Tag: Hull General Cemetery Company

The Company, Cholera, Colouring and the Corporation

by Pete Lowdenin General, History, Points of Interest, Volunteers1 Comment on The Company, Cholera, Colouring and the Corporation

Most of you will know that the ‘great visitation’ inscribed on the large obelisk in the Cemetery refers to the cholera outbreak of the late summer of 1849. This was the second time that true cholera had touched the townspeople of Hull. The 1849 epidemic was the worst outbreak of the disease that Hull ever suffered. As such memories of those grim days lingered in the collective consciousness.

Cholera

This may explain the letter that the Company received in early September 1893. Signed by the Town Clerk, R. Hill-Dawes ,it was friendly enough but requested information in relation to a resolution passed by the Cholera Sub-Committee the previous day. That there was in existence such a sub-committee shows the fear of cholera still reigning in Hull. It didn’t help that a new wave of cholera was sweeping across the world around this time.

Although it was now known how cholera was transmitted, via contaminated water, that didn’t offer immunity to the people of Hull. The reason for this was that many of the people were still dependent upon stand-pipes and that not all of the cesspits had been closed down. As such this letter landed on the the Cemetery Superintendent’s desk, dated the 6th September 1893. He reported it to his board of directors at the 3rd October Board meeting.

letter from town clerk, Oct 1893

 

A Quick Response

As may be seen, the Town Clerk desired the Secretary’s ‘observations’ the very next day. as it was ‘of urgent importance’. The Secretary after having read the resolution on the other side of the letter knew this needed a response from the Board not just from him. The resolution, copied below, alludes to the cholera grounds in the cemetery.

 

resolution October 1893

Upon receipt of this letter the Secretary immediately informed the Chairman. The Chair carefully drafted a reply for Michael Kelly to send. In this reply the Chair refuted any tampering of the area where the cholera victims were laid to rest. This was a patch of ground comprising of parts of four compartments; 96,  97, 122, 123. This appeared to be where the majority of cholera victims were buried. But not all. If a family member died of the disease and that family had a family plot then that family member would have had the right to be buried there. There was also the mystery of plot 121 which I’ve written about before.

Mysteries

Why Panic Now?

So, on many occasions the ground that contained a cholera victim could have been disturbed. Why the panic now?

As mentioned earlier the Corporation was anxious due to the new pandemic, They were taking steps to not allowing cholera to come in via the back door so to speak. They needn’t have worried. Unlike such diseases as tetanus the cholera bacillus cannot persist in the ground unless it lives in the groundwater. After almost 50 years since the 1849 epidemic the likelihood of the cholera bacillus being active was extremely remote. But rational thought doesn’t come into it when dealing with a pandemic. We all saw that recently didn’t we?

The Reply

The chair’s reply is below, signed by Michael Kelly.

Chair's reply

With this reply the matter appears to die a death. It never resurfaces in the minute books. We have no knowledge of whether any of the sub-committee availed themselves of the offer to visit the cholera ground.

Paranoia

Two points are apparent from this reply. One is that the paranoia that affected most of the Company’s board meetings during the period since the Borough Cemetery opened in 1862 were reaching an unhealthy peak at this time. The minute books are strewn with comments alleging that the Company was under attack from all and sundry. The message is that the Company was struggling to function and that cutbacks were necessary. Yet at the same time very healthy dividends were regularly paid to its shareholders. To square this cognitive dissonance it became necessary to claim that unfair methods were being used against the Company.  This attitude continued until the the 1930’s when reality finally made the Company realise it no longer had the assets to contain trading. This was when it began to seriously look to liquidation but that is another story.

Colour Coding

The second point is perhaps more mundane but interesting nonetheless. You may have noticed that Kelly states that,

‘In the plan of the Cemetery all these Cholera Public Grave were inked Salmon Colour as a guide to the Officials’

This was true, at least in the first part of the Cemetery’s life. All grave spaces were assigned a colour. This was dependent upon the status of the grave space being used. The index of this system is shown below although Kelly noted at the top of the page that this system had not been used for some time.

 

Colouring of graves in the HGC burial registers

 

Compartment 102

So, for example if we look at compartment 102 we can see this system in operation. Note the large red square to the lower part of map. This corresponds to the large monument to William Hunt Pearson . Other examples of the second class of graves includes Harbord Harbord at the top of the image.

 

William Pearson's monument taken in the 1990s

William Hunt Pearson’s monument as it was in the 1990s. Below is a more recent photograph.

 

William hunt pearson memorial now

The Victorian Cult of the Funeral

In many areas of Victorian society you were ultimately judged upon your material wealth. Even in death equality did not reign. The rise of the funerary business and the memorialisation of all those who could afford it took off in this period. Poorer families would descend further into debt to give their family member a ‘good send-off’ mainly because it was expected of them. That the neighbours ‘would talk’ was still a feature of communities when I was a young boy in the 1950s. How much worse it must have been when the funeral industry was in its pomp and dictating what sort of crepe and the colour of linen that could be used depending upon your relationship to the corpse doesn’t bear thinking about.

The obelisk that adorns Pearson’s vault tells all and sundry that he was important because he was wealthy. And now you know that not only did he have a large monument but it stood upon a first class grave. vault That may have been some comfort to him and his family. The rites were observed and those attending the funeral would have been suitably assured that Pearson was a ‘great man’. However he was still as dead as those poor people in the workhouse plots and now, like them, he resides in a derelict cemetery where his first class status means nothing any longer.

Oh well, as Dylan sang, ‘That’s life and life only’. Or in this case death.

War Graves

by Pete Lowdenin Events, News, Points of Interest, Volunteers

The recent unveiling of the headstone commemorating the last war grave headstone removed from the site last year occurred on the 14th July this year.  It seemed therefore appropriate to tell the story of the lost war graves headstones now.

The reason behind the design and implementation of the classic war grave headstone is told more fully in The War Dead of Hull General Cemetery book. I’m sure you can still find it available on Amazon. Suffice to say that Hull General Cemetery had a number of them erected after the Great War. More arrived after the Second World War. In all there were 28 of them.

Monitoring

One of the statutory duties laid upon the War Grave Commission is to monitor the sites that hold such stones. It has a statutory power to remove stones from sites that it feels may be at risk. That risk is deemed to be high if the headstones are at risk of damage. Surprisingly this role may even stretch overseas. I know that the Commission closely monitored the burial sites of the Commonwealth armed forces from both World Wars in Iraq and Libya in recent years.

Closer to home it took a close interest in how the maintenance of Hull General Cemetery began to decline after the Second World War. On the 11th July 1960 the Hull General Cemetery Company received a letter from the War Graves Commission. This letter informed the Company that the headstones would be removed. The letter stated that,

‘Their purpose in doing this is to substitute them for small blocks in a wall of remembrance being built in the Northern Cemetery, and they want to get all the commemoration tablets in one place in Hull if this can be managed, mainly to save maintenance costs for which they are responsible.’ 

Other cemeteries affected

This reason was given, I believe, in an attempt to preserve the pride of the cemeteries affected. Hull General Cemetery was the largest one affected but other sites in Hull had their headstones removed too. These other sites were mainly church run ones. Thus Sculcoates, Drypool and Division Road had headstones removed from their jurisdiction. These individuals are all commemorated on the plaques in Northern Cemetery.

However, no action was taken for a considerable time. The Company had no reason to hurry this development, nor did they have the money to remove the stones themselves. The War Graves Commission had no such excuse. Yet, surprisingly, nothing then happened for approximately five years.

The Final Act

The matter surfaced again in the October 1965. Once again it took the form of a letter. However this showed that developments had been occurring in the background. A written affidavit was taken out, presumably by the War Graves Commission.

‘By this written memorandum the Board of Directors resolves that the Secretary be authorised to affix the common seal of the Company to a Deed of Covenant, respecting twenty-eight Commonwealth War burials, made between the Company of the one part and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission of the other part.’

With this document the removal of the headstones was complete…or was it?

As we now know one solitary headstone was left. We have no information as to why it was left. It stood there at the base of the Hodgson family grave for over 50 years after the rest had been removed. It harmed no one and was relatively unobtrusive. And then one day in 2022 it disappeared. The story of that event has been discussed here and on the Facebook site so I don’t need to contribute to that debate.

With the re-introduction of the plaque above commemorating Private Hodgson’s death the story hopefully comes to an end.

The Beginnings of Western Cemetery

by Pete Lowdenin General, History, Volunteers4 Comments on The Beginnings of Western Cemetery

The Beginnings of Western Cemetery

Western Cemetery is a large cemetery situated about a mile and half from the city centre of Hull. It comprises of approximately 37 acres and it is unusual for it is divided by a main road, Chanterlands Avenue. People walking around it, sometimes with dogs, in summer with children, treat it as a public space complete with headstones. Although there are still funerals in there, these are quite a rarity these days. There are no services held there now as the Cemetery no longer boasts any chapels. In fact, it is a pleasant ‘country’ walk. Which is a far cry from its beginnings. This article is a short history of this place of rest for many of the town’s residents.

The beginnings of Western Cemetery, or as it was originally called, the Borough Cemetery, are closely tied up with its next-door neighbour, Hull General Cemetery.

Hull General Cemetery opened in 1847. The owners purchasing 18 acres from Henry Broadley M.P. By 1854 it had developed about 10 acres for burial. By the 1850s it would sign separate covenants with both the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, and the Hull Workhouse Board that would swallow up another 3 acres. This left 5 acres at the extreme westernmost point of the Hull General Cemetery undeveloped. These were still let out as allotment gardens.

Politics: Local and National

At this point it would be helpful to touch upon both the national and local politics of that period. For both would have an effect upon the creation of Western Cemetery.

In 1848 the Liberal Government of Lord John Russell enacted some legislation. This was probably the first crack in the wall of laissez-faire values. This was the first Public Health Act. It was radical in that it not only took on the role of public guardian of the health of the nation but could be seen to infringe upon private interests such as water companies and private cemeteries. It also empowered local authorities to develop and enact local initiatives to make the health of their charges better, be that via housing, sanitation reform, medical provision etc. Not least of these was the creation of local burial boards. They would oversee the maintenance, provision and delivery of the burials within their jurisdiction.

Cholera and the Local Board of Health

With this legislation in force the Hull Corporation began its work to improve the health of its citizens. Almost before it could get into its stride Hull, and indeed the whole country, suffered from the effects of the second pandemic of cholera. This disease, waterborne by the cholera vibrio bacillus, struck Hull badly. During a four-month period the town lost 3% of its population. This was probably the most destructive visitation of a disease in Hull since the Black Death stalked the land. The Local Board of Health (LBOH) could do nothing to mitigate this disaster. An attempt to clean afflicted housing and whitewash the internal walls was the sum total of the Board’s efforts.

There must be some degree of sympathy for the Board’s efforts. No one knew then of the existence of things like bacillus. How disease could be transmitted by such miniscule creatures was more of a mystery. In fact, the prevalent view amongst the public, and indeed medical practitioners, was that disease was caused by bad smells. This idea of how diseases were transmitted goes back to the time of Aristotle and Galen. This thinking had little changed by the early 19th century. The term ‘mal air’ or bad air can be seen to be the root of the term ‘malaria’ which is an example of that kind of thinking.

Suffice to say that preventative measures to reduce or alleviate the effects of the cholera were ineffective. The LBOH and the inhabitants of the town simply had to wait for the disease to run its course. By October deaths began to fall and by the following month no more deaths from cholera were recorded. The Board now could begin its work in earnest.

The Race for Legislation

One of the first things it looked at was purchasing the Hull General Cemetery. The offer for it was rejected. The LBOH then began to look towards legislation via parliament to gain control of this cemetery. By 1854 it was seeking, via the Kingston Upon Hull Improvement Act (1854) to compulsory purchase the cemetery. Similarly, the Hull General Cemetery Company looked to its own legislation to protect itself from this scheme. It sought to have the Cemetery Company incorporated. This would protect it from any form of compulsory purchase. The race was on. The Hull General Cemetery Company won that race, probably because their bill was much simpler that the Hull Corporation one. This Bill was looking at many other factors than simply burials and the disposal of the dead.

To Buy or Not to Buy

A part of that Hull General Cemetery Company Act was the clause that allowed the Cemetery Company to compulsory purchase the adjacent land to the North. This area, now comprising of Welbeck, Thorseby and part of Newstead Streets, was owned by the Wilkinson family of Cottingham. The Cemetery Company had unfortunately fallen foul of this family when a mix up over what the Company thought was a verbal agreement saw its workmen entering Mr Wilkinson’s grounds and felling his orchard trees. Legal threats ensued and the relationship between the two had remained frosty even after Mr Wilkinson died.

Problems over the valuation of this land and the intransigence of the Wilkinson family suggested that the only recourse the Company had was to pay for, and attend a Sheriff’s Court, who would adjudicate this valuation. The Company, short-sightedly, decided that the expense could not be justified and the matter was left in abeyance.

By 1855 Hull General Cemetery was not only protected from the threat of being compulsorily purchased by Hull Corporation but was now in the ascendance. And here we need to just look back slightly to yet another piece of legislation arising from the 1848 Public Health Act.

No Dignity for the Dead

The state of the burial grounds throughout the country had long been a source of disquiet. Many of them were full yet still being used. In Hull the burial ground of St Mary’s in Lowgate was between 5 and 8 feet above the pavement. It was common knowledge that burials could only take place if the most recent coffins in that grave space were removed to accommodate the next burial. After some shocking stories of the mistreatment of the dead were recorded in the popular press and also by a public- spirited reformer called George Walker in his book, ‘Gathering from the Graveyards’ reform was demanded by the public. This took the form of the Metropolis Act of 1850.

This Act closed many of the disgusting and over-used burial places within the metropolitan area of London. The Act was then systematically rolled out throughout the country. By 1855 it was Hull’s turn. In Hull, both Holy Trinity and St Mary’s churchyards were closed, Also Trippett Street churchyard, which was the overflow burial ground of St Mary’s, was closed. St Peter’s in Drypool also suffered the same as did St Mary’s, Sculcoates. The Quaker burial ground in Hodgson Street was closed and the Jewish burial ground on Hessle Road was also shut. Castle Street survived as a burial ground on a technicality but was ordered to be shut by 1860.

Suddenly, almost overnight, Hull General Cemetery held a near monopoly upon burials in the area. This change in fortunes made the Cemetery Company even more resistant to being taken over by the LBOH. As such the LBOH changed tack.

Lease or Buy?

In the June of 1855 the LBOH again approached the Cemetery Company.  Their new approach was that it could buy or lease the cemetery. If not that then perhaps it could buy or lease the 5 acres towards the west. The Company had not yet developed this area yet. The aim of the LBOH was to start a Borough Burial Ground. Over a period of two years the parties engaged in negotiations. It wasn’t until the AGM of the Cemetery Company in March 1859 that the board of directors stated that,

The negotiations with the LBOH are all but concluded and your board now think this the proper time to lay the arrangement before you. The deeds to carry out the arrangement with the local board are already prepared and require sealing to complete the matter. On the completion of the arrangement with the LBOH your directors propose to call a special meeting of shareholders as the funds for building a new chapel (required under any circumstances.) and for fencing, planting, draining and laying out the portion of ground set apart for the LBOH will then have to be voted on.

By the July of that year agreements had been signed for the drainage and fencing of the five acres. In the September the contact for the erection of the new chapel was signed and later that month the site was chosen and on the 3rd October the foundation stone was laid by the Mayor, Marin Samuelson, of Sammy’s point fame. This chapel was demolished in the 1920s.

 

This is a map of the five acres originally leased by Hull Corporation in 1859. The future Spring Bank West is to the top of the map and the Hull General Cemetery is to the left.

No Division in Heaven

The five acres were leased to the LBOH for the period of 500 years. One final hiccough appeared via the archbishop who demanded that the new chapel could only be used for Anglican burials and that the old chapel in the grounds of Hull General Cemetery should be used for Dissenters. Both the LBOH and the Company agreed to this unreasonable demand and the ground was consecrated accordingly. Later this stipulation would entail the building of another chapel to cater for Dissenters when the LBOH and the Company fell out with each other.

Map of Original Western consecrated ground

Map of the original five acres showing the consecrated area in pink and the unconsecrated and other religion’s burial area. 

At this time, we have the Hull General Cemetery Company operating its own concern. It was also conducting the burials and maintenance of the Hull Corporation’s new burial ground. This arrangement lasted less than two years.

A Moment of Madness?

In June 1861 the chairman of the Cemetery Company informed his fellow board members that he had sent a letter to the LBOH. This letter was sent as a result of him being present in the council chamber at the time of a debate upon burial fees. In this debate, which centred upon the plan by the Holy Trinity Church to develop some three acres they had been given to them by Sophia Broadley as a burial ground for the parish to compensate for the closure of Castle Street, the high cost of burial in Hull General Cemetery was raised and commented upon unfavourably.

The Fateful Letter

The chairman, William Irving, being also a councillor, was angered by the tone of this debate, as he thought, this discourtesy to the Cemetery Company was unjust after all they had done to accommodate the Hull Corporation with the new burial ground. As such he penned the following letter,

To the Burial Committee, LBOH 8/5/1861

Gentlemen, I have read with surprise the report of your board meeting on the 29th Ult and the resolution passed on the occasion. It appears to me that your board in dealing with the burial question have not fairly considered the rights of the Cemetery Company.

At the request of your board the company entered into an arrangement to provide 5 acres of land, then let off as gardens, as and for the place of burial for the inhabitants of the borough; to lay  out the same as an ornamental cemetery and also to erect a suitable chapel thereon; and when the ground should be found insufficient the cemetery engaged to provide another suitable and adjoining piece of land and set it apart in the same way for your board.

These works have been carried out by the company at a cost of £1328 exclusive of land.

The Letter went on…

The company have justified their part in this agreement to the letter, and also to the satisfaction of your board as the following resolution of the 5/5 1860 will prove.

The company, in expending their money to meet the requirements of the board naturally looked to a fair return in the shape of interest on the outlay but your board’s resolution of the 29th ult renders it hopeless. The company think that in arriving at such a decision your board were wholly regardless of the position of the company with your board under the arrangement referred to the effect of your resolution being to deprive this company of the whole or a large part of their anticipation.

Under these circumstances. I have to suggest whether the proper course for the LBOH to adopt would be to purchase the ground included in the arrangement and thus, by taking the whole affair into their hands, release the cemetery company from their present unsatisfactory position, brought about as it has been by the action of your board.

Should the above suggestion to purchase meet with your views and should your board decide on adopting it, you would then be in a position to provide a family burial place in the board’s cemetery for the fees alone, which you can regulate at your pleasure and thus preserve the management of burials under your own control.

The Mistake and in Writing Too.

To carry out the suggestion the cemetery company would be willing to sell your board the land included in the arrangement on the following terms, subject to such regulations for preserving unity of design and uniformity of appearance as might be mutually agreed upon.

Say 5 acres of land at £315 per acre (the cost to the company £1575. Amount expended by the company in laying out, draining, planting and erecting a new chapel to meet the requirements of the burial board £1328. Total £2903.

The company would grant a perpetual right of road through the present cemetery, the board contributing their proportion of maintaining it in good order.

The Justification

The company think that they are fully justified in laying their suggestion before your committee, satisfied that they are entitled to their due consideration at the hands of your board for the large (and as far as they, the company are concerned, unnecessary) outlay they have incurred for the convenience of your board, and they would urge upon the board, through your committee, the necessity under existing circumstances. If your board’s arranging either to purchase the ground as suggested, or to give such compensation as may be mutually agreed upon.

In conclusion I may state that the object of the promoters of the cemetery company was to provide for the inhabitants of Hull what so much needed by them, a place of burial for all sects and denominations; to secure to all classes of the community the means of decent and undisturbed sepulture according to the rights of their own religious faith, and to put an end to intramural interments. This has been the aim of the company from its foundation to the present time and it was with this view, and not with the expectation of pecuniary gain that the arrangement with your board was entered into.

Yours

Wm Irving

Chairman, HGCC.

The Fallout from It

One wonders what his fellow directors thought of this letter, and of him sending it without asking for their approval. In an instant William Irving had curtailed any further development of the Hull General Cemetery. Its demise was certified by the LBOH’s response. In short, they accepted the terms in the Chairman’s letter. From the April of 1862, the Borough Burial Ground was independent of the Cemetery Company. That is except for the administration and the working and maintenance of the ground.  This arrangement was continued for a sum of £180 per annum.

However, although the Cemetery Company did not realise this, the agreement was to continue only until the Borough could gain enough experience and employ its own labour force to take care of its own burial ground. The Cemetery Company received in final settlement the sum of £2903. This appears to be a small sum for committing suicide.

The Borough Burial ground was the genesis of the Western Cemetery. In 1864 it erected a new chapel to accommodate the Dissenters. This chapel was finally demolished in 1994. It had long been disused for services. It was used for the storage of plant and tools towards the end of its life.

The End of the Agreement

The Borough cemetery continued to cater for the Hull citizens whilst being managed by the Hull General Cemetery Company. However, on the 1st June 1880, the Cemetery Company received a rude shock. This was a letter from the Town Clerk and secretary to the LBOH, Charles Spilman Todd, later to become the Sheriff of Hull, stating that they were giving the Cemetery Company one month’s notice of the termination of the agreement that allowed the Cemetery Company to maintain and administer the Borough ground. A further letter that day said that the Hull Corporation were willing to enter into a similar agreement for a lesser sum of money.

Negotiations began in earnest once again between these two adversaries. By the August the Cemetery Company had grudgingly accepted the Corporation’s final offer of £130. This also included £5 for the upkeep of the connecting road. This was a reduction from the £180 and £20 which had originally been agreed back in 1862.

Such changes as this showed that far from being the major player in the burial business the Cemetery Company was now subservient to the Hull Corporation. One of the factors at play here was the recent opening of the Hedon Road Cemetery in 1878. A privately owned cemetery was beginning to look like an anachronism.

Expansion: Go West Young Man

The next change to Western Cemetery, newly named as such with the opening of Hedon Road Cemetery to the east of the city, was a huge expansion. From 5 acres to 37 acres, the new cemetery dwarfed its parent. The irony here was that this land to be purchased was from the Wilkinson family. In selling it to the Hull Corporation, they were exacting revenge for the decimation of an orchard 40 years ago. The only stipulation the Wilkinson family made was an access road should be made by the Corporation so that the Wilkinson land beyond the parcel being sold could be accessed by their tenants. This the Hull Corporation agreed to and the result today is Chanterlands Avenue.

Expansion of Western Cemetery 1889

The expansion of Western Cemetery in 1889 showing the beginning of Chanterlands Avenue.

This expansion took place in 1889. As part of that expansion was the creation of a new lodge for the superintendent, Mr Whitty.  The building of a new Chapel on the western side of the new Chanterlands Avenue also took place. Another aspect of this expansion was that the Borough burials no longer needed to traverse the Cemetery Company’s grounds. They now had access to their own grounds from Chanterlands Avenue.

The Major Cemetery for Hull

Western Cemetery was the major cemetery in Hull at this time. Its heyday was perhaps the period from 1890 to the beginning of the second world war. After this time, it passed the mantle to Northern Cemetery, opened in 1916, and the Eastern Cemetery, opened in 1935.

It still continues to accommodate burials although there is now no longer any room for new graves. Such burials that take place are of family members being buried in family graves. In a few years’ time it will be in exactly the same position that Hull General Cemetery found itself in in the 1970s. The rise and fall of all cemeteries follow the same pattern. A short burst of growth at the beginning followed by a rapid expansion in its adolescence. A much longer period of maturity. This is followed by a period of decline merging into senescence at its end. Much like us all really.

The New Information Board

by Bill Longbonein Events, News, Points of Interest, Volunteers, Walks2 Comments on The New Information Board
There is to be an information board in the Cemetery. The image above is hopefully how it will look. The board will sit inside the main gates on Spring Bank West. This board will provide a brief history of the site. It will also allow visitors to access via their smart phone some of the more interesting aspects and monuments of the site.

1. The Main Gates

The main gates were designed by  the renowned local architect Cuthbert Brodrick in 1846  as part of the original cemetery entrance on Prince’s Avenue. The gates were removed in the early 1920’s when Prince’s Avenue was widened and moved to their current location. They are now Grade II listed  and are one of only a few remaining examples of Brodrick’s work.

2. The Mason Monument

Benjamin Burnett Mason was born in Hull on 16 February 1822, the son of Capt Samuel Mason and his wife Martha (Burnett). He attended Trinity House School and upon leaving went to sea, He left shortly afterwards after suffering a severe attack of typhus fever, and became apprenticed to Mr William Hopwood, shipowner, who had offices at 32 High Street.

Buying the firm

After the death of Mr Hopwood, Benjamin and his fellow clerk, John Ellerby, purchased the business and renamed it Ellerby & Mason, Commission Agents. After the death of his partner, Benjamin carried on the business on his own.

On 20 June 1844 he married Anne Green, youngest daughter of artist William Green, at St Mary’s Bishophill, York. Initially living in Northgate, Cottingham, where they had two sons Benjamin William and Samuel Burnett, prior to moving to Canton Place on Anlaby Road. Still later they moved to 3 Grosvenor Terrace on Beverley Road. Their eldest son, Benjamin William, died of scarlet fever on 29 November 1863 and was buried in Hull General Cemetery and a cast iron gothic monument was erected the following year by the family in his memory.

The Monument

In 1866 Benjamin purchased the business of Messrs Hayes & Whittaker, wine and spirit merchants of Lowgate, the company owned ten bonding warehouses and several vessels carrying wine from the Iberian Peninsula. His wife Anne died of bronchitis on 7 February 1874 aged 58.

The Mason Cross

Second marriage

He married Mary Jane Blyth at All Saints Church, Margaret Street on 3 March the following year. In 1878 Benjamin’s surviving son, Samuel B Mason joined the company, trading as BB Mason & Son.

Benjamin was a member of the Hull Literary Society, a JP, a member of the Committee of the Hull Industrial School and Training Ship ‘Southampton’, a director of the Hull Dock Company among other positions. He was the author of a book on the Brief History of The Dock Company, and was an active member at the Minerva Lodge of Freemasons.

Death

However, he suffered for many years with ill health, and died of bronchitis at his Grosvenor Terrace home on 12 January 1888 in his 76th year. His funeral was well attended by many local dignitaries, so numerous that it was impossible for them to get into the chapel.

Benjamin and his first wife Anne were buried in the family grave with their son Benjamin William and their inscriptions were recorded on the gothic cross, although they no longer remain.

The company successfully maintained the original premises which stretched through from Lowgate to Guildhall and continued in business until the 1980’s.

His 2nd wife, Mary Jane, died on 4 December 1902 aged 79, and is buried in a separate grave in Hull General Cemetery.

3. Thomas Wilson

He was born in Hull in 1792, the son of a lighterman, David Wilson & his wife Elizabeth Gray.

Thomas married Susannah West, the daughter of a Hull wine merchant, and they had 15 children. He was apprenticed in the counting house of a Hull merchant, and after working in the Sheffield steel industry for a few years he formed a partnership with Newcastle merchant, John Beckington. The company started dealing in iron ore with Sweden, sending consignments of the high grade ore from his yard at Garrison Side to Sheffield for smelting.

After experiencing problems with the Swedish shipping service, Thomas Wilson & his partner began chartering sail powered packet boats between Hull & Gothenburg, taking passengers as well as cargo. Wilson & Beckington then began using the new, much faster steam ships on the Gothenburg and later Norway routes. By 1840 the partnership broke up and after a short period as Wilson Hudson & Co, Thomas Wison continued on his own, expanding his iron ore trade with Sweden.

Business expanded

His business rapidly expanded and four of his sons, David, John, Charles Henry and Arthur joined the company. David, who was unmarried and lived at The Bungalow, Cottingham, later left to run his mother’s wine business. John also left to work in Sweden and became a naturalized Swede, leaving the running of the business to Charles Henry and Arthur.

In the mid 19th century the port of Hull was booming, resulting in the opening of three new docks. In the 1850’s, Thos. Wilson & Sons commissioned the construction of several steam boats from Earle’s ship yard on Hedon Road. It was at this time that they started the practice of naming them with names ending in ‘o’ with green hulls and red funnels. (Wilson’s parrots)

Thomas and his wife lived at the relatively modest Park House in Cottingham. He was a typical blunt Yorkshireman with a reputation for ruthlessness. However, he was a great philanthropist and contributed generously to many welfare projects in Hull. These included the Orphan Homes on Spring Bank and a house for fallen women in Nile Street.

Stepping back

Although Thomas kept an active role in the business, it was effectively being run by Charles Henry and Arthur. Charles later became Lord Nunburnholme and lived at Warter. Arthur lived at Tranby Croft in Anlaby, the scene of the famous ‘Baccarat Scandal’ involving the future King Edward VII.

Thomas died of a stroke at his home in June 1869, aged 77.

He was one of the first Hull businessmen to be buried in the new Hull General Cemetery. The cortege slowly travelled from Cottingham. A group of Wilson employees joined the cortege on Beverley Road. This was later followed by a contingent from Earles’ shipyard, and the orphans from Spring Bank Orphanage joining in. By the time the cortege reached the cemetery gates there were 57 carriages and a crowd of 1500 persons..

After the death of Charles Henry (1907) and Arthur (1909) Wilson’s were purchased by Sir John Ellerman, becoming the Ellerman Wilson Line, one of the largest shipping lines in the world. However, the company lost many vessels in WWI, and as the shipping industry evolved it lead to a rapid decline of the company, eventually ceasing the shipping business in the 1973.

4. Quaker Burial Ground

In 1672, Hull merchant, and a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), Anthony Wells purchased a half acre site called Sutton Burying Ground as a burial ground for him, and his fellow believers, later becoming part of Hodgson St, off Cleveland St.

It remained a Quaker burial ground until it was forced to close in 1856. The previous year the Society of Friends had purchased a plot in Hull General Cemetery for £100. This had a 999 year lease. This lease remains to this day, and is known as the Quaker’s Burial Ground.

The Society of Friends gifted the old site to Hull Corporation in the 1890’s with a proviso that it could not be built upon. The site was developed into a children’s playground in the early 20th century, (see image above), but after the houses were demolished in the 1960’s/70’s, it became redundant.

The Removal of the Memorial Stones

In 1973, the memorial stones, including the original stone of Anthony Wells’ wife Elizabeth, and those that had been mounted in the brick piers of the old burying ground, were removed and placed in Hull General Cemetery. They still remain there to this day, and are laid flat in a tidy group. NO PHOTO

Many local Quaker industrialists have graves in the Burial Ground, including members of the Reckitt, Priestman and Good families.

5. John Fountain

John Fountain  was born in Hull  in 1802 and was baptised at Holy Trinity on 20 September the same year. He was a fruit merchant trading from premises in the old town.

He married Sarah Thomas at Holy Trinity on 17 August 1825 and had a daughter, Eliza Ann. She married ship captain Robert Crow Gleadow in 1854.

The family lived at 7 Coburg Terrace on Anlaby Road next door to tannery owner Thomas Hall Holmes, before moving to nearby 3 Balmoral Terrace. John remained there for the rest of his life.

Civic duties

John became an Alderman of Hull and was actively involved in charitable works. This work included being the vice president of the Training ship Southampton, Chairman of the Hull Infirmary Board and Member of the Lodge of Druids.

He was the Governor of the Hull Incorporation of the Poor  at the Hull Workhouse on Anlaby Road, for 21 years  and saw many changes there.

He died of old age on 15 May 1887 aged 84, and was, according to his wishes, buried in the Workhouse Section of the cemetery amongst the beloved poor people of Hull. His grave is marked with an  obelisk and his wife Sarah and daughter Eliza are buried in the same grave.

Fountain Street and Fountain Road are named after him.

6. The Workhouse Area

The workhouse area of the cemetery is a 1 acre area to the west of the cemetery. It contains the graves of approx. 10,000 people who were buried in the cemetery. Hull General Cemetery Company had an arrangement with the Hull Workhouse on Anlaby Road that they would provide a simple coffin and respectfully bury any inmates who had died in the Workhouse.

The graves are public graves with no formal headstone or markings. The three exceptions are the graves of John Fountain and his employees at the Workhouse,  James Myers, the workhouse joiner and his wife Ellen, John Vickers, Master of the Workhouse and his wife Margaret, John Coulson Jackson, Workhouse Messenger

Their graves are located close to John Fountain’s monument.

Plaque commemorating the 10,000 Workhouse burials.

There is also a Commonwealth War Grave located in this area, that of  Sgt Herbert John Alexander of 7th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment.

The Workhouse Graves of Hull General Cemetery

7. Johnson Obelisk

The impressive obelisk monument located close to the Thoresby Street entrance, records members of the Johnson family. These include WW1 CWGC casualties Lt Col VD Richard Ethelbert Johnson and his son, Gunner Albert Kay Johnson of the 8th Canadian Field Artillery.

Lt Col Johnson collapsed and died after attending a function of his RGA Regiment at the Station Hotel Goole on 29 October 1915. He was given a full military funeral at Hull General Cemetery.

His son Albert Kay, had emigrated to Canada around 1913 and joined the Canadian Army at the outbreak of war, but died of wounds in France on 16 April 1918 aged 29. He is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, but commemorated on the family monument.

8. Cholera Monument

In the late summer of 1849, just two years after the cemetery was opened, Hull was struck by a deadly cholera epidemic, It lasted for three months and took the life of 1860 inhabitants (approx. 2.5% of the population, 700 of whom were buried in this cemetery.

The monument was erected by private and public subscriptions to ‘Commemorate the great visitation’.

The epidemic did have the result of a much improved water supply being provided to the town from the Springhead  Pumping Station at nearby  Anlaby.

9. Rollitt’s Memorial

Eleanor Rollitt (Bailey) was born in Hull in 1853, the 2nd daughter of ship builder, William Bailey and Mary Badger Ainley. William was a self made man, and a partner in the steamship company, Bailey & Leetham, which was taken over by Thomas Wilson & Co. in 1903.

William was also a JP, and a director of the Hull Dock Company and he lived at White Hall, Winestead.

Eleanor married Albert Kaye Rollitt at the newly opened, St Peter’s Church, Anlaby on 26th August 1872 when she was just 18 years old. Her brother, Walter Samuel Bailey, of The Mansion, Anlaby, married Albert’s sister, Ellen Rollitt.

Albert Kaye Rollitt, was the son of solicitor John Rollitt, and brother of Arthur, also a renowned solicitor who lived at Browsholme, Cottingham. Albert became very successful, eventually became President of the Law Society, and was later knighted.

Philanthropic

Their only daughter, Ellen Kaye was born in 1874, and the family lived at Thwaite House in Cottingham. Eleanor was very involved with local charities, and was a great supporter and benefactor of the Sailor’s Orphanage on Spring Bank. She was also a patron of the training ship T.S. Southampton. This ship trained wayward boys and orphans in the basics of seamanship. It was moored in the Humber at the mouth of the River Hull. Eleanor personally opened bank accounts with the Hull Savings Bank for the boys.

Eleanor was always referred to as charitable and philanthropic. She organized annual visits and fetes at the family house in Thwaite Street, for the children of the orphanage. She also subscribed towards a new wing at the Hull Royal Hospital in Prospect Street.

Lady Mayoress

When her husband became Mayor of Hull in 1883-1885, Eleanor became Lady Mayoress and extended her support for local charities and good causes. She was also very active in the early women’s suffrage movement. Sadly, during her tenure of Lady Mayoress, she suffered heart problems, and died on 11 January 1885, aged only 31.

Her funeral was attended by ex-mayors, councillors and many of the local dignitaries. The cortege, which left from the family house in Cottingham, was lined all the way to Hull General Cemetery, with crowds of in excess of 20,000 people, including the orphans of the Sailor’s Orphan Homes. Her portrait was painted by Ernest Gustave Giradot and hangs in The Guildhall. A marble bust by local sculptor William Day Keyworth junior is also in the Guildhall.

Inspirational Women

10. Timothy Reeves

One of the most impressive tombs in Hull General Cemetery is that of Timothy Reeves and his family.

Timothy Reeves was born in Hull on 2 July 1793 (although the inscription on the tomb incorrectly states 1794), the son of local brewer, Timothy Reeves senior and his wife, Ann Atkinson.

Early life and marriage

He was articled as an attorney to Robert Galland in 1810 and eventually had his own successful legal practice at 12 Parliament Street. He married Betsey Hill at Holy Trinity Church on 25 August 1823, and initially lived at 32 Neptune Street on the Humber Bank. They had 4 children, including Stafford and Ann Elizabeth. The family later moved to the more prestigious, but nearby address of 31 English Street.

His wife Betsey, died on 7 November 1836 aged 39, and was buried in St James’s Church. Timothy continued to live in English Street, but also lived for a while in Paddington, London. He died of bronchitis and congestion of the lungs at his home on 11 August 1879 aged 85.

Their son, Stafford, who was born on 4 July 1826, went to Trinity College, Cambridge. He spent his early years on the continent, becoming fluent in several languages. Stafford was also studying chemical science and physiology in Bonn. He later became something of an adventurer, and spent much time developing his interests in the Southern States of America. Whilst there  he married, Elizabeth Atherton Seidell, the daughter of Charles Ward Seidell in Orange County, Pennsylvania on 30 March 1856.

American Civil War

The couple had two children in America, but with the political changes prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War, he severed his links with the United States. The family returned to England immediately after the birth of their daughter, Ann, in April 1861 just weeks prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

At the time of the 1861 census, the family was living in Everton, before moving to Pool Bank Cottage in Welton, (which still exists as Pool Bank Farm, just off a lay-by close to the A63). They eventually had ten children, and are recorded in the 1871 and 1881 census’ as living at Pool Bank Cottage, although his occupation was given as an Annuitant, he was also a journalist for ‘The Times’ newspaper. The family moved to Cheltenham in 1881, where his wife, Elizabeth Ann, died of heart disease on Boxing Day the same year aged 50.

Stafford married Ann Pilmer Withcombe in 1899, and he died at Cheltenham on 26 July 1909 aged 82.

The Ellerman connection

Ann Elizabeth, Stafford’s sister, (Timothy and Ann’s eldest daughter), married a Lutheran ship broker and corn merchant, Johannes Hermann Ellerman, on 5 October 1855 who had emigrated, like many others, to Hull from Hamburg in 1850. They had three children, one of whom, was John Reeves Ellerman.

He was born in the house adjacent to the ‘Hope House’ rescue home for fallen girls, on 15 May 1862. He trained as an accountant, and by acquiring under-priced companies, became a ship owner and investor in many businesses including newspapers and breweries. However, like many multi-millionaires, his personal life was notably modest and private. He was noted as the richest man in England.

11. Thomas Earle

Thomas was born on 9 June1810 at 11 Osborne Street Hull. He was the son of architect, builder and statuary maker John Earle and his wife Mary (Alder). John is recorded in White’s 1828 directory as having premises at 29 Whitefriargate.

Thomas was also the nephew of George & Thomas Earle, founders of Earle’s Cement Ltd, and cousin of Charles & William Earle who founded the Earle’s Shipbuilding Company. His father John designed the Pilot Office on Nelson Street and the Ferres Hospital (now Roland House) on Princes Dock Side.

To London and fame

Thomas was proficient in model making from an early age, and in 1830 he left Hull to work as a modeller and designer for Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey at his London studio, eventually studying at the Royal Academy. In 1846 Thomas married Mary  Appleyard, daughter of renowned Hull builder Frank Appleyard at Holy Trinity Church, Hull. He and his wife returned to 1 Vincent Street, Chelsea where he started his own studio. Thomas and Mary continued to live at the Chelsea address, and were living there at the time of the 1851, 1861 and 1871 census’. They had no children.

He produced several fine statues, monuments and busts, many of them  in Hull. These included those of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert in Pearson Park, Dr John Alderson, (now outside HRI on Anlaby Rd), Edward 1 in the Guildhall and several monuments in Holy Trinity, including the magnificent memorial to Thomas Ferres. His own memorial is located in The Minster.

Death

Thomas died suddenly of heart disease in London on 28 April 1876 aged 65. His body was brought back to Hull for burial in Hull General Cemetery where many people attended the ceremony. His wife Mary returned to Hull and lived on Spring Bank, until her death on 12 June 1881 aged 74. They are both buried in a sarcophagus styled, raised tomb that still remains in HGC.

12. Phillip Larkin Bench

In the 1970’s the cemetery was in a state of disrepair and the council were considering removing all of the monuments and headstones and making the area into a recreation park. Some 3,500 headstones and monuments were removed from the cemetery and crushed. Philip Larkin was instrumental in preventing the total demolition and often came into the cemetery, writing a poem about it.  Today only about 1000 of the original 5000 headstones  remain. Even these few may have been lost with his intervention.

He met with his friend the poet laureate, John Betjaman in the cemetery and a short film was made about the cemetery. In late 2022 a commemorative bench was erected on the spot where the two men were photographed for the BBC. The bench was funded by The Friends of Hull General Cemetery and The Philip Larkin Society.

13. Zachariah Pearson

Zachariah Pearson was born in Hull on 28 August 1821. He was one of ten children of Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth (Harker). His mother died on 24 November 1825 whilst giving birth to a daughter, who also died. Zachariah was brought up by his uncle. but he went to sea at an early age By the time he was 21 he was a captain, and owned his own ship by the age of 25.

He married Mary Ann Coleman of Limehouse, London, at Holy Trinity Church on 10 April 1844. They had eight children.  They lived at 11 Spring Street, prior to moving to Grosvenor Terrace, Beverley Road. He set up a shipping business with his brother-in-law, James Harker Coleman, with premises in High Street, and trading as Coleman, Pearson & Co.

Success

His partner died in 1851. Zachariah continued successfully on his own, building up a fleet of ships and readily converting from sail to steam. He became Sheriff of Hull in 1858, and was the Mayor in 1859 and 1860. Zachariah never forgot his poor beginnings, and did much to help the poor. This included founding the Port of Hull Sailor’s Orphan Homes in 1860, supporting many charities and building the Beverley Road Wesleyan Chapel. He promoted the building of the West Dock. He also paid for repairs to Holy Trinity Church and supported the installation of the new water supply to Hull.

In 1860 he donated 27 acres on Beverley Road to be used as The People’s Park. He also encouraged the merchants of Hull to stay in the town, by building the large houses around the park.

The American Civil War

However, his fortunes changed with the American Civil War (1861-1865). The two large cotton mills in Hull closed down because of the cotton embargo enforced by the Southern States. This put thousands of people out of work and into poverty.

In 1862, in an attempt to re-instate jobs and re-open the cotton mills, Zachariah tried to break the Confederate blockade. This was by taking arms and supplies to the South. However, six of his ships were captured by the Union Navy, and were confiscated along with their cargo, whilst another ran aground. This put Pearson, a staunch Wesleyan, at variance with the abolitionist’s, who believed that that he was supporting the slavery cause.

Bankrupt

He was declared bankrupt in 1864, owing more than £645,000. The People’s Park had to be completed by the Town Corporation. He moved into a smaller house at 64 Pearson Park. Zachariah spent the next 27 years repaying his debts, eventually returning to favour.

He died 29 Oct 1891 aged 70, his wife died the previous year on 12 Feb 1890. They are buried in Hull General Cemetery with his son and other family members. Their grave has a modest headstone, and still exists in the cemetery.

14. Mortuary Chapel (site of)

In addition to the Lodge that was located at the cemetery gates on Prince’s Ave, there was a Mortuary Chapel designed by Cuthbert Broderick. It was situated at the rear of the cemetery, backing onto land that was to become Welbeck Street. It also had catacombs nearby, but were seldom used.

The chapel always suffered from damp and unstable foundations, probably due to its proximity to the alignment of an old drain, as seen on the old plan.

Burial services where held here and it was also used as a mortuary. It was finally demolished in 1981.

15. James Henwood

James Henwood was born in Sittingbourne, Kent in October 1784. He moved to Cambridge and then to Hull in the early 1800’s. He joined the  banking company of  Samuel Smiith & Co, formerly Abel Smith & Sons and Wilberforce & Smith initially as a clerk and eventually becoming a partner.

James lived, at what was to become Wilberforce House, in High Street and remained there until his death, being the last occupant of Wilberforce House.

James was a JP, a director of Railway companies and a Deputy Chairman of the Hull Docks Company.  He was also involved in many philanthropic and educational enterprises. Always regarded as a benevolent man supporting numerous charities, he was a staunch Methodist all of his life. He regularly attended the Kingston and Humber Street chapels. He was dedicated to his work and  many charitable interests and never married.

Death

James died of heart disease on 15 April 1854 aged 70. Many people flocked to attend his funeral in Hull General Cemetery. He was buried in  a large stone tomb which still exists.

16. Captain John Gravill

John Gravel Graville, was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire on 4 March 1802, the son of William Gravil Graville and Ann Solelift. He went to sea at an early age, serving initially as a harpooner on the whaling ships sailing from Hull, later becoming mate on various whalers. These were the Eagle, the Harmony and the William Ward.

He married Ann Solelift at Holy Trinity on 29 Feb 1824, and they had three children, Ann, Emily, and John. In 1851 the family were living at 7 Little Reed Street, off Wright Street, later moving to 6 Mount Place, Hessle Road.

In 1857 Capt Graville was given command of The Diana. This was a barque rigged sailing ship. 117 ft long, with a 29 foot beam, and a depth of 17.5 ft, built at Bremen in 1840. In 1856 the whaler was taken over by Brown Atkinson of Hull, making her first voyage to the Davis Straits in 1856. The following year, The Diana was fitted with a 40 HP steam engine. This was installed by the well-known shipbuilders and engineers Messrs Earle & Co, being the first Hull whaler to be so fitted.

The Whaling Industry

The whalers searched for whale oil and sealskins, resulting in a large fleet of steam and sail whaling ships making the journey to the Arctic in search of the bounty. Leaving their home ports of Hull, Dundee, Aberdeen and Peterhead, at the end of February they called in at Shetland, usually Lerwick. Here they augmented their crews with men who were naturally adept at small boat handling and boat work.

Reports of many whales in the extreme northern limits of the Davis Straits, encouraged whalers to probe even further than what had been accepted as limits of safe navigation. To reach these waters the whalers were forced to run the gauntlet of drifting ice floes and even bigger icebergs driven by gales, and it was inevitable that many whale ships would come to grief, or spend long periods trapped in the ice.

1866

In May 1866, despite a fruitless voyage, the Diana, re-provisioned in Lerwick, and sailed north again in the hope of finding more bountiful waters. Although they caught a small number of whales, the dense ice and whale shortage, convinced Captain Gravill to return home.

However, strong gales and thick ice hampered their journey throughout. Many times Gravill considered abandoning ship. The Diana became damaged by the ice. In December, the crew removed everything that could be moved from the badly damaged ship and laid it out on the ice. Tents were erected, and the crew moved between the ship and the make shift camp whenever ice broke around the ship. In Hull it was feared that the Diana was lost, as it had been gone seven months.

His death and funeral

On Boxing Day 1866 Captain Graville died of ‘dropsy and agitation of the mind, at the age of sixty four. Seven other crewman died on the ice. However, by March 1867 the waters cleared of ice and the crew set sail homeward.

On the 1st April 1867 they sighted the west coast of Shetland, and the next day arrived into Ronas Voe. A further 5 crew members died after arrival. The crew, many of whom were from Lerwick, were all buried there, except Captain Gravill. His body was returned to Hull, and his remains buried in Hull General Cemetery in a ceremony that attracted 15,000 people.

The monument, which still remains, is of Sicilian marble by Keywoth of Saville Street. It was paid for by public subscription.

In 1869, whilst making her way back from the Davis Strait, the Diana encountered a strong gale. She was washed into the Donna Nook sands, on the Lincolnshire coast, and broke up. Diana was the last whaling ship to sail from the port of Hull. Her disastrous voyage ended the whaling industry in Hull.

17. Captain William Cape

The raised tomb was purchased by Master Mariner William Cape for his 3 year old daughter, Barbara  who died in 1848, just one year after the cemetery opened.

William was born in Bridlington on 25 September 1809, the son of William and Ann (Clarke). He went to sea at the age of 15. He married Ann Keighley at St Mary’s, Sculcoates on 10 November 1836. They lived at 6 Charles Street and had 6 children. As mentioned above, one of their daughters, Barbara, died of consumption on 11 November 1848, and was one of the earliest burials in the cemetery.

William gained his Masters Certificate in 1850 and became captain of the steamer ‘Emperor’.

The Crimean War

In 1853 the Crimean War commenced when Britain, France and Turkey declared war on Russia. The war was fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula. Captain Cape and the ‘Emperor’ were seconded to transport troops to Turkey.

The principal naval base in the area and the main port of disembarkation was Varna on the Black Sea. It is recorded that the Captain Cape on board the ‘Emperor’ sailed for the Crimea on 7 April 1854. The ship carried Lord Raglan’s horses for the ill fated Charge of the Light Brigade. It also carried a captain, 2 subalterns, 5 sergeants and 115 other ranks.

Cholera was rife in the area at this time and many soldiers died of the disease. On 4 September 1854 William died aged 44, probably of cholera.

His family after his death

His wife continued living at the Charles Street address, raising their children on her own. William’s mother, Ann, died on 30 January 1855 aged 88. She is buried in the family tomb.

In 1871 his widow Ann Cape is living at 13 Brunswick Terrace on Beverley Road. In the 1881 census she is living at 35 Louis Street with her daughter Catherine and her two widowed daughters, Mary Ann Taylor and Jane Ridsdale.

Ann died on 8 October 1888 aged 81, and is also buried in the tomb, as is her nephew, William Keighley who died aged 52 on 30 July 1856.

The only other readable inscription on the tomb is that of their daughter, Jane Ridsdale. She died of cancer and paralysis on 26 February 1898 aged 58. Jane had married William Henry Ridsdale in 1870.

18. Prim Corner (Primitive Methodist Corner)

This section of the cemetery is located close to where the original entrance to the cemetery would have been.

It has several clergy men buried there. These include one of the founders of the Primitive Methodist movement William Clowes. Others are Parkinson Milson, Henry Hodge and his daughter Emma Robson

19. Lt. Frederick Hall

Frederick was born in Muswell Hill, London on 20 March 1898. He was the only child of Hull solicitor, Frederick William and Florence Elizabeth Hall (Taylor).

Vincent joined the Royal Navy in WW1. He became a Flt Sub Lieutenant in the newly formed RNAS. This was the forerunner of the RAF. Vincent trained on Sopwith Pups. On 2 May 1917 he took part in the defence of the French village of Dunkirk which was suffering from many attacks by German aircraft.

He engaged a German Albatross plane which he successfully shot down, killing the pilot and the observer. The local press recorded that Frederick and his co-officer, Wing Commander Newbury, went to salute the bodies of the German airmen before their bodies were removed.

In gratitude for their action in protecting the town, the Mayor of Dunkerque awarded the 2 men commemorative medals.

20. Stather Monument

There are three Gothic revival, cast iron monuments in the cemetery, two of which are Grade II listed.

The first one was erected in memory of Thomas Stather’s wife, Elizabeth (nee) Oates.  It was manufactured by Thomas’ engineering company, Thompson and Stather. The company had a long relationship with the cemetery. They had been commissioned to manufacture the now Grade II listed gates which still survive to this day.

Thomas and Elizabeth married on 20 February 1836 and lived in Derringham Street. Elizabeth, died of atrophy on the 1st April 1863 aged 58. She is buried in a brick lined vault beneath the monument which is mounted on a sandstone kerb-set.

Thomas married Mary Elizabeth Spower the following year and they lived at Victoria Cottage, Derringham Street.

Thomas died of  heart disease on 25 October 1878 aged 66 and is buried in the same grave. Mary Elizabeth died on 4 January 1909 aged 83 and is also buried in the same grave.

The Eleanor Crosses

21. Reverend George Lambert

George Lambert was born in Leeds on 12 November 1742, the son of George S Lambert and Susannah Swift. He established himself as a passionate lay preacher and carried out many services in Heckmondwyke and the Leeds area. George married Hannah Ainsley in Leeds on 15 June 1769. They came to Hull the same year where he carried out sermons.

A new chapel

He was a gifted orator. Whilst preaching in Hull he came to the attention of the church leaders who were impressed with his words and impressive bearing. He was invited to take up the  position of  the pastor of the newly opened Congregational Chapel in Dagger Lane. After much deliberation he accepted the post in October 1769. In 1782 a new chapel was erected in Fish Street.  Known as The Fish Street Congregational Chapel it was far more spacious than the Blanket Row church. However, George’s sermons were so popular that the chapel had to be extended in 1802.

George and Hannah had ten children between 1769 and 1786, but in 1831 Hannah died aged 55. George threw himself into his work. He became known as ‘The Pastor of Fish Street’, regularly helping out parishioners and neighbours. George continued as pastor for over 47 years until his death on 17 March 1816  aged 74 years.

He was buried along with his wife at the Fish Street Chapel. The church was  closed and the premises acquired by the National Telephone Company, George. As such, his wife and three of their daughters were re-interred into Hull General Cemetery on 17 June 1904.

 

 

 

 

 

Anniversary December 1846

by Pete Lowdenin History

This month’s anniversary I’m afraid does not have a Christmas theme. In fact it’s quite morbid in parts but well, we are talking about a cemetery so that comes with the territory.

As some of you may remember the Cemetery Company signed an agreement with the Union workhouses of both Hull and Sculcoates. Part of that agreement was that the Company would arrange to have any inmate of the workhouses who died brought to the Cemetery as soon as possible and placed in the Company’s Dead House, or what we would call a mortuary. That cemeteries had such buildings was quite common. Castle Street had one but it had a bad reputation as bodies left in the building were often found to have been partly eaten by the many rats that lived on the docks and in the cemetery. As such it was closed down and the Spring Street Mortuary replaced it in the early 20th century. The present City mortuary is situated on the HRI site.

Complaint

On the 30th December 1850 John Shields, the superintendent, received a deputation from the stonemasons He passed this complaint on to the Board of Directors. John Shields reported that,

‘complaints had been made by the stonemasons engaged in the Company’s stone shed of the dangers likely to arise from the near proximity of the Dead house to such shed’ 

It’s difficult to see today what the concerns were based upon. The risk of catching something infectious from any of the dead bodies lying in the Dead House would have been minimal. Especially as the mason’s would not have had reason to touch them. However, the idea of how one caught a disease was quite different in those times. Medical practice and beliefs in the Victorian period were still firmly rooted in medieval practices. Blood letting via leeches was seen as a common remedy for a host of illnesses. The idea that the ills of the body were dominated by the four ‘humours’ of the body was still current. The ‘new’ idea of inoculation was still viewed with suspicion and common hygiene, such as washing one’s hands before performing an operation, was regarded as unnecessary and probably eccentric.

Miasmic

The major belief in how one caught an illness or disease was based upon the miasmic theory. This was the idea that ‘bad air’ caused disease. It was an intriguing idea. At least to a population who had no idea of the existence of germs or viruses, it was quite plausible. So, it was probably this idea that had prompted the complaints from the stonemasons.

That this complaint was seen as reasonable is recognised by the response to it by the Board.

‘the matter having been fully considered by the Board it was ordered that the use of the present dead house be discontinued and that a new one be forthwith built on the vacant ground behind the chapel.’

So the Company Dead House was moved and presumably the stonemasons were now happy.

The new Dead House site?

Another intriguing aspect of this incident is the phrase, ‘on the vacant ground behind the chapel’. Of course whereabouts this ‘vacant ground’ was is a little mystery. It all depends upon where you stand when describing something as ‘behind’ something else. The east of the chapel was already occupied by the catacombs the Company sold. As such it cannot have been there. To the south was a path and to the north was Mr Wilkinson’s land. The Company would not have dared to build anything on his land after their legal tussles in 1847. So by process of elimination the new Dead House must have been built on the land to the west of the chapel.

How long it lasted is open to question. The land to the west of the chapel was sold as burial spaces in the 20th century. The Workhouses themselves terminated their arrangements with the Cemetery in the 1920s. As such it is reasonable to suppose that the Dead House continued to be used for the greater part of the 19th century. It probably fell into abeyance as the Cemetery entered the 20th century. All traces of this building have disappeared. It probably was quite shoddily built. It would have been removed to provide room for more grave spaces.

By the way this is the last in the series of anniversaries. I hope you’ve enjoyed the glimpses into the life of the Cemetery.

Anniversary November 1900

 

Anniversary November 1900

by Pete Lowdenin General, History, Volunteers2 Comments on Anniversary November 1900

Sometimes these anniversary items highlight how much has changed since they occurred and strangely how much things still stay the same. This is a case in point and involves the working relationship between manual workers and the Board and the shareholders. I would suggest that although over a century of welfare legislation has occurred between 1900 and today the relationship is still the same. Improvements have taken place but the power distribution is still the same. The time for forelock tugging may have passed but the power dynamics are still the same.

6th November Board meeting

The anniversary takes place on the 6th November 1900. At the Board meeting that day the Board were told some sad news. Jefferson, one of the gravediggers, had died. He had been ill for some time. It had been reported to the Board back in September that he was unlikely to return to work.

At the November meeting therefore the news of his death perhaps was not a surprise. The secretary, Michael Kelly, informed the Board that he had been asked to visit Mr Jefferson. He had complied. Jefferson took the chance to ask a favour of the Board. According to the minutes of the meeting Michael Kelly said he,

went to see him, (Jefferson) who asked that the company might give him a place of burial and allow his wife a little to bide her over the winter months.

Kelly placed the matter before the Chairman, John Pybus as a Board meeting was not scheduled till later in the month. John Pybus agreed that he could have a burial place and that Jefferson’s wife could have 10 shillings a week until the next Board meeting when the issue would be fully discussed.

As such, this situation was the one that presented the Board on the 6th November.

Long serving employee

At this meeting Kelly said that Jefferson had been employed by the Company for 34 years. He was one of the longest serving employees. He also said that only one payment of 10 shillings had been paid. The Board readily agreed that the burial place was agreed. However, upon reflection, it was agreed that Mrs Jefferson would only receive 5 shillings a week. This payment would discontinue at the end of March.

On the 4th December Mrs Jefferson wrote to the Board thanking them for their help.

William’s life

William Jefferson was born in Skidby in 1835. Or Cottingham. Or Newland as he seemed to change his birth place every census. Suffice to say that he was baptised as a non-conformist in June 1837 in Hull. His father was a coal porter and William’s early life was spent in the slums of Collier Street. This site is now subsumed under the Hull Interchange. By 1851 both William and his elder brother John joined their father as railway coal porters. Indeed the family address was cited as the Railway Depot.

By 1861 he had left the family home and was living in a tenement in New George Street. He still earned a living as a railway porter but was supplementing this as a general labourer. In 1867 William married Sarah Ann Howell.

1871 and after

The census of 1871 tells us that William and his new wife were living in Porter’s Terrace, Walton Street and his occupation was now listed as labourer at the Cemetery. William and Sarah were joined by a child called Joseph who was one year old. By 1881 the family had moved again. They now lived in Mason’s Terrace, Wellington Lane. William was listed as a General Cemetery labourer. The family had grown too. Joseph now 11 has two brothers, George and Amos plus a daughter Annie.

The 1891 census is the last that William appeared on. By that date the family had moved yet again. This time the address was in Seaton Street off Fountain Road. This house would have been a relatively new build at the time as the Swann Estate that most of Fountain Road was comprised of was only begun in the 1880s. He was cited as a general labourer and the family had grown once again. Joseph was now a printer and George was a boot and shoe maker. Amos and Annie were still scholars. The family had acquired Frederick and Alice, 5 and 3 year old respectively.

William died on the 28th October and was buried on the 31st. The cause of death was cited as yellow jaundice and exhaustion. The address at the time of death was 168 Waterloo Street.

William’s deathbed worries

It was this family that William worried about on his death bed. It was this family the Board graciously offered 5 shillings a week to compensate for the loss of the main breadwinner.

I know that, like me, you would like to know what happened to this family. Cast adrift in Victorian Britain, with no welfare safety network, no pension. Their only solace, if it can be called that, would have been at the top of Fountain Road and it was the Sculcoates Workhouse. What did they do to counteract this disaster?

Ice cream anyone?

The barebones of their struggle are recorded in the census returns. By 1901, some six months after William had died, their circumstances have changed. Sarah is now the head of the household and she is listed as an ice cream retailer. Her eldest son Joseph is also listed as an ice cream vendor as is young Frederick. George has left home as has Annie. Alice is still at school and Amos, now being 25, has no occupation listed. The family were making the ice cream and presumably selling it from the new address of 168, Waterloo Street. So they had pooled their resources and survived.

By 1911 the family were now living at 28, Aldbrough Street just off Cannon Street. Sarah was now retired and Joseph was running the business alongside Frederick. Alice was running a market stall where presumably ice cream was sold. George was still at school. And Amos? The 1911 census is interesting in that it wanted medical details of people who had ‘infirmities’. This ranged from ‘deafness’ to ‘imbecility’ and many things in between. Amos sadly fell into this bracket. He is listed as ‘feeble-minded’ and as such in a world where Victorian values were gauged upon how much you contributed he would have been classed as a burden. Yet another thing that William must have been troubled by as he lay on his deathbed.

The family breaks up

Amos died in 1920 and year before Sarah passed away. Joseph the eldest son had died in 1916 and the ice cream business died then too. Annie married and went to live in a terrace off Waterloo Street and Frederick went to live with them. George had left the family home long before and worked as a stevedore on Hedon Road. Alice had married on Boxing Day 1913 and so the family had splintered by the time Sarah died. I’m sure she would have been consoled, if that’s the right word, that Amos died before she did.

The grave that the Company had given to the family was only for two. William was the first to lie there and it was expected that Sarah would join him. With the death of Joseph these calculations went awry. Joseph occupied the second spot. However Michael Kelly, probably with some thought of his fellow worker William’s wishes, managed to squeeze another burial in. So a grave for two has three in it. Sadly there was no room for Sarah as Amos took this third spot. Amos died of heart failure.

So when Sarah died in the January of 1921 there was no grave for her to go. Frederick bought another space not far from the previous one and Sarah, his mother was laid to rest there. Sarah died of bronchitis.

Fair shares?

So what did I mean at the beginning about the relationship between a workforce and the owners? What has that got to do with anything in this story? I suppose this is where politics rears its ugly head so if you don’t want to hear that I’d suggest you dip out now.

Some of you may remember one or two articles where I have told of how the finances of the Cemetery were founded. How the initial shares were priced at £10 each and the issue was over-subscribed. You may also remember that the £10 was to be paid in instalments and only an initial £1 was paid to the Company. Over the life of the Cemetery occasionally the shareholders were asked to pay a little more but none of them ever had to pay the entire £10. Surprisingly there was also occasions when what is called ‘return of capital’ gave money back to the shareholders. In essence the shareholders risked very little.

Now we come to the reason why the people bought the shares in the first place. This was the expected return from owning shares that is known as a dividend. This is still current practice today in most capitalist countries.

Money for nothing

Even though the shareholders had not paid the full amount for their shares they still expected and received dividend payments. Over the life of the Cemetery the shareholders were paid dividends that made their initial outlay appear ridiculously small. Some times the dividend would reach 16 or 17 shillings per £1. And this would be paid every year. As you can see simply raking in such dividends over 2 years would defray the cost of the shareholder’s initial purchase of his or her share.

What has this to do with William Jefferson’s sad death? The point I’m labouring here is that at the AGM the year William died the dividend was set at 9 shillings. The same rate followed the next year. So each shareholder received 9 shillings for each share they owned. This would have included the members of the Board who took the step to reduce the payment to Sarah Ann Jefferson from 10 shillings to 5 shillings. What justification could they have had? Why did they think this was the right thing to do?

No I don’t have an answer. I suppose that Mrs Jefferson was grateful and who am I to criticise a decision made over a 100 years ago. But sometimes, just sometimes, something feels so wrong that you can’t allow it to pass by without comment. This is one of those. Sorry

Anniversary October 1875

by Pete Lowdenin General, History

The anniversary this month shows that the Company could, when it had to, play a mean game of poker. It’s opponents? Hull City Police Force. Here’s what happened.

On the 28th October 1875 the directors of the Company held an emergency board meeting. This meeting was called as a result of a letter they had received. The letter had come from the local Watch Committee of the Corporation. This was a committee of the Hull Corporation that concerned itself with law and order. The letter was signed by the Chief Constable of Hull City Police, Thomas Cook.

The letter stated,

Dear sirs,

At a meeting of the Watch Committee this day it was ‘resolved’, that the Directors of the cemetery company be informed that the attention of the committee has been called to the practice of the borough police being employed beyond the borough in watching the cemetery on Sundays, and the committee desire to call the directors attention to the matter, in the hope that the company will make their own arrangements or through the medium of the county police for watching the cemetery, that the borough police may be withdrawn.’

This letter, much like today, was one attempt to keep costs down for the Corporation. What better than to remove the police constables patrolling the cemetery, which was actually situated in Cottingham parish after all? The cemetery did not become part of Hull until 1885. It must have struck the Watch Committee members as a good way to save money without it harming themselves in any way.

This wasn’t quite how the directors of the Company saw it. Thus the emergency board meeting.

Raise the stakes

However, when in doubt, raise the stakes. The Company did. It’s reply reached the Watch Committee on the 4th November and it must have caused some members of that august gathering to blanch a little.

The chief constable’s letter and the resolution therein contained having been read, and the circumstances under which the police were first put on duty at the cemetery having been considered, from which it appeared that in consequence of complaints made to the directors about plants and flowers being destroyed in the cemetery the grounds were closed against the public on Sundays from the 1/9/1856 and continued so closed until May the following year, when a request was made  by the then mayor of Hull (W.H.Moss esq) that the public might be again permitted to walk in the cemetery on Sundays, and the Board  in compliance with such request again opened the cemetery upon the express understanding that the visitors should be restricted to the gravel walks and that the watch committee should provide sufficient policemen to enforce the observance of such restriction, to preserve order and to protect the graves, tombstones, plants and shrubs from injury.

And further more…

The letter went on to inform the Watch Committee that the Company had,

Resolved that inasmuch as the public who frequent the cemetery on Sundays ate almost exclusively residents  in the borough of Hull, this board  trusts that the borough police may be permitted to continue their attendance, to carry out the before mentioned restrictions, but should the Watch Committee determine to withdraw the police from such duty the directors hope that  timely intimation may be given of such determination in order that the public may have due notice of the Board’s intention to close the cemetery against visitors on Sundays. The directors are most anxious to continue every facility  possible for the admission of the public as the grounds are becoming increasingly attractive and they therefore venture to repeat that they can only do so through the aid of the Watch Committee as in the event of the police being withdrawn the directors feel convinced from past experience that the property of the owners of vaults and graves in the cemetery would no longer be safe from injury.’

Own goal

And with that missive, the ball was safely returned over the net and the Watch Committee suddenly found itself with a problem. What had seemed an easy way to make a cutback in public expenditure now looked like an own goal. The public liked and enjoyed walking in the Cemetery. It was quiet, restful and beautiful. And it especially enjoyed using the Cemetery on a Sunday as that was the one day the vast majority would not be at work.

So for the Cemetery to shut its gates on a Sunday would be very bad. That this would occur through the actions of the Watch Committee was not something that had been envisaged when the idea was thought up. The Watch Committee were caught in a trap of their own making. They could not go back on what they had said. Nor could they be seen to have caused the Company to shut its gates on Sundays.

On the 2nd December the Watch Committee sent a letter to the Company. It stressed that after consideration they would still allow the constables to patrol the grounds of the Cemetery. However the numbers would be reduced from six to three. The Company thought this was sufficient and there the matter ended. For once the Company had played a blinder. A rare occasion for an anniversary.

Anniversary September 1852

Anniversary September 1852

by Pete Lowdenin General, History, Volunteers

The Coming of the Railway

This month’s anniversary is related to the railway that once ran past its gates.

On the 2nd September 1852 the Board received an engineer’s report. This engineer was employed by the York and Midland railway Company. This report detailed a new layout for the proposed branch line to the Victoria Dock. It was the culmination of a campaign waged by the Company to get the railway company to change its mind. And it was a success. Let’s go back a bit and see how this situation came about.

Back in December 1851 the Board received an unexpected and definitely unwanted Christmas present. C.S Todd, the secretary reported that,

‘plans and sections of the proposed Victoria Dock Railway had been lodged with the clerk of the peace for the borough of Kingston upon Hull on Saturday evening and that the proposed railway was projected to pass between the north west corner of the late waterworks and the gates of the Cemetery at a distance of comparatively a few feet and requested instructions as to the course  under such circumstances.’

What to do?

Obviously this development caused consternation with the Board. They knew that a branch rail line was in development but they had no idea it would impinge upon the cemetery. That it would run a ‘few feet’ from the entrance would be disastrous for the cemetery. The effect it would have upon the Lodge was also something that had to be taken into consideration. The Board knew it had to do something quickly.

‘It was resolved that a deputation consisting of the chairman, Mr Irving, and Mr Todd do wait upon the Directors of the York and North Midland Railway Company upon the subject of the injury to the cemetery in consequence of the above railway and that in the meantime the solicitor do see the plans lodged and get all the requisite information upon the subject.’

The meetings

The meeting with the Railway Company was soon forthcoming. The meeting took place on the 14th January 1852. To say it wasn’t a success would be putting it mildly. The Railway Company saw no reason to change their plans. If it caused the Cemetery Company problems , well that was no concern of theirs.

The Company employed their own engineer, Mr Clarke, to draw up alternative plans for the route of the railway line. The Board also thought that an extraordinary meeting of the shareholders should be called to inform the proprietor’s of this situation.

This meeting took place on the 20th February.

‘The chairman opened the proceedings by stating succinctly to the meeting what had already been done by the directors respecting the proposed crossing of the railway Company immediately in front of the cemetery’.

He then called upon the secretary to read out the correspondence between the Railway Company and themselves. Sadly none of this survives but the Secretary, in the minute book, does state,

‘that he had received from the directors of the Railway co., a letter by no means satisfactory inasmuch as it bound the company to no fixed mode of arrangement’.

Oh, the wealth of meaning behind his clipped legal words.

The feeling of the meeting was pretty high at this point and the proprietors made their views quite clearly to the Board and the meeting,

‘fully authorised and empowered (the Board) to take such steps for the protection of the Company’s interests in the matter of the railway crossing as they may be advised and deem right and that if necessary they be authorised to proceed to parliament for the purpose of attaining that object.’

Parliament

This was the nuclear option and the Railway Company probably did not see it coming. The issue was raised with the standing committee of transport and by May a resolution was forthcoming. The Railway Company accepted the plans as put forward by the Cemetery Company,

‘and that the railway Company had agreed to pay this company £2500 on condition that certain suggested alterations should be made at the entrance of the cemetery.’

So, a victory for the Cemetery Company. Well, not quite. Firstly the railway line was still to run quite close to the front of the Cemetery. Secondly, what were these ‘alterations’ mentioned?

Getting the builders in

An insight into these was noted in  July. The minute books state that ‘extra gate piers’ were needed at the front of the Cemetery. Where and how they would fit into the original scheme is difficult for us now to visualise. The Board empowered John Shields, the superintendent, to,

‘be authorised to purchase the necessary stone requisite for the extra gate piers and also obtain an estimate of the difference of expense to the company between  our having gates across the whole of the new entrance or only palisading with a dwarf wall for two openings, both in the present and projected entrance and in the event of the latter plan being adopted then the cost of removing from the present to the new entrance two sets of the gates now at the former and that in the meantime the new walk required for a cab stand to be laid out, planted and completed forthwith.’

So, these were the alterations that needed to be carried out. As I mentioned visualising the changes is difficult as the only image we have before the railway was laid out is from Bevan’s lithograph which is an artist’s impression.

Bevan's Lithograph of the Cemetery

The lithograph shows both the lodge and the chapel built with gates. This is wrong as none of those buildings were built at the time of the lithograph being printed. There would have been some gates at the entrance but what they were like is open to question. In other words we are quite in the dark about these ‘alterations’. Suffice to say that they took place.

One cottage or two?

On the 26th August, a visit took place from Mr Carberry. This was the engineer from the Railway Company. He fully approved of all what the Cemetery Company had done. But there was a sting in his tail for he went on to show the detailed plans he had brought with him.

‘Mr Carbery then laid before the Board the plan and sections for the Gatekeeper’s house, as proposed to be erected by the Railway Company, and the same having been examined by the Board, and it appearing  to be the intention of the Railway Company to erect such house in front of the entrance lodge of the Cemetery.

It was determined to make an offer to the Railway Company to build them a gatekeeper’s house on the ground of the Cemetery and corresponding in style and architecture with the Cemetery lodge, on receiving from the railway Company £100 the amount intended to be expended by them, the additional expense to be borne by this company and that in the event of such an offer being accepted another house should be built on the other side of the lodge in uniformity with the gatekeeper’s house and Mr Carbery stated that he would lay such an offer before the Railway Directors and recommend that the same should be carried out as proposed.’

Horrified

The Cemetery Board must have been horrified by the idea that a workmen’s hut should be placed in front of the Lodge. But they knew that they could not resist this insult. That is, unless they upped the ante. This they did by saying that they would build the gatekeeper a house on their land to the west of the Lodge, in the style of the Lodge. This was agreeable to the Railway Company and the gatekeeper of the level crossing for Botanic Gardens Station lived there until its demolition in 1907. That the Cemetery Company then felt the need to add ‘balance’ to their frontage and erect another cottage to the east of the Lodge was simply just showing off. It was used to house the foreman of the Cemetery staff which at this time was a man called George Ingleby. He remained there until the 1890s.

Not top of the range

These cottages were not built to the standard of the Lodge. Simpson and Malone, quality builders and stonemasons, wee employed to construct them. As the bill tendered for payment indicates, the cost for building both cottages was £170 each. The lodge cost much more than that. Still one had to keep up appearances. The final bill for the cottages came to £320 when other aspects were taken into account. The Company probably thought it had done well getting 320 knocked off the price.

Simpson and Malone's bill for erection of two cottages

 

And so we come to that date in September 1852. The anniversary of the coming of the railway to the Cemetery. At the meeting,

‘A letter was then read from Mr Gray, the secretary of the York and North Midland Railway Company, accepting the offer made to Mr Carbery as to building the gatekeeper’s house on the Cemetery grounds provided his company would give to the Railway Co. a lease of the house for 21 years and after the expiration of that period agree not to terminate the tenancy unless upon giving  6 months’ notice and repaying the said sum of £100 and the matter having been discussed it was resolved that this Board do approve of such an arrangement and that the secretary be requested to communicate with the Railway co.’s secretary in order to carry out the same.’

And there the matter was resolved.

The final cost

However, was it worth it? Was the proximity of the railway line to the front of the Cemetery that important? We are not in a position to judge whether the moving of the track bed by a few feet was so vital to the interests of the Cemetery. Obviously the Company thought it was. But was it worth it? Ah, that’s good question, especially knowing how things turned out for the Cemetery.

Firstly we have no idea what the cost was for the erection of the extra gate piers but it was a cost the Company had no need to indulge in at that time. Secondly, we do know how much the erection of the cottages cost and that was £320. Yes, they were a fixed asset and they received rent from them but it was a cost that was unnecessary. Thirdly, parliamentary time does not come cheap and the cost of that was £850 5s 1d. This is a considerable sum. The cost of buying the entire site for the Cemetery was only just over £5000. And then we have the cost of the new gates, ordered from Thompson and Stather for £53 10s.

So, overall a cost of northwards over £1200. The Bank of England inflation estimator reckons this sum would be worth £116,966 today. Now that’s quite a tidy sum to spend because you don’t want to have a railway track next door. Some people might say that about having a Cemetery next door. There’s no accounting for taste.

Anniversary July 1857

 

Anniversary July 1857

by Pete Lowdenin General, History, Volunteers1 Comment on Anniversary July 1857

Yes, I know. I put the month of August last month instead of July for the Anniversary item. Anniversary August 1846

What can I say?

To attempt to make amends here’s another item from the history of the Cemetery commemorating a date in July. I hope I’m forgiven.

On the 2nd of July 1857 the Company Minute Books mentions a first for the Cemetery Company. The installation of a windmill. John Shields, the first superintendent of the Cemetery, reported back to the Board. His report was succinct.

‘Mr Shields produced a plan of the windmill proposed to be erected in the cemetery and the estimate for building same viz – Messrs Thompson and Stather for iron work £25, Messrs W. & D Todd for woodwork £22 and such estimates having been fully considered resolved that such estimates be accepted and that the Mill be forthwith erected.’

Windmill?

So why a windmill? The short answer was that the Company had bought and installed a steam engine in 1846 which had helped with the draining of the site. After this it was then used to help with the stone cutting of the monumental works of the Company. However the Company appeared to have little luck with their engines. Over time they either needed repair, or sometimes replacing all together. As the steam engine would have been the largest capital expenditure after the purchase of the site itself such ongoing costs were constantly eating into the profits of the Company.

The Board were in a quandary about this issue. John Shields thought he had come to a solution. In May of 1857 he recommended to the Board that they should install a windmill to, ‘be used instead of the engine to pump water out’. The Board asked him to get an estimate of the costs this would incur.

And thus we come to the meeting the following month and the Board decided to go ahead with the erection of the windmill after seeing the estimates that Mr Shields placed before them.

The life of the windmill

The windmill continued to work for the Company for almost the next twenty years so it proved a good investment. It’s final removal was due to the development of the Avenues. In November 1874 the Minute Books state what buildings were to be demolished and re-instated further into the Cemetery by David Garbutt’s Avenues development. These buildings were,

‘the stable building, hearse shed with loose box attached, engine and boiler house and chimney shaft, carriage wash, privy, brick and cart shed, and to take down and reconstruct the engine, boiler, windmill and all gear, pumps, well etc.’

The following month, December 1874, the situation was that,

‘The secretary reported that the company’s fence had been set back and the stables, coach house, cart shed etc pulled down, and he further reported that the engine, windmill and pumping gear had been advertised for sale …. But as yet no satisfactory offer had been made for the same and as Mr Garbutt was pressing for possession of the land upon which the same stood such engine, mill etc had, by the chairman’s orders, been sold by public auction and had realized after paying auctioneer’s charges, advertising etc £27 4s and the purchasers were then removing same.’

So that is the short life of the Cemetery’s windmill. It must have been a grand sight. What is also interesting is that the sale price of the engine, windmill and pumping gear realised less that the original cost of the windmill back in the 1850s. Another instance of the Company’s directors not being very good businessmen.

 

Anniversary August 1846

by Pete Lowdenin History, News

The month of August is an interesting anniversary.

On the 8th August 1846 the Board of the Cemetery Company had a pleasant surprise. They received a visit from a surprise visitor. That visitor was John Shields, the superintendent of York Cemetery. And this was not simply a courtesy visit. The Company minute book records that,

‘Mr John Shields, the superintendent of York Cemetery, called and laid before the chairman the following testimonials of character and stated that he would be at liberty on the first week of Sept.’

This news was a great, and probably quite a pleasant surprise. Here was an experienced superintendent of an existing cemetery who was offering his services to them. Although there appeared to be no other candidate for the post this may well have been because the Board had not gotten round to advertising for the post. They may well have not even given a thought to it. So this sudden arrival of John Shields must have almost been like manna from heaven.

The Minute book also actually records John Shields testimonial from York Cemetery,

‘York, August 7th 1846. The Board of the York Public Cemetery hereby certify that John Shields, our late manager and gardener has been 9 years in our service and during that time has conducted himself in an honest, sober, industrious and attentive manner and has filled his situation with ability.

Signed Thomas Price, Chairman, York Cemetery.’

On the 26th September the Board did take the proper and correct decision. They offered John the position of general superintendent, registrar and manager at the princely sum of £90 per annum. The Company also offered to pay his rent for his residence until the Lodge was inhabitable.

He remained in this post until his death in December 1866.

Anniversary June 1972