Life after Death?
The Hull General Cemetery Company sought liquidation via the courts which it achieved in 1972 leaving the site without ownership. Eventually, after questions asked in Parliament the site was sold to Hull City Council for a nominal sum of £1 in 1974. At the time the local press was calling the site an ‘eyesore’ and demanding that it was cleaned up. What the aims of the council were when it acquired the land initially is open to question and it could be argued the local authority was reacting to events rather than having a strategic goal for the site.
However, within a short space of time the local authority made clear that the cemetery should be re-developed. There had been earlier demonstrations of cemetery ‘re-development’ in the city when Trippet Street, Division Road and the Drypool graveyards in the early 1960s and 70’s suffered this process. Redevelopment in this sense meant that the vast majority of headstones would be removed and the cemetery landscaped. This took the form of harrowing and grass seeding the ground so that it could be mown.
Public opposition to this plan for Hull General Cemetery, including such names as Philip Larkin and John Betjeman, was overruled and the wholesale destruction of irreparable historical artefacts took place. The whole process took about 18 months. However, because of Hull General Cemetery’s conspicuous role in Victorian Hull, a number of headstones, principally of more notable members of the public, were allowed to remain. Also, as an indication of how ‘bad’ the cemetery had become until the council stepped in, a number of rows of headstones were left in situ. These are the rows next to and surrounding the Quaker plot. By 1979 the site had been ‘developed’.
At first the council maintained the grounds. Grass cutting took place on a regular basis and paths were re-laid every year with sand and gravel. The council maintained the trees. The cemetery resembled a park with headstones dotted around. Children played there, families picnicked and dogs were walked. Apart from the headstones, the cemetery may well have been, to a casual observer, either West Park or Pearson Park.
Unfortunately, over time, with the council suffering significant funding cuts, the maintenance of the cemetery fell by the wayside and it began to acquire a neglected feel. The dumping of rubbish began to happen more regularly, paths became quagmires; sycamore saplings began to destroy the remaining stones whilst ivy swamped them. The entire cemetery was quickly becoming a place to avoid rather than to visit.
Conclusion
Hull General Cemetery is one of the greatest historical resources that the city of Hull has. That it has been abused, neglected and damaged by its custodians is not in doubt but it still breathes charm and exudes magic. Walking there, within 100 yards of a major thoroughfare, one can forget the modern world.
You can experience the pleasure of a ‘country walk’ whilst being ten minutes away from the lattes and pastries of Princes Avenue. You can emulate Dr Who and time travel simply by reading the inscriptions and wonder at the lives and times of those people who were buried here. You can bird watch in solitude, feed the many squirrels or simply try to identify the many plants and trees there and all within a short walk from ‘civilization’.
But beware, the future of this unique paradise within our city is fragile, due to our neglect, both individual and corporate, and once this fabulous historical resource has gone, it cannot be recreated. It has suffered in its recent history but it is still here, thankfully.
Friends of Hull General Cemetery
In 2018 a group of like-minded people from all walks of life set up a Facebook group called the Friends of Hull General Cemetery, with the aim of rescuing this vital part of our city’s heritage. During its short life it has generated a significant amount of interest in the cemetery from the general public and plans are afoot to bid for local and national funding to make the cemetery a more hospitable place for the community to visit yet still retain its historical significance and environmental importance for future generations.
The book ‘Hull General Cemetery 1847 – 1972, A Short Introduction‘ by Pete Lowden and Bill Longbone is available to buy from Amazon. The book is available as a paperback and as a Kindle download.