Cemetery Walking Tour

Walking Tour of Potters Field with Dr. Hanna

Location: East Britannia Street, Taunton

It’s known in municipal records as the Free Ground at Mayflower Cemetery, but Tauntonians call it simply Potters Field.  For 100 years, beginning in 1862, this was the last resting place assigned to the city’s poor and forgotten.  As an institution, it was remarkably democratic; its 1,000 burial plots hold representatives of eight foreign countries who, before overtaken by hard times, worked in at least twenty occupations.  Now sandwiched between two much larger cemeteries, it nonetheless has a wealth of stories that are seldom told.  From forgotten children to notorious murderers, the dead at the Free Ground have fascinating stories to tell.

Dr. William Hanna, who has studied Potters Field for a decade, will lead a walking tour of the cemetery.

Please note: the terrain is level and the small amount of necessary walking will be done at a leisurely pace.  The tour will take approximately one hour. There is ample on-street parking available on East Britannia Street.