Folkestone Old Cemetery Tour Review – A Summer Jaunt
The Great New Folkestone Society Summer Jaunt – Saturday 26th July
Over sixty of us enjoyed a fascinating guided tour of Folkestone Old Cemetery, expertly led by Friends of Folkestone Cemetery guides Rob and Carole Moody, Jan Holben and Margaret Care. Since 2016, as Friends of Folkestone Old Cemetery, their mission has been to safeguard, preserve and foster interest in the Cemetery, where the first burial took place in 1856. There are approximately fifteen thousand graves, so they have their work cut out and there is always more to discover.
On Saturday afternoon, we were divided into two groups, and they showed us a few highlights, including:
The Hunt Family Graves – Sir Henry Hunt was a civil engineer and surveyor, involved in the planning and building of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Royal Courts of Justice. We were lucky enough to have a descendant on the tour. Alumnae of the Folkestone School for Girls were delighted to ‘find’ his daughter, Alice Mary Hunt, a great benefactor to the school, whose name was mentioned on every Speech Day Programme.
Gilbert Dutton Kennicott – A Naval Officer who served at the Battle of Trafalgar, and who was thought dead until he blinked with his remaining eye. He served as Mayor of Folkestone between 1850 and 1860.
Jessie Landseer – English landscape and miniature painter, sister of Edwin Landseer.
John Henry and Henrietta Challis – A wealthy merchant who was born at Shorncliffe in 1806, John had spent many years in Australia, and he left £100,000 to the University of Sydney.
Not far from John and Henrietta’s ornate grave is the Grosser Kurfürst Memorial. Here we were joined by Damon, who told us all about the naval disaster in 1878 in which many German sailors died. Folkestone fishermen rescued others.
We also saw the graves of those killed in the Gotha raid of May 1917.
The rain held off for most of the afternoon, and after the tour we went to the Bowls Club for a delicious Afternoon Tea, prepared by Lacey Moore and her team.
Debby Jones
31 July 2025