TWT Arnos Vale

Arnos Vale Cemetery A Site of Religious Significance June 2026

In June 2026, a small group of keen, like-minded photographers met in Arnos Vale Cemetery, an old Victorian cemetery located on the Bath Road in South Bristol. We were there to take part in a photowalk as a part of the RPS Talk Walk Talk (TWT) project, organised by the Landscape Group, the Digital Imaging Group and the Crea�ve Eye Group of the Royal Photographic Society.

The topic for this event was Sites of Religious Significance and, being a near neighbour to the cemetery, it seemed the natural loca�on for me to lead my third TWT walk.

Having previously a�ended six similar TWT events over the past couple of years, I was keen to lead a walk in a place that I have come to know quite well over the years.

Not only are there the glorious architectural features of the Anglican Chapel and the Spielman Centre, but the East and West Lodge gatehouses at the entrance provide a hint of the fantas�c variety of sculptural, and in some cases, rather extravagant, ornate memorials.

Arnos Vale Cemetery first opened in 1839 and was designed as a garden cemetery, in the style of a Greek Necropolis, and inspired by the Père-Lachaise in Paris and later, London's Kensal Green Cemetery. In a few short years a�er opening, Arnos Vale became the fashionable place to be buried in Bristol. However, by the 1980’s, the cemetery had fallen into disrepair and was subject to a compulsory purchase order by Bristol City Council to prevent a redevelopment plan by the then owner. Since then The Heritage Lo�ery Fund has helped with significant restora�on and to establish the cemetery as a charitable founda�on, The Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust.

The site occupies 45 acres of woodlands, walks, pathways and gravestones, with significant areas rather overgrown. As such, there are a mul�tude of photographic opportuni�es around every corner.

We hope you enjoy the photographs we created on the day.

Neil Purcell LRPS - Walk Leader

Dead Ivy David Gurney Selected in first place to represent the walk in the TWT online Gallery. h�ps://talkwalktalk. org/index.php/ topic-gallery/693

Roses David Gurney

Abandoned Gravestones Ann Belcher LRPS Selected in second place to represent the walk in the TWT online gallery. h�ps://talkwalktalk.org/ index.php/topic-gallery/ 693

I found the subjects of these two images quite close together.

They had been placed there a long �me ago and must have looked spectacular when first erected. But they were neglected and le� alone for a long �me and the brambles grew around them.

I used Lightroom to process them and bring out the beauty which they s�ll possessed. Then turned them into black and white, as there was li�le colour except for green

Angel in the Forest Ann Belcher LRPS

Gone and Forgo�en Marilyn Adams ARPS

Long forgo�en lives, In dark crypt enclosed, Only names remain.

Dear Elizabeth Returning to nature’s clasp, Greenery’s embrace

Remembering Elizabeth Marilyn Adams ARPS

Path through Memory Denise Bailey LRPS The Digital Imaging and Landscape Groups’ TWT ini�a�ve has been brilliant and definitely one of the reasons I keep my RPS membership. A big thank you to the groups and also to the leaders and co-leaders of the walks, who do a lot of the work. I love the zines that are produced following these walks.

Perched between Worlds Denise Bailey LRPS

Swathed in Ivy, Anne Bryson LRPS

Last Res�ng Place, Anne Bryson LRPS Arnos Vale is an old Victorian Cemetery and home to many old and interes�ng monuments, and I wanted to use a medium that somehow reflected the otherworldly feel, which infrared does. It turns lush green foliage to snowy white and renders the stone monuments in high contrast and in the case of the Last Res�ng Place, adds a strange eerie colour to the stones, which I found quite unnerving.

Ideally, I would have liked a bright sunny day, which we didn’t get but I s�ll felt infrared gave me a surreal aesthe�c I wouldn’t have achieved with any other medium.

What a fascina�ng place! The variety was staggering, from over grown, extremely old stones, through to the exo�cs, the chapel buildings and modern memorials. Even the war graves, which I personally always find so heart wrenching. These o�en very young men gave their lives for our freedom. They deserve our total respect and deep thanks.

Can a grave yard ever be considered an a�rac�ve place? Well, for a photographer, I do believe this loca�on is. It was a challenge to find a good shoo�ng angle, such was the entanglement of wildlife and the stone masons' ar�stry. You could elect to shoot the obvious grave stones, or those taking exercise there. There was wildlife in abundance, dog walkers and even a local cat that followed us around, posing unbidden on the headstones. So, if you have never been then do give yourself a few hours and take a walk on the wild side.

Above, Inscrip�on, Janet Haines

Le�, In Memory of …, Janet Haines

Previous page, Fallen Comrades, Janet Haines

In Loving Memory, Jan Gibson

Memorial, Jan Gibson

This was my first real visit to Arnos Vale and I was amazed at the scale of the site. It ranges from some very well looked a�er graves to some that are totally overgrown, abandoned and most likely forgo�en. It provokes thoughts of the las�ng impression that all these people made on society. How many made a difference? How many just got on with their lives? How will we all be remembered?

Despite not having any strong 'faith', I did find the place to mark that sense of passing from this life to something else. Maybe following a religion is a way of ra�onalising that inevitability? There is no doubt that the site has a strong religious significance to many.

Le�, Angel in the Breeze Steve Hartley LRPS

Above, Saintly Vision in the Grass Steve Hartley LRPS

Le�, Doricity Neil Purcell LRPS

A Special Mum and Dad Neil Purcell LRPS

Le�, Forgo�en and Ignored Bernard Yeo

Statue Bernard Yeo

Following an engaging talk (part one) on Sites of Religious Significance, by Julian Elliot, ten photographers signed up to par�cipate in the walk (part two) at Arnos Vale Cemetery, where we roamed freely for several hours to see what images we could find.

We then met up again for a feedback mee�ng two weeks later to discus our experience (part three), to show prints and view images on screen.

Having scheduled the feedback mee�ng on the ho�est day of the year, four par�cipants opted to follow proceedings online via Zoom.

A secret ballot was then held in order to select two images that were chosen by the group to represent the walk in the TWT online gallery, which can be found here, h�ps://talkwalktalk.org/index.php/topicgallery/693 For further info on past and future TWT walks, go to h�ps://talkwalktalk.org/index.php/

Zine compiled by Neil Purcell © - June 2026