The Na­tion­al Trust of Trinidad and To­ba­go is host­ing tours of promi­nent ceme­ter­ies in Port of Spain and San Fer­nan­do, next month.

His­to­ry buffs and oth­er in­ter­est­ed per­sons are in­vit­ed to par­tic­i­pate in the up­com­ing Grave­yard Chron­i­cle Tours: Dead Men’s Tales Edi­tion, for the tidy sum of TT$75 for mem­bers of the Na­tion­al Trust, and TT$125 for non-mem­bers.

“Though the ceme­tery is a daunt­ing place, it is one of the most valu­able places in our coun­try. It is im­por­tant to re­mem­ber those who have long gone. Those who have lived their lives, left their lega­cies and are now at peace,” the Na­tion­al Trust says in a state­ment con­cern­ing the Grave­yard Chron­i­cle Tours.

The Na­tion­al Trust says in Sep­tem­ber, these tours will ex­plore the well-known ceme­ter­ies in Port of Spain and San Fer­nan­do.

The Trust says on Sat­ur­day 3 and Sat­ur­day 17 Sep­tem­ber, the Lapey­rouse Ceme­tery Tour will tell the sto­ries be­hind the peo­ple buried at the his­toric Port of Spain land­mark.

“This ceme­tery is the fi­nal rest­ing place of loved ones, no­table fig­ures of our past, ba­bies and vic­tims of cholera who were buried with no name,” the Na­tion­al Trust ob­serves in its re­lease. “Gen­er­a­tions of his­to­ry, sad­ness, mourn­ing, grief, pride, all clash with­in these bur­ial grounds.”

Image courtesy National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago.

Ac­cord­ing to the Trust, Par­adise Ceme­tery in San Fer­nan­do cap­tures the essence of the south­ern city, telling the sto­ries of its rise, its chal­lenges and its past glo­ries. 

“This tour aims to tell all and re­veal much about San Fer­nan­do’s econ­o­my, cul­ture and so­ci­ety. It al­so in­cludes some sto­ries from far flung ar­eas like Fyz­abad, Pi­paro, the vil­lage of firsts and more,” the Trust states.

The tour of Par­adise Ceme­tery in San Fer­nan­do will take place on Sat­ur­day 10 Sep­tem­ber, and par­tic­i­pants are in­vit­ed to dis­cov­er “all the hid­den and buried sto­ries”.

Per­sons wish­ing to par­tic­i­pate in the Grave­yard Chron­i­cle Tours can call the Na­tion­al Trust at 225-4750, be­tween 9 am and 4 pm, Mon­day to Fri­day. They al­so can vis­it the Trust’s web­site for more in­for­ma­tion or quick and easy on­line book­ing, at

https://na­tion­al­trust.tt/

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About the Na­tion­al Trust

The Na­tion­al Trust of Trinidad and To­ba­go was es­tab­lished by Act 11 of 1991 and amend­ed by Act No 31 of 1999. The Trust is es­tab­lished to:

●   Iden­ti­fy built and nat­ur­al prop­er­ties and sites of in­ter­est

●   For­mal­ly list prop­er­ties and sites im­por­tant to our na­tion­al her­itage to pre­vent de­struc­tion or to en­sure dis­cus­sion pri­or to agreed mod­i­fi­ca­tion.

●   Make pro­vi­sion for ac­cess to and en­joy­ment of prop­er­ties of in­ter­est by the pub­lic

●   En­cour­age re­search and ac­quire records of prop­er­ties of in­ter­est and his­tor­i­cal arte­facts

●   Con­duct ed­u­ca­tion and aware­ness cam­paigns to en­sure gen­er­al ac­cep­tance of the rich and di­verse her­itage of Trinidad and To­ba­go