The Watler Cemetery is a historic cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 located in Propsect, Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the nation's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac.-Geography:Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of...

. It was donated to the National Trust for the Cayman Islands

National Trust for the Cayman Islands

The National Trust for the Cayman Islands is the National Trust serving the Cayman Islands. Its purposes are to preserve sites of artistic and architectural interest in the islands and to provide protection for local natural resources and wildlife...

 by the Watler family in 1991.

Although the graves in the cemetery date from the beginning of the 19th century, it is possible that the site was in use even before that, as Watlers have lived in the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...

 since the 17th century. It is thought that the name is a corruption of "Walters" .

Watler Cemetery is notable for the number of traditional-style grave markers which still stand within its walls. Shaped like houses, the memorials are constructed with a combination of crushed coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

 and limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 daub. Similar markers, dating to the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, have been found in both England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

; other markers in the same style, these dating to the 17th century, may be seen across the British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

. The markers are designed so that a wooden coffin

Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...

 may be safely buried underneath; the stones are heavy enough that only the most violent of storms could dislodge them. At one time each marker had a mahogany

Mahogany

The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....

tablet set into one wall, listing the name and dates of the deceased; unfortunately, many of these have disappeared over the years, while others have become illegible. More modern stones cover numerous burials, but traditional markers were designed for only one body each .

The cemetery is today enlosed by an old stone wall; the original entrance is now filled in, but may be seen almost directly across from the current one. Mature trees surround the graveyard and the Prospect Youth Centre is located on the eastern side of the cemetrey. The centre is run by the United Church.

Today, the cemetery is almost all that remains of Prospect.