Enter Mr. Edward Nequest
On the 31st December 1866 the post of Superintendent of the Cemetery was offered to Mister Edward Nequest. Today is the 154th anniversary of that happening. In early November the previous superintendent John Shields died. John Shields had laid out the cemetery; its paths, its compartments and had arranged the planting of the cemetery’s trees and shrubs. He, with Cuthbert Brodrick, located the site where the chapel was to be placed and he was the first occupant of the Cemetery Lodge.
His death was sudden and the Company needed to act quickly. Luckily for them they had someone close at hand. Edward Nequest had been the clerk to John Shields for a number of years. He knew the business and could take on the role. He applied for the post.
As the minute books show, ‘The necessity of filling up the vacancy occasioned by Mr.Shield’s death having been discussed and an application for the office received from Mr Nequest having been considered,’
Of course the Company also saw this as a perfect time to amalgamate the post of superintendent and secretary. Another short-sighted cost cutting exercise that antagonised the present solicitor who was holding the post of secretary. His name was Charles Spilman Todd, later to be become a councillor and the secretary to the Local Board of Health, the cemetery’s municipal competitor. That story is for another time though.
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.
Looking forward to the next instalment, Pete. 😊