Anniversary March 1877

This month’s anniversary is interesting. In May 1876 a discussion took place as to whether a clock tower should be built in the grounds or a clock installed in the lodge. The question rattled back and forth for months. By that September the decision was taken to install the clock into the Lodge belfry.

HGC Lodge pre 1877

This repair work was to cost £94. 5s which was a considerable sum for a building that was only 30 years old.

The AGM

In March 1877 the decision was ratified at the AGM and the plan was to install the clock and also conduct some repair work to the Lodge as it,

AGM discussion regarding the installation of the clock.

 

This interaction is interesting in a number of ways. Firstly the decision to repair to the original design shows that the Lodge was something they were proud of. Somewhat different to their feelings in the late 1840s. Then it was obvious from the Company paperwork that the Board were heartily sick of the troubles the Lodge had caused them.

Secondly, it shows the Cemetery Company still wanting to present a good image of itself to the community. The placing of the clock was civic minded. Yes, they may have cloaked this idea with the line, ‘business of the cemetery’ but they knew progress was happening.

By this time, D. P. Garbutt had begun the development of the Avenues. This development, to the Board,  was surely just the beginnings of the area the Cemetery occupied becoming more salubrious. Who knows where that may lead?

As such the installation of a clock was a smart move. It was civic-minded enough to appeal, yet it’s cost was small. In essence, a win-win situation for the Company.

Fixing the clock

The Company received a tender for fixing the clock from a Mr George Pickering of Prospect Street. This tender was accepted and the cost of making and installing the clock was £7.

The final cost of repairing the Lodge and installing the clock was a stupendous £124 10s. At this time the Company were still desirous of making a show and if that meant spending money, then so be it.

Later in its long life it would not be so happy to do so.

The Lodge to the left with clock.

 

Edward Nequest

Edward Nequest was part of a very select group of people. There were only four superintendents of Hull General Cemetery.

John Shields was the first. He and Cuthbert Brodrick laid out the paths and plots of the cemetery prior to its opening in 1847. John Shields died suddenly in 1866. He was succeeded by Edward. He himself retired in 1891. Michael Kelly took over until 1944. After that Michael’s daughter Cicely Kelly continued in this post until her enforced retirement in the 1950s. There were no more superintendents.

Edward’s birth

Edward Nequest was born in Hull in 1823. The image below shows his baptism at Holy Trinity that year.

Edward's baptism 1823

In the second column below, which may be difficult to read, the name Edward is inserted. This is followed by ‘S of’ denoting ‘son of’. The registrar also had difficult with the surname. The correction is in brackets. Edward’s parents were Peter and Mary. Their address is given as Myton and the father’s occupation is recorded as a mariner.  The incumbent of Holy Trinity at the time was John Bromby.

John Bromby

This vicar had the longest tenure of any incumbent of this parish. He became the vicar of Holy Trinity in 1797 and stepped down from the post in 1867 after 70 years service. He died the following year and is buried in the churchyard of North Ferriby.

Edward was the second son from this marriage. The first son was also called Peter and he was born in 1821 and baptised at the same church.

Peter Nequest elder brother bapt 1821

Home

We have no idea of where the Nequest family lived at this time but by the 1841 census we know the family lived in Cogan Street.  It still exists but in a truncated form. Clive Sullivan Way now occupies the southern part where Cogan Street stood.

Cogan Street 1890

In the 1841 census of Peter Nequest we find him listed as a ‘Stower’, and his wife, Mary, is strangely placed near the end of the family listing. The 1841 census generally is a blunt tool in comparison with later ones. It often rounded the ages of children up or down to the nearest five yearly span. We find that in the 1841 Nequest census both of Peter’s sons’ ages, Peter and Edward, are given as 15 yet Peter would have been 20 and Edward 18 at the time. The younger Peter, as you can see, is listed as an attorney’s clerk. Edward was soon to follow his brother into this profession.

You may also see that Peter the elder has an ‘F’ against his name. That is because he was born in Sweden in 1793 and migrated to Hull. We have no information why he did this. A shrewd guess would be that it may have been due to the Napoleonic Wars and the British blockade of the continent at the time. A mariner would have found work difficult at that time and emigrating to Britain was a way out of this dilemma.

Peter, Ed's father 1841 census

1851 census

By the time of the 1851 census Edward has moved from the family home. He now lived in a small terrace called Ville Terrace off the newly laid out Hessle Road not far from no1. Hessle Road.

Edward nequest 1851

Perhaps more importantly for Edward was that he now was married. He had married Ann Plaxton in 1849. He was also a solicitor’s clerk.

Ed marr cert 1849

Not just any solicitor. He was apprenticed and articled to one of the most famous solicitors in Hull. His employer was Charles Spilman Todd. This man had been instrumental in carrying through the purchase of the cemetery’s grounds. Indeed the first meeting of the provisional committee took place in his office at no.15 Bowlalley Lane.

15, Bowlalley Lane today

C.S.Todd as he was known was both the solicitor and secretary for the Company and also was a large shareholder. Still later in his life he was a councillor and became the secretary for the Local Board of Health and eventually he was elected as Sheriff of Hull. The Creation of Hull General Cemetery: Part Two

Shadrach Wride

In the 1840s the first secretary to C.S.Todd was a man called Shadrach Wride. This man is worthy of an article himself.

Baptised in 1796 in Holy Trinity the year before Rev. Bromby took over. Shadrach was the son of a man of the same name. This man had been the foreman of Jackson’s wood yard in the Groves and he ‘luckily’ married the bosses’ daughter.  When he died in 1823 he left the business to his son. Whether the business was in a good state or worth anything is open to question.

Sadly the business failed in 1827 and Shadrach Wride entered the Bankruptcy Court. The timber yard was auctioned off. Even the family home on Charterhouse Lane had to be sold.

wride's bankruptcy June 1827

Debtor’s prison

One has to remember the draconian laws then regarding debts. Today a person who becomes bankrupt can have that burden discharged after two or three years whilst not paying their debts. Not so in Georgian and Victorian times. Charles Dickens’s father was a debtor and was placed in Marshalsea Prison until the debt was repaid. Dickens himself had to work in a blacking factory to help pay this debt at the tender age of 12. This had a marked effect upon the young boy and it came out in his works in later life.

Little Dorrit is almost completely set inside a debtor’s prison. Nicholas Nickelby, Great Expectations and Pickwick Papers all allude or feature the stigma of the debtor’s prison. Shadrach Wride would have used all in his power to avoid being imprisoned for this ‘crime’. That he did so, and was later rehabilitated says a great deal about the man.

Rebuilding his life

After this date Shadrach contented himself in making ends meet by taking on a number of roles. Often cited as an agent for insurance companies and emigration agencies he was still a respected member of society. He was the secretary for the Fish street Church and was part of that committee until his death. His abode was at 15 Spring Bank, on the corner of Spring Street, and this address was often used as a postal address for the Cemetery before the lodge was built.

15 Spring Bank

To show that the ‘Good Old Days’ never really existed the newspaper item below perhaps shows that modern life is typical of what went before.

lead stealing from Wride

Mr Wride was also the secretary for the C.S.Todd’s legal practice and therefore the secretary for the Company. The evidence for this is often to be found in the newspapers of the time but also in the records of the Company that still exist.

S Wride first prospectus issued for HGC April 1845

Shadrach Wride was also listed as the Company secretary on the brass plate that was buried in the foundations of the Lodge at the official opening of the Cemetery in June 1847.

Wride’s death

So the man’s death came as a shock to many parties. Shadrach died on July 25th 1850 as the news item below shows.

Wrides death

He is buried in Hull General Cemetery in compartment 35 only two grave spaces away from his employer C.S.Todd’s own grave. the cause of death is cited as apoplexy. The vacancy he left was filled by Edward Nequest.

Edward’s work

The first we learn of Edward’s new appointment is once again via the local newspaper. This is some five years after Wride’s death. It is obvious that Edward is not taking things for granted, signing himself as pro secretary. The term ‘pro‘ here is standing for pro tem, meaning for the time being. There were no chickens being counted too early here.

ed nequest first mention as sec of HGC 1855

By the following March, in a further newspaper item, Edward signs himself as the secretary, so his appointment must have been confirmed.

However whether any such appointment was ever confirmed is open to doubt. Shadrach Wride’s occupation given in the Cemetery’s burial register is ‘agent to the life insurance company‘ even though he had been both C.S.Todd and the Company secretary for at least five years. Edward, when he bought graves in the Cemetery, is listed as ‘Attorney’s clerk’ and this terminology lasted until the mid 1860s. It appears that the Company didn’t like to be tied down.

Domestic issues

But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit here. Edward, as we know, was a family man and the domestic side of his life needs some explaining. Or at least an attempt should be made for there is one aspect that is a mystery.

Edward Nequest owned three graves in Hull General Cemetery. They are in compartment 105 close to the south side of the cemetery.

Nequest graves in comp 105

Whether he bought them all at the same time is debateable. What we do know was that the first purchase took place in 1850 for on the 3rd October the first burial took place within it. This was of a young girl, Jane Bell. This child was the daughter of ‘the late Robert Bell, Customs Officer’. I have struggled to find a family connection but in vain. The only supposition I have come up with is that Robert Bell may have been a friend and neighbour as the address given is Elizabeth Place, Hessle Road. This was very near to Edward’s own address at the time. I’m afraid this tenuous link is the best I can do.

1861

By the time of the 1861 census Edward had moved house. He now lived at a house in Porter Street with his wife and young daughter Mary Ann.

1861 census

Sadly, only 2 years later, in the July of 1863, this child was the second burial in this plot. Measles and consumption of the bowels was the cause of death.

Becoming superintendent

In November 1866 John Shields, the first superintendent passed away suddenly. In the following January the Board appointed Edward Nequest to the post of superintendent.

They also decided, short-sightedly, to combine the roles of superintendent and secretary. Seemingly implemented as a cost-cutting measure it alienated their solicitor, the fore-mentioned C.S.Todd who resigned from the Board. When he became the secretary to the Local Board of Health this alienation came back to bite the Company but that is another story. An Anniversary

The minute books

The minute books of the Company record this decision.

‘Special meeting of directors 20/12/66. Present Irving, Bell and Oldham

‘The vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr S. the late superintendent again came under consideration of the board when the question as to the desirability of amalgamating the two offices of secretary and supt., was discussed and it was ultimately unanimously resolved that in the opinion  of the board, the time has now arrived when it seems desirable that the two offices of sec., and supt., may be advantageously combined.

It was further resolved that a copy of the foregoing resolution be handed to C.S.Todd esq, the secretary and that the directors have an early interview with him on the subject. 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 it was unanimously resolved that taking  into consideration Mr Nequest’s long and satisfactory connection with the company the situation of supt., and registrar be offered to him at the salary of £110 per annum with the use of the lodge and this his duties to commence on Tuesday the first of January 1867.’

This appointment was recorded in the local press.

nequest appt jan 1867

A Company Man

It’s fair to say that Edward threw himself into his work, much like John Shields had done, and Michael Kelly after him would do. Edward often represented the Company at investigations and on committees. In 1868 he applied to Cottingham Local Government Board for them to provide two lamps outside of the Cemetery which they agreed to. This would have been the first street lighting on what was to become Princes Avenue.

He was less successful in 1873 when he asked them to repair the road outside the cemetery.

In 1869 he attended the Local Burial Board Committee and spoke, mentioning that new burial ground of the Corporation ( Old Western Cemetery) was rapidly filling up. The same year he had to explain that it was Company policy to give visiting clergymen a surplice at the office and not to give them a surplice at the graveside as one irate clergyman demanded. The Burial Board sided with Edward.

An important meeting

A more important meeting that Edward attended took place before this appointment as superintendent. On the 21st April 1860 the Hull Advertiser recorded his intervention into a meeting of the South Myton Guardian Society.

In the meeting, which appeared to have been called as to whether the parishioners of Holy Trinity should pay for a new burial ground, Edward was forthright. The snippets below, taken from a very long article, show that Edward was a bright, eloquent speaker who was passionate about the Cemetery.

Nequest south myton meeting april 1860 1

Still later, in defending the Hull General Cemetery’s charges,

nequest south myton 2

Needless to say that the parishioners voted against having a rate set against them for the purchase of a burial ground. The result of this was that Castle Street continued to be used for burial for a further year until Sophia Broadley donated the land to lay out Division Road cemetery in 1862.

1871 and after

By 1871 his family had increased and living in the lodge must have become a bit tiresome.

1871 census Nequest

As we know, three years later he requested that he be allowed to move from the lodge. Anniversary January 1874 This request was accepted by the Board and he moved out to a larger house. This was at 7, Zoological Terrace, situated on the corner of Norwood street and in between the Swedenborgian Church on one side and St Jude’s on the other corner of Norwood Street.

Spring Bank 1904

It is the building with the group of men outside of it on the pavement in this image. Here’s another image and it is the house with the steeple behind it.

Nequest's house, Spring Bank

Edward continued to live at this address until his death in the 20th century. By the time of the 1881 census there had been no new additions to the family but as you can see below Elizabeth had married.

1881 census Nequest

A terrible decade

She had married John Frederick Byron and had borne him a son, Frederick Edward the following year. Her husband was still living with his parents at 47, Stanley Street and he lists himself as a ‘foreman of wine and spirits warehouse’. 

In the 1880s his daughter, now Elizabeth Byron, lost three children. Ann on the 22nd of October 1885. She was 5 days old. The cause of death was put as premature birth. The following year, in October 1886, Ellen died at the age of 12 days old. Her cause of death was listed as disease of the spine. And in the February of 1889 another daughter, Lillie, died at the age of four from croup.

Culminating a terrible decade for Edward in the September of 1889 he lost his wife Ann. She died of cancer of the liver. Her death took place at 2, Albion Place, Quay Road, Bridlington. Cancer is rarely a sudden death and I surmise that Ann was away from home, probably with Edward, as a holiday / leave taking for both of them.

Edward's wife's burial record 1889

Going through the motions

It’s fair to say that the loss of his wife was a disaster for Edward. I would suppose that he no longer wanted to be associated with death for it now held painful memories for him. Sadly, worse was to come.

In the meantime, in the September of 1891, he offered his resignation from his post as Superintendent and Secretary for the Hull General Cemetery.

Its arrival is recorded in the Company minute books,

‘Read a letter that from Mr Nequest tendering his resignation of the office of secretary as and from 30 instance. Resolved that such a resignation be accepted. Read a letter from a Mr Kelly of Granville Street, Hull, for the office of secretary and superintendent rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr Nequest and after considering the same and it appearing that Mr Kelly was suitable person to fill the office it was resolved that Mr M Kelly be and he is hereby appointed secretary and superintendent on the terms named in his application.’

His daughter

Edward’s daughter by now had a family of three children. Frederick Edward now aged 10, Charles aged 8 and Gertie, born that year. Her husband, John Frederick, now listed himself as a dock labourer, so a definite coming down in the world for the family. They lived at Ebenezer Place, Raywell Street which was off Charles Street.

By the 1901 census John Frederick is nowhere to be seen and Elizabeth is listed as a widow. Indeed this is strange record for all the inhabitants are simply designated with initials.

Elizabeth Nequest 1901 census

The truth of the matter is that John Frederick had absconded to the United States where he proceeded to make a new life for himself and scant regard for his past life.

His mother had died in 1883 and his father died in 1894. By 1895 he had emigrated. two years later he committed bigamy by marrying Ruth Newman on the 15th September 1897 in Salt Lake City. I say committed bigamy but Salt lake City was and is the home of the Mormon religion and polygamy is accepted and recognised there. Did John F Byron become a Mormon? We have no way of knowing. Suffice to say that he had six more sons and five more daughters whilst in the USA so we can say he embraced his second wife if not the religion. He died in 1918 in Idaho.

Her illness

We have no idea why he absconded. It could well have been that his wife Elizabeth was ill. She eventually died from locomotor ataxia. This disease was and is extremely problematic and embarrassing for sufferers. Predominantly it is a disease of the spine. It manifests itself in locomotion issues such as jerky walking and disorientated movements which give the appearance of being drunk. Sufferers need to constantly check where there are limbs are. It is often a symptom of Tabes Dorsalis which itself is often a symptom of tertiary syphilis.

Elizabeth Byron, Edward's daughter burial rec

Elizabeth died in 1903. She is buried in grave number 14765, the bottom burial plot in the image shown earlier. You many note that the other grave plots are classed as B whilst Elizabeth’s is D. She is the sole occupant of that grave plot. I’m sure, like me, you can hypothesise about why this occurred but it is only guesswork and perhaps we should leave this tragedy untroubled.

1911 and beyond

Edward's 1911 census

The 1911 census shows Edward living in his home with his son Edward and a housekeeper. The house was spacious consisting of eight rooms and both the Edwards appear to be living a comfortable life.

The elder Edward died on the 3rd July 1920 at the age of 97.

Edward Nequest burial record

His son then married! At the age of 56!! Once again we can wonder at this turn of events. Did the younger Edward love someone whom his father disapproved? We shall never know. And once again tragedy stalks this family. The younger Edward survived his father by less than five months, dying in the December of the same year.

He left a gross estate of £3,301 and personal wealth of £731 to his new bride Mary Elizabeth (nee Young) who continued to live in 183 Spring Bank. On February 2nd 1949, Mary Elizabeth Nequest died. She was cremated and her ashes were buried alongside her husband and her in-laws in grave number 14363. With her death this line of the family ended.

Obituary

Finally let us leave with the obituary that the Hull Daily Mail saw fit to print about Edward.

obit nequest 1920

 

 

Anniversary January 1874

New Year’s Day is the anniversary of some interest. This anniversary of January 1874 shows that Gothic may be nice to look at but as to living in it. Well that’s another matter.

On that day in 1874, the superintendent wrote to the Board and asked to leave the lodge. The superintendent, Edward Nequest, had lived in the lodge since the previous occupant had died.

1871 census Nequest

The previous occupant was John Shields. He was the first superintendent of the cemetery and had died in 1866. However he had requested to move out of the lodge some time before this and moved to a house in Derringham Street.

After Edward Nequest had moved on the lodge was rented out to George Ingleby, the gardener for the Cemetery. Michael Kelly, the next superintendent took on the lodge. He too found it trying and asked to be able to find his own accommodation.

Just before its demolition in 1925 the chairman had referred to it at the AGM as, ‘the old, perished, insanitary lodge.

So, it’s quite possible that although the lodge was beautiful to look at, it was not a great place to live in.

HGC lodge

Nequest said in a presentation to the Board that,

that the Lodge in which he resided was very damp and unsuitable to live in and having requested  the Board to provide him with a residence outside the cemetery and the matter having been considered it was resolved that Mr Nequest do provide himself with a suitable  house and that the Company allow him £20 a year towards the rent of such house and provide him with coals and gas  heretofore.’

Census entries

That the Board accepted this demand so easily perhaps shows that they were fully aware of the force of his argument. After all they met in one of the rooms of the lodge and must have seen how bad things were.

1881 census Nequest

Edward Nequest moved from the lodge to a house on Spring Bank. In the image above, taken from the 1881 census, Edward then lived at 7, Zoological Terrace.

By the time of the 1891 census this address had been renumbered to 183, Spring Bank. Edward continued to live there until his death in 1920. The house stood on the corner of Norwood Street only a few doors away from Peter Hodsman, the master stonemason of the cemetery. Stonemason of the Cemetery

Formerly house of Edward Neguest cemetery supt HGC

This image was taken by Chris Ketchell just over 25 years ago. In the 1980s it was a butcher’s shop.

 

Anniversary December 1914

The anniversary this month has striking similarities with events today in that it deals with refugees.

In August 1914 the United Kingdom, along with its allies, France, Russia and Belgium entered into a conflict with the Central Powers of Germany and Austro-Hungary. This conflict has become known to us as the Great War and it began with the Germans invading Belgium. The conflict lasted for just over four years.

However, like all such modern conflicts, the victims were not confined to the armed forces. Belgium was almost completely occupied by the Germans except for a small south west corner. The rest was under martial law and, like today, the civilians fled the conflict zones. Propaganda reared its head and graphic horror stories were circulated as to the tragedy the Belgians were suffering.

For, as these postcards show, the results could be terrible.

185.ww1.invaded provinces

At the very least the loss of your possessions and home.

174.ww1 looting

 

And the ultimate sacrifice was your life

194.ww1.firing squad

173.ww1.atrocity

In contrast with today, the more enlightened view of this period was for Britain to welcome these refugees. They were offered food, warmth, shelter and protection. Sadly, this was often given too late for some. Although they may have managed to flee from the Germans and escape the continent the damage for some was already done.

The minute book

On the 21st December 1914 there is an entry related to this suffering in the Company minute books. It reads,

‘The secretary reported that since the last meeting an application was made to bury a Belgian refugee (a nun from Antwerp) who had died in Hull. He communicated with Mr Jackson, the chair, who instructed (the secretary) to make no charge for the burial. The Rev Mother of the Convent of Mercy, Hull, where many more refugees had been given asylum and who are all quite destitute, expressed herself as being very grateful for the company’s kindness. The chair’s action was approved.’

The nun’s name in the Convent was Sister Marie. Her birth name was Therese de Diken.

Burial entry for Belgian nun

Her burial took place in compartment 60, grave number 8249 on the 20th November 1914. As may be seen in the image below her name appears as the occupant of said grave.

comp 60, grave 8249

However she is not the sole occupant of the grave. She was the first person in it but not the last. Obviously, as a nun, she would not have had children. And yet the other occupant is a child.

Her name was Matihilde Cortebeck. She was buried on the 29th July 1916 and she was aged only 14 when she died of consumption. Who was this young girl? That she was a catholic is evidenced by her burial in the catholic area of the cemetery. Another clue was that Moses was the undertaker. Even in my time Moses and Sons was always the preferred undertaker for Catholic burials. Her name perhaps shows she too was a foreigner. She may have been another refugee. Did she have no family? Her residence is given simply as Beverley so no clues there. Yet another mystery of the Cemetery.

The Terninck Foundation

Meanwhile let’s return to Sister Marie. She was the Mother Superior at the Terninck Foundation in Antwerp. This had been set up in 1697. As the Foundation’s website states today,

Fondatie Terninck was founded in 1697 by Canon Christiaan Terninck. He was deeply moved by the misery of distressed children in Antwerp at the time. When he found a foundling on the sill of his front door, he sprang into action. He founded a school and monastic community to take in poor orphaned girls and provide them with shelter and clothing. But these children also acquired here – and above all – a solid religious education and the necessary skills in needlework.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the sisters fled with a group of children to Great Britain, where they stayed until after the war. On return, and in gratitude that there were no deaths during the war and the home had remained undamaged, a statue of Saint Joseph was placed in the front of the building. (Above the large doorway to the left)

Terninck Foundation

 

Anniversary November 1846

This month is the anniversary of a very important point in the Cemetery’s life. On the 5th of November 1846 the Company’s board held an important meeting. The Cemetery wasn’t due to open until the June of 1847 so planning was still taking place. At this meeting two important points were discussed the ramifications of which are still being felt today.

The first point discussed was the extension of the Cemetery’s land holdings. Remember that it was only in the spring of 1846 that the Company had bought their original site from Henry Broadley. Even before the Cemetery opened they were hopeful of extending the site to the north. Seemingly the Board were so confident of the success of this venture.

More land to be bought

How this point was raised at this Board meeting was due to John Shields. As you all know, he was the first superintendent of the Cemetery. As he described the reason why he had brought it to the Board’s attention,

‘Mr Shields informed the board yesterday that Mr Nutchley and himself had seen Mr Wilkinson and that he had offered the Board the field contiguous to the cemetery grounds at £300 per acre, with the understanding that a final answer should be given by Saturday next.’

The Board were obviously interested in this development. As can be seen by the map below Mr Wilkinson owned the site that now comprises Welbeck, Thorseby, Newstead Streets as well as further land. On the map ‘the land to be taken for the enlargement of the cemetery’ was also owned by Mr Wilkinson.

1854 map of HGC

So, yes the Board were interested. £300 per acre was a reasonable price, similar indeed to what they had paid Henry Broadley.

The Board agrees

Accordingly the Board agreed to accept this offer. As the minute books state,

‘After conversation thereon it was resolved unanimously that Mr Wilkinson’s offer be accepted and that Mr Todd be instructed to inform him the same and arrange the terms of payment in the following manner if possible viz £500 to be paid on the 1st of July 1847 and the balance at the end of three years from thence with interest thereon at 4% per annum having also the option of paying off the same earlier on giving three months’ notice of their intentions to do so.’

All well and good so far. However, as you all should know by now, The Company’s dealings were always fraught with disaster.

The Board meeting of the 18th

If we look forward to the Board meeting of the 18th the situation had drastically changed.

The Board received a letter from Mr Wilkinson’s solicitor, Mr Samuel Lightfoot, who is buried in the HGC and whose stone still stands.

sam lightfoot headstone

This letter was clear and unequivocal in its language.

‘We are the more surprised at this inasmuch as you have been apprised both by Mr Wilkinson and ourselves, that the offer which you made to purchase would not be accepted.’

What happened?

What had happened? We are not privileged to know all the details. We can safely assume that C.S.Todd, the secretary and solicitor of the Company, had performed his task as instructed. He was, after all, extremely competent, later to become the Secretary to the Local Board of Health and later still the Sheriff of Hull. So it is unlikely any blame would lie with him.

The most likely problem was that the Company’s terms of purchase were not to Mr Wilkinson’s liking. After all, he had not said he wanted to sell his land for anything less than cash up front. Not the complicated purchase scheme the Company had suggested. This may have been agreeable to Henry Broadley but Mr Wilkinson was not that man.

That also Mr Wilkinson had stipulated a time limit for the purchase. If he had seen this offer from the Company as a method of extending the negotiations this may have prejudiced him against going through with the sale.

And a more damning factor was that the Cemetery Company jumped the gun. Part of the solicitor’s letter stated that the Cemetery workmen had,

‘broken down Mr Wilkinson’s fence in great parts.’

To take this action before the ink was dry on the sale was stupid, especially with a man of Mr Wilkinson’s temperament.

An enemy for the future

With this action, compounded with further infractions in the December, the Company had made an enemy of their neighbour. His distrust and enmity of the Company bore fruit long after Mr William Wilkinson had died for his wife and son continued the vendetta.

Surprisingly his son chose to be buried in HGC and I have often thought this was a token revolt against his parent’s.

William Hall Wilkinson headstone

An alternate history?

The chance to extend the Cemetery to the north was lost forever. But let’s just imagine for a moment how an alternate history of the HGC may have run.

One of the aspects of this alternate history would have been that the Dukeries would never have been built. It is also questionable whether Garbutt’s Avenues project would have taken off. After all the residents of such an area may have enjoyed being near neighbours to the Park, the Cemetery perhaps not so much.

With the Cemetery extending to the north it would have had no need to extend to the west. Would the Local Board of Health have opted to begin the municipal burial ground that became Western Cemetery northwards instead of westwards? If this had happened the Avenues project would almost certainly not have happened.

The creation of Chanterlands Avenue

The creation of Chanterlands Avenue may not have begun either. When the Western Cemetery burial ground was simply the five acres leased from the Hull General Cemetery it was offered in 1884 another 15 acres of land as an extension. The person offering this land? Why none other than a representative of William Wilkinson’s son. Vendetta’s last a long time. He also offered another 20 odd acres further to the west.

However he stipulated that as he had extensive land to the north he wanted a 40 foot road created in between these lands as an access road to his property. The Council readily agreed and this was the beginning of Chanterlands Avenue.

Back at the Board meeting of the 5th

The second point at the meeting above was raised by Cuthbert Brodrick. Not a board member although a shareholder he had been invited to attend. The subject at issue was how to enclose the Cemetery grounds. As you may remember the chair, John Solomon Thompson, had made extensive field trips to cemeteries in London and Birmingham. The Creation of Hull General Cemetery: Part One

As such he knew what was out there. Although the need for the strict security that some of the cemeteries of London had employed to keep out the grave robbers was now redundant walls and gates were the norm. An example of which is below from Nunhead Cemetery.

Elaborate attempt to stop grave robbing in Nunhead Cemetery

With this in mind Brodrick had been entrusted with providing plans for such necessary items.

Unfortunately no such copy of the plans have come down to us. Suffice to say that, upon consideration, the Board felt that,

‘Mr Broderick attended the Board with a design for the wall and iron fencing which were considered and after discussion it was determined that as the expense would be so very large, it was advisable to put up a wood fencing.’

Wood rather than brick

The result was that Cemetery was fenced rather than walled. In the short term the Board made a judgement call on the cost. They were in the midst of an ever increasing sea of costs at that time. The laying out of the Cemetery, the buildings necessary for its workings, the staffing costs etc were all coming from the increasingly small sum that had been gathered as a result of the share subscription. With no income until the Cemetery opened the next year the Board probably felt that some cost cutting measures were needed.

That these plans appeared at the same meeting that the projected extension of the Cemetery’s lands outlined above, with the costs this would entail, was unfortunate. At the same meeting,

‘Mr Harker attended the board with a plan of the engine house, boiler house and stalls and also with a plan of the fencing which were referred to a meeting of the board to be held Saturday next.’

Cost cutting

More expense. The Board were probably looking at some area where cost could be cut. What better than replacing the idea of an expensive wall with a much cheaper wooden palisade?

Well, as I said, a short term cost cutting eventually became a serious headache for later generations of Board members. The fence continually needed maintaining. Let us not forget how far it stretched. From the workshops in the north east corner, along the Dukeries side, past Thoresby School, along the western edge, back along Spring Bank West until it reached the gates at Princes Avenue corner. At no point in time was it free of maintenance costs. When the Cemetery Company fell on hard times it was one of the first things that fell by the wayside.

The result of this far-reaching decision, made in November 1846, is still with us as you can all see. The anniversary still resonates today.

Once again it would be interesting to imagine what would have been the result if the decision had been to take on Brodrick’s designs. I think I’ll leave that one with you to follow where it may lead.

 

Reverend James Sibree

One of the many men who had first-hand experience of the cholera epidemics in Hull, was the Rev James Sibree. He was appointed the non-conformist Chaplain to the Hull Cemetery Company when the Cemetery opened.

Cholera

In his book ‘Recollections of Hull’, he gives a harrowing account of the never ending funerals that he conducted at the cemetery during the summer of 1849.

He states “ The men employed in digging the graves had no respite, but pursued their doleful task both night and day. At first single graves were dug for the reception of 8 or 9 bodies; but the demand for room became so urgent that double graves were constructed, in which coffins were piled one upon the other, without any earth between them. Only 2 of these, however, were opened; the sight was so appalling that the men refused to dig any more. The cemetery hearse was in constant requisition to remove the stricken poor from all parts of the town, and the common phrase of the men was about fetching ‘another load’.

Dark Valley

The cholera plot presented the appearance of a quarry or a ploughed field. There was no time to make the graves neat. Persons were seen crowding the entrance gates early in the morning, long before the wearied Superintendent was up, to order graves for friends or relatives who had died during the night; and, sad to relate these informants were themselves, in a day or two, called to pass through the ‘Dark Valley’, so short was the summons.

Sometimes as many as 5 or 6 mourning trains were crowding the gravel walks of the Cemetery at the same time, while during the day, at some periods, the trains occupied the entire space between the Beverley Road end and the Cemetery gate”.

Family life


Rev Sibree was born in Frome, Somerset in 1805. He married Lydia Jane Newsom in 1832. Sadly Lydia died giving birth to their daughter, also called Lydia. Luckily the child survived and lived until 1909 aged 76.

James married Martha Goode Aston in 1835. They moved to Hull were he became the Independent Minister for Salem Chapel, in Cogan St. They lived in a large house, 6 Tremayne Terrace Anlaby Rd. This was situated between Fountain St and Arlington St.

James Sibree & family

They had 6 further children. One of his sons, James became a civil engineer and independent missionary, travelling to Africa and writing of his experiences. Another son, Thomas born 1841, married Rachel Coverdale in 1866.Sadly their daughter Ethel Mary died the following year, aged 9 months. This family emigrated to Adelaide South Australia, where they had another child, Leila Rachel, Unfortunately, both her and her father died in 1869.

Buried in the cemetery


Ethel Mary Sibree is buried in Hull General Cemetery, along with her grandparents Henry and Mary Ann Coverdale. Although not listed in the EYFHS MI books ,the Rev James Sibree is buried in Hull General Cemetery. James Sibree died in December 1891.The family gravestone has not survived.

Sibree obituary

The Hardeys

Mrs Richard Hardey was a noted local female portrait artist. She and her husband Richard are buried in Hull General Cemetery. The Hardeys were artists and were pioneers in the new art of photography.

Hannah Maria Hudson was the daughter of a Wesleyan Minister. The Rev. Benjamin Brook Hudson and his wife Hannah were her parents. Hannah Maria was born in Dumfries in 1815, but moved to Barrow upon Humber, where her father was a minister.

Richard Hardey was born in Barrow upon Humber in 1816. Richard and Hannah married there on 23 April 1840, and later moved to Hull.

Kingston Square no.2

1851

In the 1851 census the couple were living at number 2 Kingston Square, at the house that was later to become part of Madame Clapham’s Costumier’s. Hannah was listed as an artist, and Richard a Commission Agent. Hannah’s mother and father lived nearby in Talbot St, off Wright St.

Hardey (Mrs), Richard, c.1800-1863; James Overton

Hannah was an extremely talented, but relatively unknown portrait painter, working under the name of Mrs Richard Hardey. There are examples of her work in The Ferens and the Town Docks Museum. One of these works is a particularly good portrait of James Overton, painted in 1851, and depicted above.

1861

In 1861 they were still living in Kingston Square, but were childless. Hannah was still listed as an artist, whilst Richard is now listed as a photographer.

Sadly, Hannah developed breast cancer and died in January 1865.

On 1st May the same year, Richard opened his Photographic Studios at 14 Saville Street. Hannah’s father also died later that year, and her mother 2 years later in 1867.

Hardey advert

Richard remarried Elizabeth Reynard in 1866, and in 1868 bought James Walker’s photographic studio in Doncaster, where he became quite successful.

Back to Hull

He sold the business in 1882 and moved back to Hull, and lived in Wellington Lane until his death from bronchitis in 1889 aged 73. His second wife, Elizabeth, lived in Morrill St and died in 1922 aged 81.

Richard and Hannah are buried in Hull General Cemetery together with Hannah’s parents, the Rev Benjamin Hudson and his wife Hannah. The headstone still stands, albeit with weather related vertical cracks in the stone.

The headstone marks the last resting place of the Hardeys, pioneers in photography.

Hardey Doncaster

Elizabeth, Richard’s second wife, is buried in a separate grave close by, but the headstone no longer exists.

Heritage Open Days

As part of the Heritage Open Days there were two guided walks arranged.

The first one, on the 11th, was blessed with good weather, and as such attracted a large crowd. So did the second on the 18th. The count for each walk was around 50 to 60 people.

When dealing with such large groups one has to employ a louder voice. You also need to bypass some headstones as it’s just impossible to accommodate all of the people around them safely.

11 9 2021 hgc walk

Also, in large groups, people move at a different speed and the slowest speed becomes the group norm. This usually means you cannot do all of the walk. This is what happened on the both walks. We concentrated on the headstones along the north side of the cemetery and terminated the walk at the Workhouse mound.

My reasoning for this was that the newcomers to the Cemetery may have never ventured into the site. They may have been a little intimidated to go out of sight of Spring Bank West. Therefore the back road would have been new territory to them and that’s why I chose it.

I hope everyone who ventured into the wilds of the Cemetery enjoyed it.

New guided walk

One of the results of these truncated walks was that another walk has been arranged to take place. This will be on October 2nd at 11.00 a.m.

18 9 2021 HGC walk 2

 

18 9 2021 HGC walk1

The walk will go from Princes Avenue corner along the south side of the Cemetery. Along the way you’ll find the grave of a man who managed to bribe the electors of the 1853 parliamentary election. You’ll see the grave of an artist who lived through the Indian Mutiny. The grave of the man who built the iron Eleanor Crosses that grace the cemetery, the grave of the man who founded the Wilson shipping line and many others.

I’m looking forward to next years’ Heritage Open Days.

Mysteries

A couple of years ago I was told that there was to be a talk at the History Centre. It was entitled ‘The Mysteries and Secrets of Hull General Cemetery’. I thought I’ll pop along to that. I’m always open to increase my knowledge of the site

About a couple of months before the talk I was in the History Centre. Chatting to the staff  I was told by the person who usually books the monthly talks that she was sorry. She said HGC was usually my topic and that the booking had happened whilst she was off ill. I was touched by this nod to my idiosyncrasy. I said I was happy to share the topic but I was intrigued as to what the mysteries and secrets were, as to my knowledge, there were very few if any. She nodded.

It was common knowledge amongst the staff there that I had copied or photographed every item that they possessed about Hull General Cemetery and that I had acquired a few things myself that they didn’t possess.

As it turned out the talk didn’t talk about any mysteries or secrets in HGC. Don’t get me wrong here. It was a good, well researched talk and it definitely had lots of visuals to keep the punters happy. But the ‘mysteries and secrets of Hull General Cemetery’, well,  I’m afraid there was little sign.

Not Hollywood

That circumstance lies in the fact that the life of HGC is not a movie script. Harrison Ford does not uncover the catacombs of the ‘lost chapel’. Sam Neil, whilst cutting back the brambles, does not find he’s walked into a velociraptor nest. No, sorry. Highly unlikely. Much more likely is that Harrison Ford would find the remains of a shooting-up drugs gathering or that Sam Neil would tread in some maggot ridden kebab.

Yes, there are stories within the cemetery. Stories of its trials and tribulations. Stories of the people who are buried there. But it is not the Marie Celeste. It is not Area 51. It is not the X-Files. The truth isn’t ‘out there.’ It’s a shame but that’s the way it is.

The real Secrets and Mysteries

The secrets and mysteries, if they exist, are found in far more mundane places. They are written in numerous documents. These documents take a lot, and I mean hundreds of hours,  of painstaking research to extract that small nugget of information you are seeking. And this process takes a number of years. At the end, the result may be as unexciting as finding that a miscalculation on the part of some clerk a century ago can now be cleared up. But to someone with that penchant for ‘the truth’ it;s like gold dust.

I did mention my idiosyncrasy, didn’t I?

So, with my Harrison Ford / Sam Neil hat on, I have entered this dangerously tedious world many times.

There are two mysteries I’d like to put forward. The first one is about the mystery of Thomas Skerrow and, to add background, the rest of his family. The second one could be titled, ‘What did they do with bodies?’ You’ll understand when you read it.

In some ways these mysteries are mundane and perhaps only of interest to someone like me with that specific ‘nerdiness’ mentioned above but they are mysteries. And I can’t confidently say I have solved them. Yes, I know that my solutions are the most likely yet something still bugs me. See what you think.

Thomas Skerrow

Thomas Skerrow was a gravedigger. You should all know by now my affinity with such people. One could say that it’s in the blood but thankfully it isn’t. Other wise I’d probably be dead from tetanus or anthrax by now. Quite nasty soil borne diseases. No thank you.

Not in the blood but I do have some understanding of these under sung heroes’ roles. And indeed the stresses that were placed upon them. A Grave Digger

Thomas Skerrow had been employed by the Company since its inception in 1847.

As I’ve mentioned before, the workforce of the cemetery, received less than star billing in its production. I suppose that’s why I want to highlight them. Without them the Company would have failed, and the citizens of Hull would have had to put up with the horrific conditions of burial that took place prior to the HGC.

His death

We first learn of Thomas Skerrow by his death. Here’s his burial entry in the HGC burial register.

He died on the 9th April 1854 and was buried on the 12th.

t skerrow death cert

Edward Skerrow, his father

The family already had a family grave as his father Edward had died the previous November. This was a particularly sad case as his father committed suicide. His death resulted in a post mortem and the death reached the local press.

E Skerrow pm insanity Hull Packet 3 11 1854

When Edward’s daughter Fanny married later that decade she was still so mortified by the death of her father she refused to provide her father’s name to the registrar. In the burial register of the Cemetery his cause of death is listed as ‘insanity’.

Cowkeeping

Edward Skerrow had been born at Tadcaster in 1791. He lived at 21, Canning Street and his occupation at his death was cowkeeper. Not as outlandish an occupation as we sophisticates of the 21st century would believe. It was quite common for small entrepreneurs to keep a number of cows. These could be hired out for breeding or when ready, sold for slaughter.

However the major source of income from keeping cows was milk. Milk was sold door to door to the gentry. The poorer classes often bought some too though mainly for weaning purposes. It was a thriving industry. Approximately where the old Edwin Davis Store stood in Bond Street was the site of a street called Milk Street because of the number of cows pastured there in the early 19th century..

Alan Harris, in his The Milk Supply of East Yorkshire, 1850-1950′, quotes F.M.Eden saying that in the closing years of the 18th century, ‘for 2 to 3 miles round‘ Hull  land was devoted to grazing ‘for the convenience of the inhabitants.

Harris also states, and this is probably appropriate to Edward Skerrow, that,

‘Within the towns themselves, still smaller pieces of land were used for purposes that, if not strictly agricultural, must nevertheless have created in their vicinity an unmistakeable aroma of the countryside. {…} William Eleanor, another Hull Cowkeeper, occupied in 1851 a yard and a range of outbuildings behind residential property in North Street, Myton.’

Now Edward was in a fairly lucrative business if he kept his herd healthy. Plus he had a sizeable property as the map below shows so his herd may well have been quite sizeable too.

Inked1853 map of canning st_LI

 

Yet, as the newspaper article above shows he was an alcoholic and an opium user.

Opium for the masses

Let’s be clear here. Opium was the drug of choice of many people then, from all classes. Queen Victoria enjoyed her laudanum as much as the workman who bought his pennyworth of opium for his pipe. It deadened the pain of living. It took away guilt, hunger and emotion. In Britain of the 1850s that was something to be cherished.

As for the alcohol, it was as readily available as was the opium. As were the public houses. You may note that Edward’s post mortem was conducted in a public house. This was that a public house was, in essence, neutral territory. It could accommodate the officials and the witnesses for such a gathering. It is only in the recent past that civic buildings have eclipsed the public houses in this role. Coroners, magistrates and other civic officials conducted their affairs from hostelries. It was felt less threatening and more fair.

The downside of that was that they were everywhere. So, if you had an issue with alcohol, then it would be difficult to avoid it.

Hannah

So, Edward Skerrow was dead. In death he left about £100 to his widow Hannah. By the 1861 census her son Edward junior had taken on the cowkeeper role and she disappears from the public eye for about 20 years.

She resurfaces in 1881, living in Hallgate, Cottingham and is described as a ‘property owner’. She died a year later and I’m sure no one could smell any trace of cows or manure at her funeral.

Of interest, the younger brother of Thomas, Edward, took over the Cowkeeping business from his mother some time in the late 1850s as mentioned above.

Prior to that he too worked for the Cemetery Company. In 1858 he found a box laid beside the cholera monument. Inside were two babies, born prematurely and probably dead at birth. The box was handed to the police who investigated but to no avail. Another mystery but probably all too common back then.

Back to Thomas

Back at Thomas. He died of a heart condition. The Company went as far as resolving to buy a headstone for his grave.

11 April 1855 HGC minute books

And now we come to the mystery. Or mysteries shall we say.

Firstly, there is no record of a stone being erected on the grave. From the entry above in the HGC minute books it appeared to be quite straightforward. A stone was to be erected and James Sibree, the Cemetery’s chaplain, was to write an inscription for the stone. Was it just forgotten? Quite unlikely. That the Company wanted to do something to mark Thomas Skerrow’s passing in the first place is unlikely but that they said they would and minuted this gives credence to the fact. So where was the stone? It wasn’t destroyed in the 1970s as far as we know. Did it ever exist?

No, I cannot solve this part of the mystery.

What compounds the mystery is this. In September 1858, the Board had given the tenants at the west end of the Cemetery notice to quit. One of these people, John Hill, sent a sharp letter to the board. The minute book tells the story.

9 Sept 1858 hgc minute books

The Company under attack

Mr Thompson and Mr Todd, chair and secretary respectively of the Company, appeared to be unduly worried at this attack. Why? The man was behind in his rent. He had been given notice to quit. All was above board. That they both, busy men that they were, went to see Mr Hill shows something of the anxiety this letter from Mr Hill caused them. Again I ask why? The Cemetery was in fine shape and often cited as a boon to the town. What would such gentlemen care for the word of a disgruntled tenant? What harm could his tittle-tattle do?

We already know that Thomas Skerrow died from heart failure. He wasn’t crushed by any graveyard calamity was he? What was Mr Hill alluding to? Was the probable cause of death something he caught during this particular job that later affected his heart? Could any damage to Thomas’ heart have been caused during this particular task?

Ordinarily I would dismiss such questions. I have a death certificate and burial entry all saying the same thing. That’s gold plated in my book. But I still have that nagging doubt, simply caused by two of the major players in Hull at the time, going out of their way to discuss an irate tenant’s baseless claim. Both of these men were learned, C.S.Todd was a solicitor and later became the Sheriff of Hull. They could and should have laughed at this or possibly taken legal action. They did neither.

With my Probation Officer head on I find it’s just a little odd. What do you think?

Cholera

And the second mystery is shorter but more difficult. As most of you will know in 1849 cholera hit Hull for the second time.

The Cemetery fulfilled a public duty and buried the corpses in a timely and safe manner. To cater for the great mass of bodies the Cemetery Company set aside two full compartments and two halves. This was recorded in the Minute books of the 9th August 1849.

hgc minute book 9 aug 1849

 

As can be seen from the map below taken from the Cemetery records the compartments chosen were 96,97,122 and 123.

Cholera compartments

The Cholera monument was erected in Compartment 96. All fine so far.

The problem

Now we come to the problem. Many of the people who died from cholera were not buried in those plots. Yes, if a family grave had already been purchased the relative could be buried irrespective of the cause of death. What is more surprising is that many of the burials in the portion assigned to the Cholera ground appear to have been in Compartment 121.

Example of cholera deaths in 121 compartment

Unfortunately there is no Compartment 121 in the Cemetery except for a rump that was sited under what is now the shops on Princes Avenue. So, what’s going on?

That this issue was not noticed for 50 years is surprising. Michael Kelly, the last Superintendent, noticed it and remarked on it during his tenure. But it was obviously a mystery to him too.

Kelly's comment on the plan of C 121

Compartment 121

Let’s look at one of these graves. Grave number 18844 is a public grave. It was first dug for Ann Levitt who died of cholera on September 4th. She was buried that same day. The following day Charles Cheeseman, Elizabeth Gossop and 8 year old Bridget Dunbar joined her. Cholera was the cause of death for all of them. This was the last entry for burials in Compartment 121.

The first burial in Compartment 121 took place on August 12th, grave number 20645. It was filled within two days and a new one opened at 20647. All were cholera deaths.

Now we know that the burials were taking place. They were recorded meticulously by the Cemetery staff at the time. The problem is where are they? The grave numbers do not match any other grave numbers in the cemetery. Quite frankly, they do not exist.

So, we are left with a mystery. Those people were buried in the Cemetery but not in the grave number given, and certainly not in the Compartment 121.

Yes, a clerical error perhaps. I agree with Michael Kelly; they must be in Compartments 122 and 123. I’d just like to know how we could ever find that out.

Over to you to solve this mystery.

 

FOHGC

For those of you lucky enough to live in the Avenues Ward this is old news.

However I thought I’d like to share it with a wider audience. Here’s a copy of a leaflet with the confirmation that any residual issue about the FOHGC working in the Hull General Cemetery has now been resolved.Hull City Council request to the FOHGC

The Council and FOHGC look forward to working in partnership with each other for the foreseeable future. Together we hope to reclaim the site for the community, the wildlife and the history nerd.

We would like to thank the Councillors and the Council Officers for having listened to the arguments, both for and against, on this issue. Having done so they found in favour of the FOHGC. We are happy that they feel they can trust the FOHC and wanted the FOHGC to be their partner in this endeavour.

We would also like to thank the many people who contacted the Councillors and Officers expressing their support for us. To coin a phrase from a somewhat tarnished politician, ‘We are all in it together.’

Let’s all now move forward together.

Here’s the leaflet

Council leaflet