St. Thomas Chapel

In 1860, the Ryde Town Commissioners took over the Cemetery of St. Thomas' Chapel, which was originally built in 1719. They made up the Constitutional Burial Board to meet the demand for burial space because of the increase in the population of Ryde during the 19th century . The Lord of the Manor of Ryde, George Player provided one acre of free land to the Parish in 1840, and in 1842 the new burial ground was converted to worshipping St. Paul. Unfortunately due to the volume of burials, and space becoming rare, the graveyard closed in 1857. In 1861, two new Chapels were built, one for the Church of England worshippers, and the other

for the Non-Conformist congregation. St. Pauls's Chapel then became the town mortuary. The Player Estate offered the Parish a further four acres of land, with a charge of ?250 per acre.A memorial cross was erected for Bishop Grant in 1863, and the cemetery divided into sections for burials of different faiths. This can be seen by viewing the oldest graves and vaults in the south-east corner of the graveyard. The earliest known burial was for George Sweetman in 1841, with Christopher Jones buried in 1848, and Elizabeth Cusden in 1849. Also, in this part of the cemetery is a four-sided stone column, tapering into a pyramid in memory of Thomas Dashwood. He was a timber merchant who died in 1861, and the father of the architect and Mayor of Ryde, who designed Ryde Town Hall, also called Thomas Dashwood. A lodge was also built around this time, conforming to architect Francis Newman's plans. In 1881, more land was purchased from the Player Estate to enlarge the cemetery further.

The present layout of Ryde Cemetery and its Chapel remain the same. Although its small paths are no longer visible, some trails are still used in the oldest part of the Cemetery at the south-eastern end. The majestic Chapel and its Cemetery hold a multitude of secrets from its bygone days, with its gravestones calling out to be remembered.