Bournemouth’s church of St Peter dates from Victorian times and is located on the corner of Hilton Road in the suburb of Boscombe.

The church is well worth a visit for it contains some excellent painting, beautiful stained glass windows, and most notably some superb alabaster carvings.

However, the church is possibly most visited for the graveyard, for this is where Mary Shelley, author of the gothic horror Frankenstein, is buried.

Mary was also the wife of the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his heart is buried here with her in the tomb.

In addition, Mary’s parents were William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, both radical thinkers who greatly influenced Victorian society - Wollstonecraft in particular is famous for being one of England’s first feminist writers. Both are buried here alongside Mary.

And also in the churchyard is the tomb of Lewis Tregonwell, the man who first founded Bournemouth in 1810.

St Peter’s Church is open daily, with free admission. There is an information centre where you can find out more about the history of the church.