The Numbering System used to identify the graves, divides the Church and churchyard into several main sections.
The churchyard is divided into twenty two sections designated by the area it is known by.
These areas of the plan are:

Plan of Ashes Plots within Old Burial Ground Areas.

Plan of Memorial Plaques.

The Plan, which accompanies this record, shows the Church and the churchyard with different colours defining the various areas or sections.
The accompanying individual churchyard area plans are schematic diagrams showing the numbering of the graves and monuments within that area.
The accompanying Church plan shows the approximate position of the monument which is either on the floor or wall.

The Convention Used when recording the inscriptions, was to follow the capitalisation where possible. There is no attempt to follow the typeface of the original inscription. All punctuation visible on the stone is transcribed as accurately as possible, within the limitations of the computer typeface. In certain cases a compromise has to be made. Most noticeably, many stones have the word "ye" written as a small "e", directly above the "y". This is represented here with the "e" as a superscript, immediately following the "y", thus: y^e.

Where part of a stone is not decipherable, square brackets are used to indicate missing letters or words, thus [ ]. If the spacing of the surrounding letters gives a clue to the number of missing letters these will be marked within the bracket thus: [_ _ _].
A long underscore indicates many words or letters. e.g. [____________].
If a letter is in doubt, it will be placed within square brackets in the same way, or possible alternatives may be indicated, thus: Died 187[0 or 6].

Curved brackets, i.e. () enclose information from other sources i.e. Burial Register, added to clarify entries. e.g. (JOHN ARTHUR SMITH)
However, some inscriptions use these brackets and they are transcribed as seen.
If a letter is in doubt it will be placed within square brackets, and if the correct letter is known from other sources it will be placed within curved brackets, thus: Died 196[2](3) or if the letter is not decipherable, thus: Died 19[(7)]4.

Curly brackets, i.e. {} are used where some kerbstones give two inscriptions which are both split over two lines, so the name next to the dates has been added to clarify which person is referred to. e.g.
JOHN ARTHUR SMITH          MARY SMITH
1901 - 1990 {John}          1905 - 1985 {Mary}

Where a grave does not have any memorial stonework, e.g. tablet, ledger stone, headstone, kerbstones etc., that is visible (they may be buried under the grass), the transcription has the phrase No memorial seen.
This may be followed by a surname shown in curved brackets e.g. (SMITH). This surname has been taken from the Plan of the Churchyard produced before 1908, that is held by the Church Office, that shows surnames on a plan of numbered graves.
Or, it may be followed by a full name shown in curved brackets e.g. (JOHN SMITH). This name has been taken either from the Burial Register entry, that sometimes includes the plot reference, and / or from the Burial Plot Books held by the Church Office.

In the standard paper transcripts the "/" symbol is used to indicate line ends in order to save space. In this web version, space is not at a premium and the lines are placed as found on the stone. However, no attempt is made to fit the modern type to the correct line lengths and all the lines are centred. The true layout can usually be judged from the photograph.

Additional Information.

Description of the grave is shown in italics. Normally this consists of a brief description of the grave, preceding the inscription. In some cases further information may be added, in italics, following the inscription. This is often information from the Burial Register or cross-referencing to other documents held by the Church Office, indicated thus: Ref: etc.. This is only included where it adds information, or confirms or contradicts something read from the stone.

Ref: The reference is usually in the format YYYYRNNN where:

• YYYY : Is the year of death, burial or interment, or the year of the entry in the Burial Register.
• R : Is the reference to an entry in a Burial Register.
• NNN : This number is the entry number in a Burial Register. If the number is represented with the letters xxx, then this indicates that the Burial Register number is not known.
• If there is a name in brackets following the reference then it is a transcription from the entry in the Burial Register to indicate either :-
    a) the reference refers to who, if the names and dates are not obvious
    b) to clarify the name in the inscription if it has initials or only one forename
    c) to indicate a difference between the name on the inscription and the entry in the Burial Register.

Other Information:

Other information has been included from other documents when it provides more information, especially when the memorial inscription has been worn away or broken off.

We are most grateful to the late Rodney Martin Challands (1930-2014) for his historical research and transcribing many of the inscriptions during the 1980's and 1990's. Any errors in his data have not been corrected but if noticed, during this project, have been enclosed in [...] brackets.

Acknowledgements.

The use of two old maps held by the Church Office :-

1) Plan of the Churchyard produced before 1908 by Mr F.H. Smith, C.E. that shows surnames on a plan of numbered graves.

2) Outline map of numbered graves produced in December 1908 by Peter Addie of The Exchange, Bristol, based on the Plan by Mr F.H. Smith, C.E.

To the late Rodney Martin Challands (1930-2014) for providing a record of many of the inscriptions during the 1980's and 1990's.

Grateful Thanks are due to the following people for giving us permission to carry out the recording and for offering their help and encouragement.

The Reverend Robert Eastwood Dewing

Vicar of St. Peter's Church, for permission to transcribe the monuments and to publish the data on the internet.

St. Peter's Church Office

For permission to view and make notes from the current Burial Register and to view the old plans of the Churchyard Graves.
Church Office, St Barnabas Centre West Hill, Portishead, Somerset, BS20 6LN.
Tel: 01275 846230
email: office@portisheadparish.co.uk

South West Heritage Trust (Somerset Record Office, Somerset Archives and Local Studies)

For permission to view and make notes from the archived Burial Registers of St. Peter's Church Portishead.
Somerset Heritage Centre, Brunel Way, Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton, Somerset TA2 6SF.
website: Somerset Archives and Local Studies

The team of volunteers

Valerie Payne (St. Peter's Churchyard Archivist, 2016-2021), Gill Curwood, Les Curwood, Richard Moore, Alan Hebden, Robert & Juliet Bracken.