On the 1st July, Barnoon Cemetery was transferred to St Ives Town Council by Cornwall Council, beginning a new chapter for this much-loved historic site.
Our aim is to improve the quality of the site and protect its future management.
At 170 years old, Barnoon is the oldest burial ground in St Ives, and the treasured resting place of generations of local families, as well as notable figures including Cornish artist Alfred Wallis.
The first full grass cut has taken place, allowing many historic memorials to be seen again. We’re also investing in new bins, benches and signage.
We’ll be consulting on a new management plan for Barnoon, including how regularly grass should be cut, how we can protect valued graves and memorials, and how we can encourage wilder edges while retaining Barnoon as an important open space.
There is also a fascinating piece of history to uncover! Sadly, many of Barnoon’s burial records appear to have been lost. We would like to begin a project to link existing burial records to a formal map of the cemetery – something that has never been done.
Can you help?
We’d love to hear from anyone who would like to:
🌿 Join a Friends of Barnoon group
🪦 Help care for the site or adopt a historic grave
📖 Share photographs, stories or historical records
📜 Help us locate burial deeds (deeds of grant) – particularly as none are currently held officially
Interested in getting involved? Please complete our short form: https://forms.gle/Hsmfmtz1gX3ee7mm7
If you think a family member is buried at Barnoon, we can also link with the Bereavement Service to help locate the grave.
Councillor Martin Van Staeyen, Deputy Mayor, is our community champion for Barnoon and will help oversee its new future.
If you have information, records or questions, please contact enquiries@stives-tc.gov.uk.
