The burial site is known as the English Cemetery (Image: Cementerio Ingles san Jorge. Sevilla via Facebook)
Located in , southern Spain, lies a where 175 buried bodies of English or Spanish descendants of British people lies. The bodies belong to those who arrived in Seville in the 19th century.
San Jorge Cemetery, or popularly known as the English cemetery is nestled in the city’s San Jeronimo neighbourhood, whilst it might not be one of the most known places in Seville, it does indeed hold a lot of history.
In the last couple of years, the resting place has been transformed by a documentary maker called Francisco Ortiz, along with other volunteers who work to upkeep the site.
Those who happen to find themselves in the neighbourhood, will most likely see Francisco cleaning up the place which has become like a second home to him.
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The site was used from 1850 until 1996, however after that the home of 175 graves became abandoned with the burial plots hidden among the undergrowth – that was until 2022.
Fransisco along with a group of volunteers known as ‘Los Angeles de la Ciudad, which translates to The Angels of the City. They work to tackle neglect of the site. While they have managed to restore a in the middle of the cemetery, their main aim is the graves.
Referring to the The Angels of the City, the documentary maker said: “We are a group of volunteers with a componenet of heritage defence.” However Fransisco is aware of the the group’s limits.
He added: “We are not arachaeologists nor professional restorers, so we haven’t touched anything beyond that.”
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Volunteers are hoping that the burial site will be restored (Image: Cementerio Ingles san Jorge. Sevilla via Facebook)
In the last two years, the group who meet every Sunday have completely restored the the place by cleaning headstones, repairing damages and restoring some crosses that adorned graves.
Of all the work they have done, there is one project that stands out, what the volunteers describe as “the jewel in the crown”.
The group restored a Celtic cross that was guarding the grave of Esther Dugan. The top of it was on the ground but after the work of the volunteers it not only looks new, but they decorated it with stones and a lamp purchased from .
What Francisco hopes for next is the support of public authorities so the group can continue their work of restoring the resting place.