The English Cemetery in Malaga initially established in 1831. In 1787, Carlos III through a Royal Decree prohibits intramural burials in all towns and cities in Spain, including inside churches and parish spaces. It is the oldest cemetery in the peninsula to non-Catholic Christians. The Anglican church of St. George has shared the garden of the cemetery since 1891.
The death of a Protestant in Spain represented a serious problem since there was no provision for such an eventuality, so we had to bury them in unlikely place, causing significant pockets of poor health for the population, thus, is able to solve the problems of these burials that it was a British colony of foreigners mainly by the industrial and commercial heart of Malaga city in the nineteenth century. Cemetery practically contemporary with that of San Miguel, opened in 1810 and closed in 1987, converted into a columbarium.
When William Mark British consul in 1824, who had witnessed the trouble of these burials, found a spot that would serve as a cemetery, primarily conceived as a botanical garden. Malaga authorities finally ceded ground on the outskirts of the city. It was later confirmed by royal decree of Ferdinand VII, on April the 11th, 1838 and the English Cemetery in Malaga was actually being built initially in 1831.
Among the many graves there are of different styles; They are usually ground burials, dominated by ground tombs and mausoleums of different types, with different styles as the classic, gothic, modernist or Celtic, you gon the heat of the garden creates a very picturesque.
The highest zone, which in turn is the oldest. Surrounded by a wall built and surmounted by a cross and a stone tombs are covered with seashells. Some of them newborns.
The first burial was that of Robert Boyd a young Briton, who accompanied General José María de Torrijos liberal in its attempt to settle the constitutional regime and was executed precisely at the hands of the regime's supporters felon absolutist king Ferdinand VII in December 1831.
For 175 years the English Cemetery in Malaga was administered by successive British Consuls, at first with a small contribution from the British government until 1904. In 2006 ownership of the cemetery was transferred to the English Cemetery in Málaga Foundation, a non-profit organization founded to maintain, preserve and manage the cemetery as part of the historical legacy of Malaga.
Although no longer allows burial dead bodies, the English Cemetery in Malaga, continues to operate as such for burial of ashes on land and in columbaria. Unfortunately the income from this activity are now scarce. For all purposes the cemetery depends on private donations and bequests for the maintenance and upkeep. At half rest many famous people or special popularity in the city of Malaga, as the physician Joseph Noble who died suddenly of cholera during a visit to Malaga in 1861 and in whose memory was founded Noble hospital for sailors and fishermen of this city. Also rests, Marjorie Grice Hutchinson, author and economist who supported this cemetery, the Spanish scholar Gerald Brenan and his wife, the writer and poet Gamel Woolsey. They are also found in a mausoleum, the remains of 41 castaways of the German frigate Gneissenau, along with its captain and engineer of the ship, which sank to run aground on the coast of Malaga in 1900, the poet Jorge Guillén of Valladolid, etc.
Legends and stories about the english cemetery. Undoubtedly, the most striking of the cemetery is an old British legend says that the last person who is buried in a Cemetery becomes her guardian. This is to ensure the safety of the souls gathered there until a new deceased be buried and is ranked above the lookout. In the churchyard of St. George remains very much alive this tradition, and many people believe in it. Paradoxically, the past is dead in this cemetery D. Antonio Alcalde, who was vigilant in life the magical enclave. Now the tradition points which is the spiritual guardian of the dead buried there. And it seems to be that way for long, since no burial are allowd any more in the British cemetery. Figure errant guardian of the cemetery has been seen wandering the winding roads of the cemetery for residents who live in homes nextdoor to the cemetery, as well as by many visitors who have walked through the gardens. Some people who has been interested in knowing the place have been unpleasant surprises. Claim to have been touched by unseen hands, hearing footsteps where no one and heard voices coming from nowhere.
In one of these excursions in Saint George, a large group of tourists walking through the cemetery after the guide, dressed in a monk's habit, narrated the history and legends of the old cemetery. In the middle of the event, when the procession entered the wooded area of the ancient necropolis, the group turned to see a sudden flash that appeared by surprise in the distance within the enclosure. Slowly, the light came closer and looked like it could be the figure of a man, candle in hand, walking with dificult. People there imagining as such a part of the scene, they took it with good humor. But the guide. He was muted by observing the spectral shape. At one point disappeared and could not find it though the door was closed.
Images offered here, in this sacred enclave intend to outline the site, no detail, while preserving the privacy of the sites out of respect for them and their families. In any case suggest strolling around the site as a section for reflection. Previously you must be presented at the cottage of the entrance where you kindly be informed in detail.
Recently in July of 2011, the Ministry of Culture, through the Directorate General of Cultural Assets, has begun the procedure to register the English Cemetery in Malaga, in the General Catalogue of the Andalusian Historical Heritage, as a monument of culture. We expect further notice
If you have any question, please contact with the Foundation English Cemetery in Malaga, it is situated in the Avenida de Pries No. 1, 29016 Malaga. In the email info@cementerioinglesmalaga.org or web www.cementerioinglesmalaga.org/