St Bartholomew's Cemetery is not only a great place for trees but has a lot of interesting history. There's not many places in Exeter with catacombs - but this is one of them! It is a very large area that is split into two main sections. The lower grounds which is quite hilly offers many grand trees as well as young trees. The ​Rotary International have kindly planted a Persian ironwood, Red oak, Sweet gum and Tulip tree. I will be looking forward to watching these grow into mature trees over the years. The upper grounds is smaller and more flat. It is better suited for people walking their dogs and very easy to get into town. My favourite tree here is the Fern-leaved beech.

During my visit on the 24th of June 2017 the Great big tree climbing company were present and using the large Cedar of Lebanon tree. It was was great to see people of all ages scaling the tree and I hope we see more of them in Exeter in the future. During the summer there have been guided tours around the grounds and the catacombs, but is not very clear on who runs this. If you are interested I would get in touch with the Exeter tourist and information centre.
Picture
Photo of information board
Picture
Aerial view of the area, courtesy of Google
Here is a current list of the known trees and shrubs in the park:
  • Bald cypress x 1
  • Cedar of Lebanon x 1
  • Cherry laurel x 1
  • Copper beech x 4
  • Common ash x 1
  • Common beech x 1
  • Common elder x6
  • Common Hawthorn x 1
  • Common lime x 16
  • Common walnut x 1
  • Common yew x 12
  • Dead trees x 3
  • Fern-leaved beech x 2
  • Field maple x 1
  • Grey alder x 1
  • Holly x 2
  • Holm oak x 3
  • Hornbeam x 2
  • Horse chestnut x 3
  • Irish yew x 14
  • Italian alder x 2
  • Large leaved lime x 7
  • London plane x 2
  • Narrow-leaved ash x 1
  • Norway maple x 5
  • Pin oak x 1
  • Purple leaf plum x 2
  • Scots pine x 3
  • Silver birch x 1
  • Small leaf lime x 16
  • Snake-bark maple
  • Sweetgum x 1
  • Sweet chestnut x 1
  • Sycamore x 24
  • Tulip tree x 1
  • Turkey oak x 2
  • Weeping ash x 2
  • Wild cherry x 2
QUICK FACTS
  • St Bartholomew's cemetery was built in 1835
  • It was built due to the cholera epidemic which caused the existing graveyards to be full
  • The catacombs were designed by Thomas Whitaker and were built between 1835-37
  • They were the first cemetery buildings in Britain to be built in the style of Ancient Egypt, emulating Egyptian tombs
  • The grounds are registered under the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953
  • There are 3 entrances on the lower grounds that run along Exe street
  • There are no bins or benches within the lower grounds
  • There is one dog bin within the lower grounds which is centrally placed
  • The upper grounds is very open so easy to access. Three main entrances
  • The upper grounds has one bench and one bin
  • From the upper grounds it only takes minutes to get into the city centre
  • There are many mature trees here - it is a great place to relax if you live nearby
  • It is great for wildlife. During June 2017 there were Peregrine falcon nesting in the Church
  • Also saw Gold-crest which mostly occupied the Cedar of Lebanon
  • During the summer there are guided tours throughout the grounds and catacombs
  • All of the Rotary clubs in Exeter helped to pay for four new trees in January 2016. Thanks!
  •  The Great big tree climbing company used the Cedar of Lebanon tree in June 2017