The cemetery was the burial ground for the Somerset and Bath Pauper Lunatic Asylum, which was later known as the Wells Mental Hospital, then the Mendip Hospital. Nearly 3000 former patients and staff were laid to rest here between 1874 and 1963.

The cemetery is now both a nature reserve and a living memorial to the poor souls buried here.

The aim is to keep the site in pristine condition and to encourage people to visit.

Open on Sundays from April to end of September 2022 from 11am to 4pm.