7th March 1901
This month’s anniversary is perhaps the first indication that the Cemetery’s position and land was becoming more of an asset than their role as a cemetery. The image is taken from minutes of the 55th Annual General Meeting. This was held at the Grosvenor Hotel, one Thursday evening on the 7th of March, 1901. It records that one of the directors of the Company raised an issue. James Oldham was one of the original shareholders of the Cemetery. At this meeting he floated, for the very first time, that perhaps the Company should consider thinking about selling their Princes Avenue frontage.
Interestingly, James Oldham, had come to this idea, as he said, by recognizing the urbanisation of the Avenues area. He said how the area needed servicing with shops. By 1901, when this comment was made, the construction of the Dukeries area was well underway. The the eastern ends of Marlborough, Westbourne and Park Avenues were also under development.
The end result of this thought bore fruit some six years later. Part of the frontage was sold for the construction of the row of three storey shops that still stands today. This transaction gave a welcome cash boost to the Company’s finances. Unfortunately that was rapidly squandered with an extra-ordinary dividend distributed to the shareholders. Just one more mistake in a sad catalogue of them made by the Company.
Pete Lowden is a member of the Friends of Hull General Cemetery committee which is committed to reclaiming the cemetery and returning it back to a community resource.
Wonderful how information as this shows us that the buildings or some of the buildings are still there to this day.
I have now read and enjoyed the short articles in the post, but please give me a few days to read for me the very long article A Monumental Loss.
Thank you, kind regards.
Brian