Volume V - Spring 2025
The News from Island Cemetery
Serving Newport’s families for over 175 years …
Current Projects
Development - Evaluating pricing, carriage way layouts and lots available
Events in Island Cemetery and at the Belmont Chapel
Now that the chapel has been reopened it is available for funeral ceremonies, concerts, lectures, art exhibits and even weddings. Public events include ticketed events such as lectures, musical performances, and exhibits. Private events include funerals and funeral services in the Belmont Chapel, celebratory gatherings and parties in the Belmont Chapel. We have our first funeral ceremony in the Chapel next week and our first wedding in May.
Lew and Trudy Keen have been doing a very popular lecture series in the chapel (go to https://www.islandcemeterynewport.com/tours-lectures on our website).
Sheffield Players at Belmont Chapel
On Sunday, March 9, Puddingstone Festival presented the Sheffield Players to a sold out crowd! The Sheffield Players String Quartet performed chamber music for the 50 people in attendance.
Be sure to Save the Date for the 4th annual Belmont Stakes to be held on June 7, 2025.
Restoration
The Chapel
The last stained glass window, the Good Shepherd, over the entrance will be installed this week. Exterior lighting including two lampposts at the entrance, and up spotlights around the front of the chapel is scheduled to this spring as well.
Public Relations
A 10 minute video of the Belmont Restoration was produced by Fernberg Productions of Newport, RI. It is posted online and available at https://www.islandcemeterynewport.com/bcf-restorationfilm.
Newport Life’s Bob Curley did a beautiful spread on the chapel in the January/February 2025 issue at https://www.newportlifemagazine.com/featured/a-loving-restoration-brings-belmont-chapel-back-to-life/.
Legacy Lots
We have been fortunate in locating living descendants of several of our legacy (historical) lots who have been successful in raising funds to restore the beautiful garden lots created by their ancestors.
Norman – The Prince Foundation, members of the Prince and deRamel families raised all the funds needed to restore this important burial ground marked by the tallest monument in the cemetery, the angel on a tall column. The work on the lot will begin this spring and be completed in three months.
Kane – The Kane lot holds the remains of Delancey Kane, the Father of Coaching. Several descendants from the Phelps family have raised a percentage of the needed funds and hope to raise money from the Coaching event in August.
Pell- Christopher Pell has donated funds for cleaning of the markers and painting of the fence on the Pell lot.
Perry/Belmont Circle. Several members of the Perry family chipped in for the repair to the cover on the Matthew Calbraith Perry vault. We are evaluating how to raise funds to restore the large marble exedra designed by Richard Morris Hunt for August Belmont memorial.
The Alfred Smith lot holds two important monuments one of which is the the St. Gaudin’s Angel which has a bas relief and planting area in front of the upright monument. The pruning of vegetation will be undertaken by Tanya Kelley and volunteers
The Vernon lot - the Craig and Vernon families donate funds on a regular basis for the upkeep of the privately owned Vernon lot that the Island Cemetery maintains.
Administration Building Restoration and Renovation
Architect Gregory Yalanis, AIA, has been hired to draw up plans and specs to include renovating the 2nd floor space, pending funding from grants and from a capital campaign.
Dog Incident
In February, a woman was knocked over by a large dog off-leash. She posted her experience on Next Door and the posting was met with many comments of irresponsible dog owners walking the grounds in Island Cemetery. The incident has brought the issue to the surface again as it’s clear to staff that the requirement to have dogs leashed is ignored more frequently than honored. When we encounter unleashed dogs, we ask the owners to leash their dog and often we are treated with rudeness and some just ignore us. The Board is upset and wants to take some kind of action but it’s difficult to see what that might be, short of banning dogs and keeping the gates closed.
Preservation Awards
We received two important restoration awards for the Belmont Chapel: PreserveRI that includes all of the state of RI and Newport Restoration Foundation that covers Aquidneck Island. We are also being considered for an award from the Victorian Society.