Sheffield General Cemetery MEGATHREAD (excl. tours)

[hockeybear 10]

On the 1st Sunday of every month they do a guided walk at 2 pm, the people who take the walk are well informed about the cemetry, they would know where any plans might be

[sergeantb 10]

Neither of those links work duffems?

 

im on holiday for the september guided walk but im planning on going to the october one hockeybear Im hoping they'll be able to help me out yeah. I'm planning on doing my masters thesis on the refurbishment/ conversion and change of us of the deralict building. Both buildings are stunning, such a shame they cant be put to a good use.

[Granma 10]

Have you tried Sheffield Archives?

52 Shoreham Street, Sheffield, S1 4SP

Tel 0114 203 9395

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_General_Cemetery

" The cemetery, with its Greek Doric and Egyptian style buildings, was designed by Sheffield architect Samuel Worth (1779–1870) "

 

AND:

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sheffield_General_Cemetery

 

The Anglican Church designed by William Flockton."

 

Granma.

Edited August 17, 2009 by Granma

[joolsd 10]

Your best bet is to contact the Sheffield General Cemetery Trust.

 

It's website is here:

 

http://www.gencem.org/

 

Contact details:

 

The Cemetery Gatehouse,

Sheffield General Cemetery,

Cemetery Avenue,

Sheffield,

S11 8NT

Tel : 0114 268 3486 or 0114 335 1853

 

Email : [email protected]

 

SGCT have had drawings of the inside of both the chapels and may let you have copies.

 

Julia

[Gen Cemetery 10]

I've passed your enquiry on to management and volunteers at the trust

[BillyWhiz 10]

I'd love to find out more about this place. I went for the first time last week and it was such a strange walk, I half expected Christopher Lee to pop up. I'm assuming the graves have been exhumed?

QUOTE]

 

Why on earth would the graves be exhumed?

[sergeantb 10]

Thanks for everyones replies, currently out of the country but I will contact the management when I'm back next week, will also make a trip to try and dig up some drawings from the archives.

 

Cheers

 

tom

[Plain Talker 11]

I'd love to find out more about this place. I went for the first time last week and it was such a strange walk, I half expected Christopher Lee to pop up. I'm assuming the graves have been exhumed?

 

Why on earth would the graves be exhumed?

 

In the bottom end of the cemetery, a large area has been cleared of graves, and the remains of the deceased were re-interred at (I believe) City Road.

 

Certain parts of the area near the gatehouse would flood, from the Porter, which was a bit unpleasant for the graves in that area.

 

The lower field is now a pleasant, open recreation area, which has also been used for festivals and events.

[Gen Cemetery 10]

Sergeantb, the cemetery is holding a day of events for it's annual heritage open day with tours and talks on Sunday the 13th of September. A number of our expert volunteers will be on site to handle enquiries so if you're back from your holiday come along and I'm sure someone will be able to help. See the Events forum for more details coming soon.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Gen Cemetery
Additional information.

[Darth Vader 10]

I recently had the pleasure of visiting this Sheffield gem. I would urge anyone who hasn't yet done so to take the time if they have the chance. I never throught it would appeal to me but was persuaded by a friend and was so glad I went. It is an amazing place with such an intriguing air about it.

 

We had a map of the site (from the gatehouse) with us and were looking for specific plots of interest to my friend. I must say I was very angered and saddened when I quickly discovered that so many graves have been "cleared" in the area we were hoping to find them. I couldn't believe that this had been allowed, destroying such items of historical interest, and significantly altering an historical landmark. I have searched the forum and found references to "the clearing of graves" and one post even says that the gravestones were ground up to form new paths (), which seems beyond belief. Does anyone have any information about this, or could they direct me to any sources that explain what happened and the reasons for this please? Many thanks.

[The Giraffe 10]

Hi

 

We went recently and also followed the map. We found most of the graves and sites of interest apart from the ones near the Egyptian gate.

 

On the Sheffield General Cemetery website it says that some of the graves (near the Cemetery Road entrance) were "cleared" due to a lack of "green spaces in Sheffield".

 

Unfortunately they wern't very discreet with the using of the grave stones in making the paths - leading away from the Cemetery Road entrance to the right you can clearly see part of a gravestone inscription that has been used to make a drain!

[Gen Cemetery 10]

I recently had the pleasure of visiting this Sheffield gem. I would urge anyone who hasn't yet done so to take the time if they have the chance. I never throught it would appeal to me but was persuaded by a friend and was so glad I went. It is an amazing place with such an intriguing air about it.

 

We had a map of the site (from the gatehouse) with us and were looking for specific plots of interest to my friend. I must say I was very angered and saddened when I quickly discovered that so many graves have been "cleared" in the area we were hoping to find them. I couldn't believe that this had been allowed, destroying such items of historical interest, and significantly altering an historical landmark. I have searched the forum and found references to "the clearing of graves" and one post even says that the gravestones were ground up to form new paths (), which seems beyond belief. Does anyone have any information about this, or could they direct me to any sources that explain what happened and the reasons for this please? Many thanks.

 

Speaking as one of the volunteers working for the Sheffield General Cemetery Trust I'm glad you appreciated your visit, we work hard to maintain the landscape and provide information to visitors. If you follow the link to our website in my sig you'll find plenty of information on the site's history.

 

There is a good account of the clearance in our book, Remote and Undisturbed, available at the Gatehouse for £4.99. I'll try to summarise: The background was that the Cemetery had become badly neglected, overrun with rats and wild vegetation. In 1963 it was bought by a development company which intended to use it for a housing development -- an idea that was soon shot down by the council after local opposition. As a result the site was abandoned to become more derelict than ever. Former MP Martin Flannery is quoted as saying "The city had a sense of shame about it"

 

Finally the Council took over the site from the developers and obtained an Act of Parliament to have it closed for burials. It was their plan to clear the Anglican side of the cemetery, retaining the older Non Conformist side in which most of the notable monuments and buildings are. They believed the community would benefit from the open space created by the clearance of the overgrown and dangerous graves.

 

The work began in 1980. I was living in Sheffield at the time and I remember that there was local opposition but it had all been done legally and carried out with dispatch before there could be effective organised protests. One thing we can be grateful for is that all the grave inscriptions were recorded and placed in Sheffield Archives. Part of the work we are now doing is transcribing these records and putting them in a computer database.

 

The number of gravestones removed was 7,500. A few families took up the Council's offer to have gravestones and burials removed elsewhere. Some of the stones were used in landscaping, along the top of the catacombs and by the gatehouse. It is sadly true that a number were ground up.

 

In 1986 the cemetery was made a designated Conservation Area and in 1989 local residents formed the Friends of the General Cemetery. The Friends and the subsequent General Cemetery Trust have raised funds which so far have paid for the restoration of the Gatehouse and the setting up of the office so that we can continue to care for what remains. Although we regret what happened we are happy to look after the open space, planting new shrubs and trees and allowing it to be used for local events. There is no doubt that it is an asset to the community.