemetery has been largely forgotten, and now it is in danger of being appropriated by the town hall in Denia, as it is deemed not in use.

There are two main theories as to why the cemetery came about: one says that two British ships, laden with raisins, were shipwrecked off Denia and the British government found it  a cheaper option to purchase lad to bury the sailors, than to repatriate the bodies. The second theory is that the traders who were in the area wanted to bury their loved ones with Anglican rites locally.

The first “legend” go’s on to say that in the end the sailor’s bodies were repatriated anyway, leaving the empty cemetery to its fate, and where now (so says the tale) the cries of the sailors can be heard on moonlit nights.

The sadder more mundane reality is that population pressures may now mean the cemetery might well disappear under modern buildings and be forgotten forever.

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