Old Burying Ground
At the corner of the two main streets downtown—Barrington and Spring Garden—is Halifax’s first cemetery. You’ll know it by the locally famous sculpture at the entrance of a lion with the Medusa-like mane. The Burying Ground has exemplary examples of 18th- and 19th-century gravestone art, especially winged heads and winged skulls. (No rubbings are allowed, however.) Also exceptional is the Welsford-Parker Monument from 1855, which honors Nova Scotians who fought in the Crimean War. Some 12,000 people were buried on these small grounds between 1749 and 1844, although only 1 in 10 souls owns a headstone. With two historic churches across adjacent streets viewed through leafy old trees, this corner is steeped in the history of this city’s founders.
At the corner of the two main streets downtown—Barrington and Spring Garden—is Halifax’s first cemetery. You’ll know it by the locally famous sculpture at the entrance of a lion with the Medusa-like mane. The Burying Ground has exemplary examples of 18th- and 19th-century gravestone art, especially winged heads and winged skulls. (No rubbings are allowed, however.) Also exceptional is the Welsford-Parker Monument from 1855, which honors Nova Scotians who fought in the Crimean War. Some 12,000 people were buried on these small grounds between 1749 and 1844, although only 1 in 10 souls owns a headstone. With two historic churches across adjacent streets viewed through leafy old trees, this corner is steeped in the history of this city’s founders.
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