A short history 

 

The English Cemetery in Malaga, where St George’s Church stands, is the result of the inspiration and concern of William Mark who was British Consul in Malaga from 1824 until 1836.  In the eight years he had lived in Malaga before his appointment as Consul he had looked “with great disgust” on the way Protestants had to buried on the sea shore at dead of night.  Due to his persistent efforts he was finally given permission to create a permanent cemetery on the Velez road outside the walls of the city. This is the old walled cemetery, as it still exists today, finished in 1831 and containing its poignant collection of graves covered with seashells. The adjoining mortuary is now the church library. 

 

The Royal Decree ceding the land for the cemetery to the British Government was issued in April 1830, and the following year the first protestant cemetery in Spain was established.  It now covers over 8,000 sq. m. and contains more than 1000 graves.  The cemetery is also a botanical garden with a number of unusual specimens of trees and plants.  With several well-known people buried there, it has become one of Malaga’s historical sites.  The English Cemetery is a beautiful and well-visited place of peace and quiet in the middle of a bustling city of over half-a-million people. 

 

During the years immediately after 1830 the cemetery was greatly extended, and in 1839-40 a “lodge temple” was built in classical style with a small chapel and incorporating the cemetery guard’s dwelling.  With its fine Doric columns, this structure was adapted and enlarged in 1890-91 to become the present St George’s Anglican Church.  In 1856 a Gatehouse was constructed in Gothic style at the entrance to the Cemetery.   

 

 

    

 

 

 

   

       

 

 

 

          

 

The English Cemetery today 

 

While the church is administered by the Chaplaincy, the cemetery, previously owned by the British government, is now the responsibility of The English Cemetery in Malaga Foundation, the President of which is the British Consul in Malaga.  Although the cemetery had been the property of the British Government since its inception, no funds had been provided for its upkeep for many years.  The Malaga Ayuntamiento already recognized the cemetery as an important part of the city’s history, and the idea of setting up a charitable Foundation was conceived as a way of attracting funds from business organisations for the cemetery’s restoration and maintenance.  The English Cemetery in Malaga Foundation was formally established on 21 June 2006.  Its Board comprises three Spaniards, three Britons, one German and one Italian, and includes three members of St George’s Church.   

 

In 2005 the cemetery Gatehouse, for many years the home of the cemetery gardener, was very beautifully renovated and now houses a gift shop as well as providing space for St George’s Church lunches and other activities.  The shop is staffed by volunteers, mainly from the church, and is providing a modest but steady income for both the church and the cemetery.  

 

For the first time in many years serious work is now in progress to maintain and develop the cemetery gardens.  We have a dedicated gardener, John Hallybone, who has been assisted and advised by the leading English gardener in the area, Lindsay Blythe.  A number of the trees are now either dead or dangerous and in need of surgery, and in this we are being helped by Simon Corcoran, a tree surgeon from Estepona.  We are entirely dependent on donations to support this work.  If you would like to help, please contact the British Consul in Malaga, Bruce McIntyre (+34 95 241 7001; bruce.mcintyre@fco.gov.uk),  the President of the Foundation, or Rosella Parmiter, Vice-President (+34 95 240 0006; rosellaemp@hotmail.com).