Loxley Chapel and burial ground

[AKAMD 0]

Having just joined the SheffieldForum I have only just found this thread and would like to update everyone who has contributed over the years and inform you of the recently established Friends of Loxley Cemetery Group.

 

Reading through the thread reminded me of the campaign I and many others have pursued over the last 20 years.  I won't reiterate what has been said in the thread other than that I have shared the concerns, anger and frustrations at the lack of action and responsibility during this period.  However, some progress has been made towards bringing this once picturesque piece of the Loxley Valley back to its former glory.

 

The major stumbling block to getting anything done has been the agreement of the owners: previously Hagues Farming and now Ali Property Management.  To be honest I don't recognize the notion of Hagues being amenable to working with a friends group.  In my experience Hagues simply wouldn't support the idea.  However, following an initiative by local councilors and a number of determined interested parties, the new owners have agreed (in writing) to a friends group taking up the task of renovation.  The Friends of Loxley Cemetery Group was established  last September.  It is now a formally constituted group with a management committee of 11, who have met on a regular basis to put the group on sound foundations.  We have a bank account, insurance to cover our activities and assets and, above all else, a determination to get the job done.  An initial action day was organised for 14 March, to be led by an experienced volunteer co-ordinator and we were ready to make a start.  Unfortunately a family emergency occurred that meant we had to postpone the event.  And then came Coronavirus, which has naturally put a halt to activities for the foreseeable future.  However, once this crisis is over we will make a start on the physical transformation of Loxley Cemetery.

 

At the last count we had 51 paid-up members of the Group (we agreed an annual subscription of £5) and membership is open to any individual over the age of 18 or organisation (one vote at general meetings) who shares the Group's aims and objectives and willing to agree by the rules of the Group.  Subscriptions are due 1 January.  We had a stand at the Sheffield Heritage Fair on Jan 18-19, our first public venture, where we were  able to raise the Group's profile and recruit new members.

 

Anyone wanting to join the Friends of Loxley Cemetery can do so by contacting the Secretary, Linda Brownlow by emailing [email protected] 

 

From the interest shown in this thread I hope we can recruit a number of you to the cause.

 

Mick Drewry, Chair of Friends of Loxley Cemetery  

(AKAMD)

 

[Suz 0]

I am trying to find out if my grandparents are buried in Loxley cemetary. We went a few weeks ago but it was so badly overgrown we couldnt see all the headstones. Is there a list of who is buried there. I am looking for the name Whittaker. There could be Florence who died in 1941 and William who died in the 1950s. If anyone knows how i can get the info please let me know. Thankyou

[hillsbro 32]

Hu Suz - in case it is helpful, here is a quote from post #38 by "LoxleyS6" on Page 4 of this thread:

 

"The burial records for the cemetery can be viewed at Sheffield Archives opposite the train station in town, however the records that you are able to view are limited to the lower cemetery because the upper cemetery is still accepting new burials.

 

That been said however, the upper cemetery burials can be viewed by appointment at the funeral home that manages the burials on behalf of the owners, details of which can be found earlier in this post.

 

Sadly due to the condition of both the upper and lower cemetery the best time to locate a plot is in the winter when the weed growth has died down a bit, particularly after it's snowed because the weight of the snow squashes the weeds and reveals the headstones."

 

A few more details are given further down Page 4.

 

Public records confirm that William Whittaker, born 19 February 1903, died in Oct.-Dec. 1954.

Edited September 17, 2020 by hillsbro

[AKAMD 0]

Hi Suz

 

Please email your inquiry to Friends of Loxley Cemetery Group: [email protected]

 

[Suz 0]

Thank you to you both. Ive just emailed loxley secretary and hope they can help. Im not local so would need to write or email the archive records. Does anyone know the email address for this?

 

 

[AKAMD 0]

Hi Suz

Have you had a response to your email to the group?

[Suz 0]

I have found the location of the grave and will visit again in Sept this year. Hopefully the weeds wont be too bad and ill be able to pay my respects. 

[AKAMD 0]

Hi Suz, I'm pleased you have found the location of the grave you were looking for.  If you have not had a prompt reply from the group, this has unfortunately been due to problems with the email address not having received mail sent; there are quite a number of enquiries that the secretary is now trailing through.