War Graves

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.

Eva La Pensee: A personal appreciation

The death of Eva La Pensee in June was a shock although in our hearts we all knew it was coming. Eva had been ill for some time and this had restricted her physical involvement greatly. However, she still played an active role in the policy and clerical work that such a project throws up. Over a few short months even this work became too much for her. Eva died on June 10th.

Secretary

Eva was the original secretary and minute secretary of the FOHGC. She was also one of the founder members of that group attending its inaugural meeting in 2016. She took on board the idea that the cemetery was valuable to the citizens of Hull even if they themselves were not aware of it. As such she launched herself into the above roles with her usual skills and enthusiasm. Her forte in the organisation was the ability to be both  analytical and work to a goal. She provided the necessary rigour and discipline that was lacking in some of the original members who were moved more by ‘magical thinking’ than realism. She could see that this project would need more than ‘wishing on a star’ to make it happen.

Skill set

Eva knew that a fanciful approach, unless tied in with factual evidence, was doomed. The Friends needed to convince the people who needed to be convinced to support the fledgling group. She could do this, marshalling an argument so perfectly, that to refuse her analysis of a situation would have been seen to be just being stupid on the listener’s part. I sometimes just had to sit there and admire her in action.

She also had a good grounding from her work with various local authorities that enabled her to negotiate the very first grant from Hull City Council. This grant allowed the Hull Civic Society to open a bank account for the Friends, which at that time was a sub-committee of that society. From this small acorn the Friends grew, FOHGC? Who the hell do they think they are?

What was that all about?

At my first meeting of the Friends, Eva was absent and on holiday. I must admit that I was less than impressed with the organization at that time. It seemed to be dithery and lacking focus. There was no shortage of ideas which was a good thing. Sadly all were doomed. They were either so nebulous that they could never happen. Or, on the other hand, some ideas would have been so negligible in their effect they would not have been worth doing. Adopt a grave, anyone?

So what was the point in talking about them never mind trying to put them into practice. I left the meeting frustrated, and thinking I’d give them another go to prove themselves to me, as I was interested in saving the cemetery.  However, as usual, I was busy with other things so I wasn’t going to waste my time.

Eva as a leader

I am so glad I did go back.

At the next meeting Eva was present. You could see immediately how she co-ordinated the meeting. Shepherding the chair, allowing discussions to reach a logical end point and then summarising the debate. And then writing it all up as the minutes and circulating them. This was a whole different ballgame. Count me in I thought.

From my perspective the Friends could not have survived a year without Eva’s intelligence, drive and ability to organise. She was the engine behind the group. She put the fuel in the tank. Without her there at the beginning, the group would never have left the sterile debate of the boardroom where big dreams were endlessly debated yet little groundwork ever happened.

Mutual respect

As time went on we became friends. I’d like to think that there was a mutual respect for each other. We had disagreements of course but never on a personal level. The disagreements happened when our visions for the cemetery did not coincide. Sometimes she was right and sometimes, on far fewer occasions I have to admit, I was. The point was that both of us wanted the best for cemetery and it was just the ‘how’ rather than the ‘why’ which set us apart for a few moments. She was also someone who could recognise when a colleague was overextended.

My forgetfulness and how Eva saved me

One instance of this happening was when Eva had arranged a visit to the cemetery of a group of Hull University students. Eva asked me if I could guide them on the day and I agreed. I knew I had other things on my plate at the time. I probably thought my plans were much more important so the event was filed away in my mind but not in my diary.

The result was as you would expect. I forgot all about it and only later that day, hours after I should have been there, did I remember. I rang Eva to apologise. She said that I shouldn’t worry as she had realised I was up to my neck with things and she had gone along, ‘just in case’. At the next Friends meeting I explained my failure to the rest of the group and how Eva had rescued the group’s good name. Eva sat there quietly while I finished and then said she had planned to attend anyway to help me.

Afterwards

After the meeting she quietly said to me that I had no need to let the others know as she knew I was doing lots of work that many of the other members were not. I said I was raised to ‘own up’ if I had done wrong. She just looked at me and silently shook her head. I occasionally brought up this episode at future meetings as a kind of running joke between Eva and myself.  To see Eva smile and tell me, in a mockingly severe tone, to ‘let it go, Peter’ and ‘that she hoped I would try harder in future,’ were some moments I truly treasure of this remarkable lady.

Books

Let’s never forget that it was Eva who prompted Bill and myself to write the books on and for the cemetery. She invited us to her house where Clive, her husband, ran through how one could publish books on Amazon without any start up costs. Although neither Bill nor myself were sure about whether we were ‘author’ material we set to. The result as I detailed in an email to the FOHGC last December was that we had sold 774 books and made, for the FOHGC, over £2000.

None of this would have happened without the gentle nudging of Eva.

Her past

I remember another occasion when Barbara and myself arranged to attend a walk given by Paul Schofield around the historic  sites of Primitive Methodism in Hull one evening. Eva was also going and we met up. Later, after the walk, and as with all Paul’s walks it ended with a visit to a pub, we sat and talked. She told us of her childhood in war torn Germany and her experiences which had obviously shaped her views on many things.

I thought at the time how she was, to coin a phrase, ‘ so well-balanced’ after that trauma. She could have given lessons in humanity and co-existence to some of our present politicians who still feel the need to ‘re-fight’ the Second World War to appeal to the baser instincts of society. Here was a woman who’d seen those ‘baser instincts’ as a child and had no desire to have them inflicted upon others today.

Our loss

The Friends has lost one of its guiding lights. I have lost a good, true friend as I know all the others in the Friends group have too.

A greater loss than ours

Our thoughts go out to her husband Clive, her daughters Annemarie and Louise and their partners. Of course one must not forget Eva’s grandchildren. They were a joy to her later years.

Our loss is minimal to all of theirs and cannot compare at all. As Clive said at the funeral, Eva’s last words to him were, ‘We go in different directions now’. I can only guess that without that guiding light of Eva showing the right direction all pathways will remain dark for a while.

Eva and Clive

 

Cemetery Wildlife – June 2023

June started off dry and warm, with some very hot spells of over 25 C on several days.  There was some rain towards the end of the month, a few of the showers being quite heavy.  This provided the plants with enough water to keep them alive and avoid them shrivelling and dying in the heat.  This June has been one of the hottest on record according to the weather reports in the media.  The dry, shaded pathways in the cemetery provided some cooler and welcome relief from the heat of Spring Bank West for the human visitors, and the cemetery wildlife seemed to be carrying on as normal.

Birds

A male Bullfinch sitting on a branch in the cemetery
Bullfinch (male)

I mentioned seeing Bullfinches in my report last month.  I’m delighted to say that I saw both the male and female on several occasions throughout the month, sometimes together and sometimes separate.  I saw the male more often than the female, suggesting she might have been sitting on some eggs, or brooding some chicks.  When she’s doing this, the male gathers seeds in a pouch in the bottom of his mouth and carries them back to the nest to feed her.  The photo at the top of the report is the female – her subdued colours help to camouflage her when she’s on the nest.  It turned out that I was right about them being a breeding pair because I did catch a brief glimpse of a young fledgling, possibly two.  They lack any of the parent’s colours, being mainly brown.

There are other fledglings around too, including Blackbirds, Chaffinches and Great Tits.

A fledgling Great Tit on a branch in the cemetery
Great Tit

You can tell this is a young bird because the yellow gape at the side of the beak is still visible.  Also the feathers are a very pale lemon yellow, and its legs are pale blue. The adult bird’s legs tend to be a darker grey colour.

I caught a brief glimpse of a Sparrowhawk chasing a Wood Pigeon and another brief glimpse of a male Blackcap. However, I didn’t see any other unusual or rarer birds than the species I usually see in the cemetery.  I still heard the occasional Chiffchaff calling, and other birds were calling and singing too, but nowhere near as loud and as frequent as last month.  The nesting season is well underway, making the need to sing to attract a mate and mark out territory less important.

Insects

Butterflies

It’s been a very quiet month for butterflies, and the only species I saw were Holly Blue, Large White, Small White and Speckled Wood. I also caught a brief glimpse of a bright orange one but it was a fast flier that didn’t land so I couldn’t confirm its identity although it was most probably a Comma.

Speckled Wood butterfly on a teasel
Speckled Wood resting on a Teasel – at one point I saw 6 of them circling high up in the trees

This lack of butterflies is known as the “June gap” because the ones that emerged earlier in the year will have mated, laid their eggs and then died.  There is then a period between that and the emergence of the next generation from July onwards.  And here is a perfect example of that principle – I found this Large White caterpillar in the same area (possibly even on the same plant) where I saw eggs being laid last month.  Here’s my photo from last month’s report –

A Large White butterfly laying eggs on Hedge Mustard
Large White laying eggs on Hedge Mustard – taken 25 May

And here’s a caterpillar I found this month –

A Large White caterpillar on a well-eaten hedge mustard plant
Large White Caterpillar – taken 25 June

I very rarely notice caterpillars as they are so well camouflaged.  This is the final stage or instar of its life as a caterpillar.  It seems to have eaten most of the Hedge Mustard plant it’s on and is now making its way down the stem to find a place to pupate.  It will emerge as an adult butterfly sometime in July.

Other Insects

However, there were still plenty of other insects around.  The best find for me was this – a Thick-Legged Flower Beetle.  I’ve seen these before in other locations but never here.  This was on the grass verge alongside the cemetery and it’s on an Oxeye Daisy.  However, the flower has been nibbled quite extensively by the cemetery wildlife.  I saw a few of these beetles throughout the month – this one’s a male.  The female is slightly smaller and lacks those thick thighs.

A thick-legged flower beetle on a well eaten oxeye daisy
Thick-Legged Flower Beetle (male) on Oxeye Daisy

There were lots of Ladybirds at all stages of their life cycle just about everywhere I looked this month.  This is a very freshly emerged one with its spots barely visible – they’ll develop over a period of a few hours or so.

A newly emerged Ladybird on a thistle leaf
Newly emerged Ladybird 

There were plenty of Bees of various kinds buzzing around the flowers, and Hoverflies too.

Fox-and-cubs plant with a Marmalade hoverfly approaching it
Marmalade Hoverfly approaching Fox-and-Cubs

Plants

Native Wildflowers Planted by the Volunteers

The “no mow” grass verge on Spring Bank West on the southern boundary of the cemetery had become rather choked with Cow Parsley and Thistles recently.  However, these have now started to die back, allowing some more of the plants set by the volunteers last year to come through and flower.  These include some Fox-and-Cubs as shown on the previous photo.  They get their name from the flowers being the same colour as a fox, with the dark buds representing the cubs.  An alternative name for this plant is Orange Hawkbit.

These wildflower plants, all in keeping with the nature of the site, were provided by Hull City Council and comprised several different types including the Oxeye Daisies already mentioned, Red Campion, Clustered Bellflower, Common Knapweed, White Campion and Musk Mallow.  As I’m familiar with the plants that flower along here, it’s easy to spot the new ones that pop up for the first time.

Fox-and-cubs plant with a Marmalade hoverfly approaching it
Top – Clustered Bellflower and Common Knapweed; Bottom – White Campion and Musk Mallow

I’m also assuming that another one of the plants we set was this – a Wild Carrot – as I haven’t noticed any here previously.  It’s easy to distinguish from Cow Parsley because it has very thin, feathery leaves directly underneath the flower heads.  In addition, there is a tiny dark brownish-purple flower right in the middle of the flowerhead, as shown in the close-up.

Wild Carrot - side and top views
Wild Carrot – side view and close-up

We’ve also planted some Teasels in a couple of locations inside the cemetery.  Again, it’s an approved wildflower that’s in keeping with the nature of the site.  It’s semi-carnivorous because rainwater is collected at the base of the leaves, trapping and drowning flies and other small insects.  The plant thus gets a supply of rainwater, and nutrients from the bodies of the insects.  It looks like a Hoverfly of some sort will be providing the nutrients here.

Teasel with a pool of water containing a dead insect
Teasel and drowned insect

Other Plants

The Meadow Cranesbill growing in the Quaker Burial Ground always looks colourful at this time of the year.

Meadow Cranesbill growing in the Quaker Burial Ground
Meadow Cranesbill

The Astilbe growing inside the Quaker Burial Ground came into flower earlier in June.  Whilst not a wild plant, it’s been growing here for many years and deserves a mention because its delicate flowery fronds provide a good source of nectar for the tiny branch of the cemetery wildlife.

Astilbe with insects on its flowersAstilbe

Elsewhere in the cemetery I found this Red Valerian. Some areas inside the cemetery are looking a bit tired as the spring plants start to wilt and die, so this added some welcome colour.

Valerian growing wild in the cemetery
Red Valerian

The leaves on all the trees are now fully open and most of them have finished flowering.  However, one of the last trees to flower is the Common Lime.

The flowers of the Common Lime Tree
Common Lime

Conclusion

June has been a good month in the cemetery for both wildlife and humans alike.  There generally aren’t enough mammals in either numbers or variety of species to warrant a heading of their own, but as I always see at least one or two Squirrels whenever I visit the cemetery I shall end this report, and possibly all future reports, with a “Squirrel of the month”.  This time it takes the form of an engraving on the Blundell monument, recently restored by the volunteers and looking rather elegant in the morning sunshine!

The Blundell monument with a Squirrel forming part of the engraved detail

 

Cemetery Wildlife – May 2023

May got off to a wet start, but there was plenty of warm sunshine throughout the month.  I was away on holiday for 11 days in the middle of the month and when I got back home, I couldn’t believe the amount of growth there had been while I was away!  The leaves on the trees are almost fully open, flowers are blooming everywhere and the cemetery wildlife is making the most of this late Spring abundance.  The month ended on a cool but dry note.

Plants and flowers

The Bluebells were nearly at their peak when the above photo was taken. The vast majority of them are not the native British Bluebells but a Spanish variety.  Most are blue of course, but I did see a few pink ones and quite a few white ones too. The stems have a more upright appearance whereas the native British ones have a more downward curving stem.  Their flowering reached its peak in the middle of the month.

White Bluebells, sometimes known as Snowbells
Bluebells

Another seasonally abundant plant in the cemetery is the Wild Garlic which is also known as Ramsons.  It started to flower a bit later than usual but by the end of the month it had reached its peak.

Wild Garlic growing in the cemetery near some headstones
Wild Garlic starting to open (inset); in full bloom (main photo)

Some more of the wildflower plants the volunteers set along the Spring Bank West verge last Autumn are now in flower, including Oxeye Daisies, Red Campion and Ribwort Plantain.

A collage of three photos showing Oxeye Daisy, Red Campion and Ribwort Plantain
Oxeye Daisy (top left); Red Campion (bottom left); Ribwort Plantain (right)

There is a lot of Cow Parsley growing along the verge.  I also saw some more yellow flowers in the same family as Dandelions including Smooth Sow Thistle. There are many similar-looking yellow flowers growing in and around the cemetery, so it isn’t always easy to say what some of them are. But I think one of the plants is Hawk’s-beard.

The yellow flowers of Smooth Sow-thistle on the grass verge alongside the cemetery
Smooth Sow Thistle (above)
White and yellow flowers
Hawk’s-beard

I found another yellow flower in the cemetery – this Greater Celandine.  It’s much taller than the Lesser Celandine, of which there are still a few to be seen in the cemetery.

Greater Celandine growing in the cemetery
Greater Celandine

The Hedge Mustard is now flowering.  This plant has a tiny yellow flower and is easy to miss, but the cemetery wildlife seems to like it as I often found butterflies on it.

The tiny yellow flowers of the Hedge Mustard plant which are great for the cemetery wildlife
Hedge Mustard

It’s nice to see other colours appearing in amongst all the white and yellow such as the Periwinkle, and a few of the plants are still in flower.  There are a lot more Germander Speedwell growing in the cemetery this year and their vivid little blue flowers are easy to spot among the greenery.  But the plant with the tiniest flowers must surely be the Ivy-leaved Speedwell.  There is a lot of it growing in various places but you might not have noticed the flowers because they’re such a pale colour and they’re only about 4 mm wide.

A blue Periwinkle flower and green foliage
Periwinkle (above)
The mall blue flowers of Germander Speedwell
Germander Speedwell (above)
The tiny blue flowers of the Ivy-leaved Speedwell
Ivy-leaved Speedwell

I also found some Rock Crane’s-bill growing in the Cemetery, and some Herb Robert.  These splashes of pink contrast nicely with the greenery.

Rock Crane's-bill in the cemetery
Rock Crane’s-bill (above)Herb Robert growing in the Cemetery

Herb Robert

Insects

I haven’t seen any new species of butterfly this month.  Those that I did see on several occasions were the Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Small White, Large White and Holly Blue on the grass verge. And I could almost guarantee seeing a Speckled Wood in the Quaker Burial Ground every sunny day this month!

A male Large White butterfly on a Dandelion
Large White (male) (above)
A Large White butterfly laying eggs on Hedge Mustard
Large White laying eggs on Hedge Mustard (above)
Holly Blue butterfly (female) on a leaf
Holly Blue (female)

I was very pleased to see this – a Common Green Shield Bug – early in the month.  There are several species of Shield Bug native to the UK and they get their name from a shield-shaped mark on their backs, although it’s not particularly visible in this photo.

A Common Green Shield Bug on a Dandelion
Common Green Shield Bug

The grass verge was buzzing with hoverflies and several species of bee this month, including this Red Mason Bee.

A Red Mason Bee on a Dandelion
Red Mason Bee (with Ant) 

Birds

I saw the usual species I’d expect to see throughout the month, such as Magpies, Carrion Crows, Wood Pigeons, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Wrens, Blackbirds and Robins. I occasionally saw Dunnocks, Long-tailed Tits and Stock Doves but I didn’t see any Coal Tits this month.  In fact it’s been a while since I last saw one.

A male Blackbird sitting on a headstone towards the western end of the cemetery
Blackbird (male) (above)
A singing Robin perched on top of a noticeboard in the cemetery
Robin

I also heard Chiffchaffs calling from high up in the trees, hidden by the leaves.  I also saw what I think was a Sparrowhawk perched atop the tower of Thoresby Street school but this was just as the sun was setting and it was mostly in silhouette.  Later in the month I got a brief glimpse of a male Blackcap but my most thrilling sighting was of a male Bullfinch one day, and then a couple of days later I saw a male and a female together.  Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get any photos.

Conclusion

I’ve concentrated on the flowers and insects this month because there was so much variety to be seen.  I also took part in the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge for Hull at the start of the month.  Some of the photos I took for that project are included here.  Each submission to the website/app is called an observation, and I made most of these observations in the Cemetery or on the grass verge. Here’s a link to the results for Hull:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=152160&subview=table&view=observers

The back of a Squirrel in the cemetery
“I’m behind you” – a Squirrel to end the report!   

Cemetery Wildlife – April 2023

 

April was generally another cool and wet month, with a higher than average total rainfall meaning the footpaths in the cemetery are still a bit softer than usual.  I noticed a huge amount of growth in and around the cemetery, with flowers blooming everywhere.  However, there were plenty of warmer, sunny days too, and that was how the month ended.  The cemetery wildlife is thriving, and many people have told me and the other volunteers how good everything looks.

Insects

Butterflies

I was delighted to see my first Peacock of the year this month (above).  I kept seeing at least one on several of those sunny days.  April also saw my first yearly sightings of Speckled Wood, Small White, Large White, Orange-tip, Holly Blue and Green-veined White.  This makes a total of 11 different species this year, 10 seen on the grass verge alongside the cemetery, one seen inside the cemetery and some seen in both locations. From my own observations over the past three years these are all the species one can expect to see in the cemetery every year. However I have occasionally seen other species, so I’ll keep looking out for them.

A Speckled Wood butterfly on a branch with green leaves on it
Speckled Wood in the Quaker Burial Ground

The differences between Small and Large Whites can sometimes be hard to see at this time of year because the markings on the Spring brood can be quite faint.  The male Small White has one black spot on each upper wing and the female has two.  I’ve noticed that the innermost of those two spots can look like it’s divided into two, but all the reference material I’ve seen regards it as just one spot.

The male Large White has no spots and again the female has two.  Whilst it’s therefore easy to tell male Small and Large Whites apart, it’s harder in the females because both have two spots. The dark band on the edge of the wings is a good indicator of which species you’re looking at.  It doesn’t extend as far along the edge of the Small White’s outer wing as on the Large White, where the band extends further around and is shaped rather like a boomerang.

Cemetery wildlife collage showing a set of 4 photos showing the differences between male and female Small and Large White Butterflies
Small White (top) & Large White (below). Males are on the left & females on the right

Another butterfly where the males and females are different (known as sexual dimorphism) is the Orange-tip.  This is a male – the females lack the orange tips. And when I checked the photo, I saw the tops of his legs are covered in fine hairs, something I hadn’t noticed before.

Orange-tip butterfly (male) on a green leaf
Orange-tip (male)

Sexual dimorphism also occurs in the beautiful little Holly Blue.

Two photos of a Holly Blue Butterfly - one showing the male and the other showing the female
Holly Blue – male (left) & female (right)

It also occurs in the Brimstone.  Those differences are most noticeable when the butterfly is flying, because the males look bright yellow whereas the females are almost white.  At rest, and especially in bright sunshine, it can be hard to tell them apart because both have quite colourful underwings. But generally the female is a pale shade of green and the male is a slightly darker, yellower shade of green.

Two photos showing male and female Brimstone butterflies on Dandelions
Brimstone – male (left) & female (right)

The last species of Butterfly I saw for the first time this year was a Green-veined White.  It was in the central part of the cemetery near the new Larkin commemorative bench. This is another species that shows sexual dimorphism – the males have either one spot or none.

A female Green-veined White butterfly on a leaf in the cemetery.
Green-veined White (female) showing two black spots on each upper wing

I’ve made several wildlife posts on our Facebook page recently and it might therefore seem that the cemetery is teeming with butterflies!  I do usually see at least three different species on each sunny day but usually only in ones and twos.  Nevertheless, it is still a real joy to see them, feeding on all the flowers.  Interestingly I looked back on my report for April last year, and although it had been a much drier month, I’d still managed to see 10 different species of butterfly by then.

Bees and other insects

I’ve seen plenty of Bees of various kinds this month including Red, White and Buff-tailed Bumblebees, Honeybees, Hairy-footed Flower Bees and lots of  Tawny Mining Bees. The first photo shows one that’s emerged from its burrow.  The next photos show one making a burrow underground in which to lay its eggs. This is one of our native species of solitary Bee.

A tawny Mining Bee on a leaf, and a set of photos showing the bee making its burrow in the ground in the cemetery
Tawny Mining Bee

I’ve seen plenty of Bee-flies this month.  Interestingly they’re a parasite of Tawny Mining Bees, laying their eggs in the Bee’s open burrow so that when they hatch the larvae can feed on the bee’s food and offspring.

A Bee-fly in mid flight
Bee-fly

I’ve also seen Wasps, Hoverflies, flies and lots of other very small insects. I also caught a brief glimpse of a Hummingbird Hawk-moth on two occasions this month, the first one I’ve ever seen in the Cemetery! It’s a day-flying month and although this is a migrant species, we also have several native species of day-flying moths.  It’s a fact that in the UK there are more species of day-flying moths than there are species of butterfly!

I also saw lots of Ladybirds this month.  Most of them were our native Seven-spot ones but I also saw some non-native Harlequins.

Two photos of Ladybirds - one on a leaf and the others on a daffodil
Ladybirds – Seven-spot on a Magpie Feather (left) & Harlequin on a Daffodil (right)

Plants and Flowers 

Smaller ones

March has been an excellent month for wildflowers.  The ones planted by the volunteers on the grass verge last year are now starting to flower, such as this Cowslip.

Cowslips growing in the grass verge alongside the cemetery
Cowslip

Inside the cemetery, especially in the darker shaded areas, Hogweed is now starting to flower.  Note how the buds are a dark pink colour before opening up to reveal their characteristic white flowers.

Two photos showing Hogweed Buds and in full flower in the cemetery
Hogweed

Yellow is still the dominant flower colour in the cemetery.  There are still some Celandines to be seen, especially in the cemetery, but the Dandelions are in full bloom now as you can see from some of the above photos.  I also found this unusual double Dandelion.

A double Dandelion surrounded by Celandines
Dandelion and Celandines

These are all an excellent source of food for the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife.  I also found a small patch of Yellow Archangel, and plenty of Wood Avens and Common Chickweed.

Yellow Archangel growing in the cemetery
Yellow Archangel (above)
The tiny flower of the Wood Avens
Wood Avens (above)
The tiny white flower of the Common Chickweed
Common Chickweed

The Bluebells have now started to flower but their peak time is in May so I’ll talk about them a bit more next month.

Trees

When we think of flowers, we usually think of the ones that look like those in my previous photos.  But trees also have flowers although they look quite different in appearance and colour.  During the recent windy weather a lot of the tree flowers had fallen onto the ground, including several clusters of flowers from a Norway Maple.

Fallen Norway Maple flowers resting on top of a headstone in the cemetery
Norway Maple

The flowers of some trees are known as catkins.  The Hornbeam is monoecious, meaning it has male and female catkins on the same tree.  The male catkins are the largest – I’ve marked one of the smaller female ones with an arrow.

The male and female catkins of the Hornbeam tree
Hornbeam

You can also see the flowers of the Spotted Laurel on the white butterfly photo – bottom left.

Birds

I haven’t seen anything unusual this month.  The regular species are busy gathering nest material and marking out their territories – the Great Tits are particularly loud at the moment.

Another bird with a very distinctive call is the Chiffchaff, which I always hear before I see it, singing from very high up in the trees and from quite early in the morning too.

A Chiffchaff on a branch
Chiffchaff

Other small birds around in good numbers are Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Robins, Blackbirds and Long-tailed Tits.  I’ve also seen Wrens, Goldfinches, Dunnocks and I also caught a quick glimpse of two Treecreepers.  I haven’t seen any Coal Tits this month though.

Dunnock on a branch
Dunnock

Of the larger birds, I’ve seen Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Carrion Crows and Magpies.

Cemetery wildlife - a Magpie on the grassy area in the middle of the cemetery
Magpie

Fungi

Not much to report this month, apart from some Jelly Ear growing on an old fallen branch and a bracket of some type growing high up in a tree. The Velvet Shank that I used to see every day has all but disappeared, probably eaten by the cemetery wildlife!

A Jelly fungus growing on a fallen branch - food for the cemetery wildlife
Jelly Ear (above)
A bracket fungus growing on a tree trunk
Bracket fungus

Conclusion

April has been a great month for the cemetery wildlife, with lots of colour and activity to be seen.  I managed to spend plenty of time walking in the cemetery and along the grass verge, especially on sunny days – here’s a collection of some of the photos I took on just one of those morning walks.

A selection of photos of the cemetery wildlife taken in the cemetery one morning

And finally, there’s still time to take part in the City Nature Challenge 2023 – details below – for you to record not just the cemetery wildlife but any you see in your gardens in Hull!

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-hull

 

Cemetery Wildlife – March 2023

March got off to a very cold and wet start, with several days of sub-zero temperatures and some sleet and snow showers.  The snow didn’t settle though, and was gone within a few hours of it originally falling.  It didn’t seem to have any adverse effects on the cemetery wildlife though, which was as active as ever.  The birds, including the male Chaffinch pictured above, just seemed to take it in their stride.

It does seem odd to be reporting on snow the month after I wrote about seeing our first butterflies though!  But mid-month saw some mild sunny days and this was enough to tempt the butterflies out again, plus some other delightful little insects.  There were still plenty of showers though, and the month ended on a mild but wet note.

Birds

I am always amazed at the beautiful bright colours of our British birds, including this Blue Tit and Robin in the snow.  Whenever I see birds and animals in the snow, I often wonder if they are seeing it for the first time in their short lives, and what they must think of it.

A Blue Tit on a snowy branch in the cemetery
Blue Tit (above)
A Robin on a snowy branch in the cemetery
Robin

I regularly see Goldfinches in the cemetery.  These small finches, which are not much larger than a Blue Tit, make soft chirps to each other as they fly.

Goldfinch on a branch in the cemetery
Goldfinch

There are several Wrens in the cemetery, but they usually fly past in a blur of light chestnut-coloured feathers and rarely stay still for very long.

Wren perched on a branch
Wren

I also saw some small groups of Long-tailed Tits in the cemetery amongst the patches of brambles. They also chirp to each other as they fly – I always hear them before I see them.

I heard my first Chiffchaff of the year in the later part of the month.  Its cheerful and distinctive call is a sure sign that Spring has arrived.  I didn’t manage to get a photo though – they tend to stay very high up in the trees, and don’t remain still for very long.

Insects

There has been an explosion of activity and colour in the grass verge alongside the cemetery this month.  The flowers opened and the small branch of the cemetery wildlife came out to feed on the nectar.

Butterflies

I’ve seen more butterflies than last month, including Small Tortoiseshells and Commas on a few occasions.

Comma on Celandines on the grass verge near the cemetery
Comma on Lesser Celandines

I saw my first White butterfly of the year but I only got a quick view.  It could have been either a Small, Large or Green-veined White as they all tend to appear at the same time of the year, usually early April.

I also saw my first Red Admiral of the year just a few days before posting this report.

Red Admiral butterfly on a Dandelion on the cemetery verge
Red Admiral

I also saw my first Brimstones of the year – the first was in the middle of the month and the second was today.  Both were very active males, but this one finally came to rest on a leaf, laying flat against it rather than perching upright.

A male Brimstone Butterfly resting on a dried out leaf
Brimstone (male)

That’s five different species of butterfly I’ve seen this month, although they have not been present in large numbers. This is due to the many cold, dull and rainy days we have had, plus wind too – not ideal for butterflies.

Other Insects

I saw a bug of a type I’d never seen before – a Juniper Shield Bug.  It was on one of the Daffodils that form the main display near the footpath leading from Spring Bank West to Thoresby Street school.  They are a species found mainly in the south of the UK, but they do seem to be spreading further north now.

Juniper Shield Bug on a Daffodil
Juniper Shield Bug

I saw lots of hoverflies and several species of Bee, including many large queens looking for suitable places to start a nest. I also saw some of the smaller species such as Common Carder Bee and this Hairy-footed Flower Bee.

Hairy-footed Flower Bee on a Dandelion
Hairy-footed Flower Bee

I also just managed to get a quick photo of a Tawny Mining Bee before it took off for pastures, or most probably flowers, new.

 

Common Carder Bee flying away from a Dandelion
 Tawny Mining Bee in flight

I also saw lots of Ladybirds, including our native Seven-spot and some of the non-native Harlequins. I’ve also seen the first Bee-flies of the year, but I’ll talk about them next month.

Plants

It doesn’t seem long ago that I was struggling to find any plants that were in flower.  Now there are so many that I don’t have space to include photos of them all.

Cultivated Flowers

Although this report is about the cemetery wildlife, some of the cultivated plants are providing a good source of nectar for the insects and are worthy of a mention.  This Pulmonaria growing in the Quaker Burial Ground is one such source.

Pulmonaria growing in the Quaker Burial Ground - a good source of food for the cemetery wildlife
Pulmonaria

There are also a few Crocus plants growing in the Cemetery, and lots of different varieties of Daffodil – again, a good source of nectar for the insects.

Purple Crocus in the cemetery
Crocus (above)
Daffodils in the snow, with a headstone in the background
Daffodils

Wild Flowers

We are now starting to see lots of Dandelions in flower.  But the most plentiful of the wildflowers at this time of year is the Lesser Celandine, responsible for much of that explosion of colour I mentioned earlier.  And very resistant to frost and snow.

A Celandine with a light dusting of snow on it
Lesser Celandine

The Snowdrops have almost finished for the year – these were photographed at the beginning of the month.

Snowdrops with a light dusting of snow on them in the cemetery
Snowdrops

There are two small clusters of Wood Anemones growing in the grass verge, in the same place as previous years.

Wood Anemone growing in the grass verge near the cemetery
Wood Anemone

There is also some Red Dead-nettle growing in the part of the grass verge nearer to Western Cemetery.

Red Dead-nettle just starting to flower
Red Dead-nettle

Many of the cemetery’s trees are now in flower, some in the form of catkins and some in the form of a more conventional flower shape.  The Blackthorns in the cemetery that only had flowers on them last month now have leaves on them too – that fresh, bright green colour you see at this time of the year.

Blackthorn growing in the cemetery, with leaves and flowers
Blackthorn

Conclusion

March has been dominated by cold, wet and windy days but despite these conditions the cemetery wildlife does not seem to have been adversely affected.  The grass verge is a lush green and yellow oasis for the insects, and is simply beautiful just to look at during a walk along Spring Bank West.

Coming Up

Next month sees an exciting nature-related event coming to Hull – The City Nature Challenge 2023, which takes place between 28 April and 1 May.  It’s being run by iNaturalist, the app where you can record your wildlife sightings on to a national database.  Hull is one of 22 UK cities or wider urban areas chosen to take part this year.

Some of you might already have this app on your phones – if so, why not visit the cemetery during this period and record any cemetery wildlife you find there?   If you don’t have the app, why not try it?  It’s free to download onto any mobile device and is really easy to use.  Your observations will help build a picture of what is in our favourite cemetery and who knows – you might find something rare or unusual there!

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-hull

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.

Cemetery Wildlife – February 2023

The last full month of winter was a very dry one, with hardly any rainfall.  It looks set to be one of the driest on record.  There were a few cold frosty days but February was generally a mild month, with plenty of sunshine and some days with much warmer than normal temperatures.  Despite the lack of rain, green shoots are starting to appear on many of the trees and shrubs and the Spring Bank West verge is showing plenty of new growth.  The rainfall of previous months probably left the ground wet enough to sustain this growth and the cemetery wildlife.

Plants and Flowers

The Celandines I mentioned in my January report are now opening up in good numbers along the Spring Bank West verge.  I’ve also seen plenty of them inside the cemetery.  They provide an important source of food for the smaller branch of the cemetery wildlife, and are featured above.

Another early flowering plant is the Blackthorn.  Every time I walk past a particular one it has more and more flowers open.  The flowers appear before the leaves.

Blackthorn flowers and buds
Blackthorn  

February is the peak time for Snowdrops in the cemetery, and there are now a few Daffodils starting to open.

Daffodils growing near the workhouse graves area of the cemetery
Daffodils

I saw the above ones inside the cemetery but there are also some open on the grass verge.  There are probably over a dozen different varieties of Daffodils growing in and around the cemetery.  But at the moment there are just the variety pictured above and a few miniature Tete-a-Tete ones to be seen.  The latter were planted by the volunteers a couple of years ago.

I also spotted some tiny purple flowers near one of the headstones.  These are Common Dog-Violets.

Common Dog-Violet
Common Dog-Violet

I also spotted a couple of Dandelions in flower.  It won’t be long before the Forsythia near the main gates is in full bloom because a few flowers have already started to open.

I’m now seeing lots of ripe Ivy berries – great food for the feathered branch of the cemetery wildlife. I’ve seen Wood Pigeons, Blackbirds and Blackcaps eating them.

 

Ripe Ivy berries - good food for the cemetery wildlife
Ivy

Insects

How nice it is to be writing about insects again!  Those warm, sunny days in mid-February helped the Celandines to flower and the insects to emerge.  The highlight of the month for me was seeing my first Butterfly of the year – this Small Tortoiseshell – well before the end of the month. I’ve included a link at the end of this report for more information about these butterflies.

A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly seen on 21 February
Small Tortoiseshell

But a week before that, one of my fellow volunteers saw a Comma.  It was also on the Spring Bank West verge.

Comma Butterfly seen on the grass verge alongside the cemetery on 15 February
Comma

I’m hoping to see a quite a few more different species of butterfly in the coming months.  It will be interesting to see what the new plants set by the volunteers back in November might attract.

I also got a quick glimpse of a Bee – possibly a White-tailed Bumblebee – feeding on Snowdrops. But the most abundant insects were hoverflies and I saw at least three different species. This is a Marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).  The ones seen early in the year sometimes have darker markings near the head than the ones seen in summer.

Marmalade Hoverfly on Celandine
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Not all hoverflies have a common name but they do all have scientific names so I’ll use those as well.

Hoverfly - Syrphus ribesii
Syrphus ribesii (above)
Drone-fly on a Celandine in the cemetery
Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)

Note how they’re all feeding on Celdandines, proving how essential this lovely little wildflower is to the cemetery wildlife in late winter.  I also saw plenty of Ladybirds, all of which were the native Seven-spot ones.  These are very easy to identify because they have three spots on each side of the outer casing (known as the elytra) and a seventh, larger spot straddling both parts of it at the top near the head.

seven-Spot Ladybird on an Ivy leaf
Seven-Spot Ladybird

Birds

The small birds of the cemetery are very active, starting to form pairs and checking out nesting sites, including this pair of Robins. They seem to prefer low shrubs and bushes in the cemetery whereas the Blue Tits tend to use the various nest boxes around the site.

A pair of Robins near one of the graves in the cemetery
Robins (above)
Blue Tit on a branch
Blue tit

I also saw Goldcrests very high up in the trees, Wood Pigeons, Magpies, Stock Doves and Carrion Crows.  I was able to get quite close to this one, but as soon as it saw me looking it was off!

Carrion Crow on one of the paths in the cemetery
Carrion Crow

Two of my fellow volunteers did their RSPB Birdwatch in the cemetery, and saw a Sparrowhawk.  I’ve added this to the cemetery bird list I’m compiling, making it 19 different species now.

Conclusion

Spring is just around the corner. Why not enjoy a stroll around the cemetery while the footpaths are still dry and enjoy the sight of hundreds of Snowdrops carpeting the ground? And don’t forget to look out for the cemetery wildlife too – be sure to look up as well as down though!

Snowdrops after a light shower

Link to more information about Small Tortoiseshell butterflies:-

https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/small-tortoiseshell

 

 

 

Cemetery Wildlife – January 2023

This month has been a typical midwinter one, with a mix of weather including a week of sub-zero starts to the day.  The temperature barely rose above freezing on those days but they were sunny and the frozen footpaths were a lot easier to walk on.  Despite the cold temperatures and heavy frost everywhere there was still plenty of cemetery wildlife around.

Birds

A Wood Pigeon looking for berries on the Ivy
Wood Pigeon

At the start of the year, I decided I’d start making a list of all the different species of bird I saw within the city boundary.  I’m curious to find out how many I can see in a year.  At the time of writing I’ve seen a total of 40, 16 of which were in the cemetery.  The cemetery ones are Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Goldcrest and Dunnock.

Dunnock on the ground in the cemetery
Dunnock

One of our volunteers also saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Treecreeper, making a total of 18 bird species seen in the cemetery this year so far.  I’ll add to my cemetery list any additional species I see throughout the year and publish the final results in my December 2023 report. Let’s see what rarities or unusual visitors (if any) turn up this year!

I’ve also noticed some activity around the nest boxes as the birds, especially the Tit species, start looking for nesting sites.

Plants

There are now plenty of Snowdrops flowering in clusters around the cemetery.  I’ve seen two types – an elongated flower that has a single layer of petals, and a rounder one with a double layer.

A lone single Snowdrop in the sunshine
Single Snowdrop (above)
A cluster of double Snowdrops in the Quaker Burial Ground section of the cemetery
Double Snowdrops

The Celandines growing in the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West have just started to flower.  I saw the first bud in mid-January and they’re almost fully open now. There are only a handful to see at the moment though, and easy to miss as you walk past.  The Daffodils are starting to poke the tips of their leaves up through the grass, and a few very early buds are also visible.

Celandine growing in the grass verge on Spring Bank West alongside the cemetery
Celandine

Flowers are not just found growing low near to the ground.  Look up and you can also see them growing high on the trees in the form of catkins.

The male and female flowers of the Hazel
Hazel

The long catkins on this Hazel are male.  But Hazel also contains female catkins on the same tree, although the tree cannot pollinate itself.  Look closely at the bottom left corner of the photo and also near the top right and you can see the female flowers. They’re just a few red tendrils at the end of a tiny bud.

There are still some berries to sustain the cemetery wildlife, including the ones on this bush, a variety of Skimmia.  It looks like some have already been eaten.  There are still some berries on the Holly, and the berries are now starting to form on the Ivy although they’re still green.  I didn’t find any ripe black ones but I noticed the birds, especially Wood Pigeons, looking for them.

Red berries on a bush in the cemetery
Skimmia

I didn’t find any ripe brambles but the leaves look great when covered in frost!

Heavy frost on Bramble leaves
Bramble

Fungi

I’ve seen various types of fungi in the cemetery this month.  Even in the depths of winter they manage to survive, especially these Velvet Shank that can withstand being frozen solid. The cemetery wildlife must have had difficulty eating them in that state, although they did still show some signs of having been pecked or nibbled.

Some frozen Velvet Shank mushrooms heavily covered in frost
Velvet Shank frozen on a log

And look at the thick layer of ice on top of this large, tough bracket fungus, making it difficult to say what species it is.

A bracket fungus with a layer of ice on top
Bracket Fungus

I also saw some Candlesnuff Fungus growing around an old tree stump.  It’s also known as Stag’s Horn Fungus.

The Antler-like fruiting body of a Candlesnuf Fungus on a tree stump in the cemetery
Candlesnuff Fungus

Mammals

The cold weather hasn’t stopped the Squirrels from being as active as they always are.  I haven’t seen any foxes but I’ve heard them whilst walking past the cemetery late at night.  The females make a plaintive cry, especially at this time of year as it’s their mating season.

Conclusion

It’s been a quiet month for the cemetery wildlife but the birds are thriving.  This is probably because the cemetery adjoins several houses, and some of them probably have some well-stocked feeders in their gardens.  But I have seen a few tiny insects in the air which is good news for the insectivores! And although most of you will be reading this after the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch (27, 28 and 29 January) has finished you still have until 19 February to submit your results online. The link with more information is shown below.  I hope you had an enjoyable hour watching the birds in your gardens!

A Robin perched on a headstone in the cemetery

Link to the RSPB website:-

Big Garden Birdwatch | The RSPB

Cemetery Wildlife – December 2022

As I was away on holiday for most of the month, December’s column has been written by guest reporter Grace Mount, one of our local volunteers.  Here is the cemetery wildlife she found, together with photographs, all taken by her. Enjoy!

HB

December 2022

December started mild and cloudy. There were a few days that were bright and sunny but cold. There was also a far bit of precipitation. It got very cold in the second to third week of December. In places, frost did not thaw in the cemetery because of the low sun light. However, cemetery wildlife seems to have adapted to these conditions, as birds were seen tossing the leaves over to catch hidden worms and the squirrels were very active running about in the tree canopy.

December marks the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter. The first day of Winter falling on the 21st is known as the winter solstice which is the shortest day and the longest night.

At the beginning of the month there were still the remaining leaves on the deciduous trees, however most of these had fallen by mid December, leaving just the evergreens behind.

Flowers and Plants

Evergreen plants in the cemetery provide much needed food for the cemetery wildlife in the cold months of winter.  Holly and Pyracanthas can be seen growing in the hedge row, along the edge of the cemetery on Spring Bank West. These provide small berries for the birds, such as Blackbirds and Song Thrushes.

Holly (common name) Ilex aquifolium (scientific name) has smooth glossy leaves with spiky edges. There are a handful of very beautiful Holly bushes which can be found growing along the cemetery footpaths including one which has a variegated leaf.

Holly with a variegated leaf growing in the cemetery
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) with a variegated leaf pattern, and Holly berries (photo at beginning of report)

Ivy (common name) or Hedera helix (scientific name) carpets the ground in places and can be seen growing up many of the trees; produces flowers in autumn which provides much needed food for Honeybees, and cover for the birds.

Ivy flowers in the cemetery
Ivy in flower (above)
Wildlife habitat in the form of Ivy
Ivy climbing up a tree trunk (above and below)

Close-up of Ivy leaves

Something that was quite unusual for the time of year, which we found, was a single Snowdrop. It was growing and in flower in a spot in the Quaker burial ground. These would usually start to flower between January and March, with the daylight hours getting longer.

Snowdrop in the QBG part of the cemetery
A single Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) in the Quaker burial ground

Yew trees, another evergreen, can be found growing in the Quaker part of the cemetery along with laurels, again providing much needed cover for cemetery wildlife in the cold winter months.

Moss can be found growing on gravestones and fallen branches.

Moss on a fallen gravestone in the cemetery
Some moss on a fallen grave

Birds

For December we saw Robins pulling worms out of the ground and Blackbirds flicking leaves over in search of hidden insects. They were very active in the Quaker part of the cemetery. Magpies, Crows and Woodpigeons were also easy to spot with there being no leaves on the trees.

A Robin in the QBG
Robin (above) and Blackbird (below)

Blackbird (male) in the cemetery

Mushrooms and Fungi

A selection of fungi also found in the cemetery.

Silverleaf Fungus
Silverleaf Fungus (above)
Fungus
Velvet Shank (above and both photos below)

Velvet shank

Velvet Shank mushrooms on a fallen tree trunk in the cemetery

Conclusion

December was mild at first with a very uncomfortable cold snap in the middle becoming mild again towards the end of the month. The footpaths that had been muddy were well trodden but frozen hard on the coldest days.  Despite the cold weather it seems the cemetery wildlife continues to give many delightful and unexpected surprises with beautiful fungi, traditional seasonal evergreens, out of season flowers and amusing antics from the birds and squirrels.

Grace is home educated, following her interests of nature and animal studies. She loves birds and has helped the volunteers in HGC with monitoring and recording of the nest boxes. She frequently enjoys walks through the cemetery, litter picking and taking note of the changing seasons.