British Cemetery Bengkulu

The British Cemetery Bengkulu is a historic colonial cemetery located in Kampung Cina, Teluk Segara, Bengkulu City, near Fort Marlborough. Established during the British East India Company period when Bengkulu was known as Bencoolen (1685-1824), it contains graves of British officials, soldiers and family members. The small walled site is notable for its preserved European tombstones and as a tangible remnant of British colonial presence in Sumatra.

Visitors can expect a small, walled and well-maintained cemetery compound with historic European-style tombstones and grave markers arranged in a quiet garden setting. The site is located close to Fort Marlborough in the coastal area of Bengkulu City. Visitors can walk among the graves, read inscriptions on headstones dating to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, view the enclosing wall and gate, and take photographs. The area is compact and explored on foot.

The cemetery dates to the period of British rule in Bengkulu, when the area was known as Bencoolen and administered by the British East India Company from 1685 to 1824. It served as the burial ground for British residents, including officials, military personnel and their families stationed at Fort Marlborough. After the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of London in 1824, Bengkulu was exchanged for Malacca and British administration ended, leaving the cemetery as a primary historical remnant of that era.

The site is recognized as a cultural heritage structure in Bengkulu City and represents the colonial history and multicultural past of the region. It is maintained as a heritage tourism attraction alongside Fort Marlborough and is valued for educational and historical appreciation of Bengkulu's British period architecture and funerary traditions.