Tag: Hull General Cemetery

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

 

Cemetery Wildlife October 2022

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife October 2022

October has been a typical mid-Autumn month, with a mixture of rain, cool dull days and warmer than average sunny days.  The cemetery and grass verge are green and healthy, and there are plenty of berries and fungi to provide sustenance for the cemetery wildlife. The Summer drought seems to be a distant memory.

Trees and Shrubs

Many of the trees and shrubs are now bearing fruit.

There is plenty of Pyracantha growing along the back of the grass verge. It looks particularly vibrant at the moment and makes up for the lack of colourful flowers elsewhere.

Pyracantha on edge of cemetery
Pyracantha

There are some fruits on one of the Yew trees growing at the front of the grass verge. But these fruits are actually known as arils rather than berries because the seed is not fully enclosed.  Were you to look inside the red casing you would see the seed at the back of it.  My description of them in last month’s report is therefore incorrect!

Yew Berries for the wildlife
Yew

I’ve also seen berries on some of the Holly bushes growing in various places inside the cemetery and a few of the bramble bushes still have fruit ripening on them.

The ground is becoming covered in the fruits of many of the cemetery’s trees, including the Lime. This particular one caught my attention because of the large knobbly growths on its trunk. These are known as burrs.  I’ve inserted a link at the end of this report containing more information about what causes them.

Lime tree in the middle part of the cemetery
Lime Tree. The insert shows one of its leaves.

The trees and shrubs are also starting to show some lovely autumnal colours, including this Forsythia growing at the side of the entrance gates.  This is the shrub that provides a glorious array of yellow flowers in the springtime.

Forsythia at the cemetery gates
Forsythia with Greenbottle and Ladybird

Flowers

I didn’t find many flowers this month. Not the traditional-looking ones anyway.  There is still some Ragwort growing on the grass verge, together with a few Dandelions and some Smooth Sow-thistle.

Ragwort on the grass verge beside the cemetery
Ragwort (above)
Smooth Sow-thistle growing near the cemetery
Smooth Sow-thistle (above)

However, there is an abundance of flowers on the Ivy plants that are growing skywards all around the cemetery.  They provide a great source of food for the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife.  On a sunny day they are abuzz with the sound of Bees and other small insects.

Dronefly on Ivy Flower
Ivy Flower with European Dronefly

Insects

There are still plenty of Ladybirds around – native ones as well as Harlequins.  I’m still seeing Hoverflies and I even saw a few Butterflies earlier in the month.

Small White Butterfly (male)
Small White (male) (above)
Speckled Wood Butterfly
Speckled Wood (above)

Mushrooms

Remember the one I told you about last month that had fungi growing on it? This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago!

A shrivelled mushroom with fungi on it in the cemetery

I found a lot of small mushrooms of various types, including these Velvet Shank, some partially eaten by the cemetery wildlife.

Velvet Shank Mushrooms growing on a log in the cemetery
Velvet Shank

Mushrooms can be hard to identify due to their often rapidly changing appearance.  I’ve therefore just summarised what I found this month without giving definitive identifications.  In any case there’s always the danger of giving an identification as an edible one and then it turns out to be poisonous.  However, I would not advocate any form of foraging in the cemetery – it’s only a relatively small site and the fungi should be left for the cemetery wildlife to eat.  Most of these mushrooms are tiny anyway.

A selection of small mushrooms found in and around the cemetery

Birds

I have no unusual avian visitors to report this month. I’ve seen just the usual Blackbirds, Robins, Wood Pigeons, Crows and Magpies.  I regularly see Goldfinches and Coal Tits now, plus the occasional Dunnock and Thrush.  But the small birds that seem to be the most abundant are Chaffinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits.  They’ve had a very successful year.

Blue tit
Blue Tit (above)

 

Great Tit
Great Tit (above)

Conclusion

The cemetery is looking good at the moment and is always an excellent place for a leisurely stroll.  But the month ended on a very wet note with lots of heavy showers and the footpaths are rather waterlogged at the moment.  The best path to walk on at the moment is the southern one – that’s the one that is nearest to Spring Bank West.

And now for a question – do you prefer to see the names of the plants and animals ON the photos or UNDERNEATH them?  I started showing them underneath the photos last month and just wondered what you thought of the change.  I can easily revert back to putting the names on the photos if necessary!

Useful link:-

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/06/what-is-growing-on-my-tree/ 

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

Cemetery Wildlife – September 2022

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment on Cemetery Wildlife – September 2022

The first week of September started well, with a few heavy though not prolonged showers providing some much-needed moisture to sustain the cemetery wildlife.

September contains the first day of Autumn, regardless of what day Autumn begins, be it the 1st (meteorological) or the 23rd (astronomical).  There were already plenty of fallen leaves carpeting the ground at the start of the month – these had already started to fall in August due to the hot dry weather of that month.  This is known as a “False Autumn”, where the trees relinquish their leaves early in order to save water.

Flowers and Plants

That rain arrived not a moment too soon, and the grass verge alongside the cemetery on Spring Bank West is green again. Dandelions have reappeared together with some similar looking but smaller yellow flowers – Autumn Hawkbit and Cats-ear.

Autumn Hawkbit on the grass verge alongside the cemetery
Autumn Hawkbit (above)
Cat's-ear - flower and leaf
Cat’s-ear (above)

The two plants look very similar, but the Hawkbit has red markings under the petals and smooth leaves.  Cat’s-ear has hairy leaves.  The Ragwort is also flowering again, and I found some Hedge Mustard and Wood Avens – both have tiny yellow flowers.

I didn’t find many plants in flower this month.  Most of the ones I found have yellow flowers but I did find some Common Hogweed and Daisies (white flowers) and some Cyclamen.

Cyclamen growing inside the cemetery
Cyclamen

I also found some Oxalis on one of the footpaths in the cemetery, but just a few leaves and no flowers.

Oxalis leaves in the cemetery
Oxalis

Lots of the trees and shrubs in the cemetery now have berries on them – a great source of food for the cemetery wildlife.  In the Quaker Burial Ground the Yew trees have produced lots of berries.

Fallen Yew berries
Yew Berries

Walking past there towards Western Cemetery, the Broad-leaved Whitebeam at the end of the path has lots of orange berries on it.

The orange berries of the Whitebeam
Broad-leaved Whitebeam

The naturalised Rose bushes inside the Cemetery have some fruits or hips on them.

Rose hips - perfect for the cemetery wildlife
Rose Hips

The Blackthorn has some berries too, although I only found them as either singles or growing in groups of two or three.

Blackthorn or Sloe Berries in the cemetery
Blackthorn or Sloe Berries

Many of the Bramble plants fruited quite early but there are still some fruits at all stages of ripening on the plants, including some uneaten fruits.  The seeds inside those fruits are still very useful to birds such as Bullfinches.  The Dogwood bushes have plenty of black berries on them – a particular favourite of Wood Pigeons and Blackbirds it seems.

Birds

This month I’m going to feature those members of the Corvid family that can be found in the Cemetery, namely Carrion Crows and Magpies.  There are several of each to be seen.  Both make a particularly loud cawing noise, sometimes an indication of a predator lurking nearby.

A Carrion Crow on a branch high up in the cemetery
Carrion Crow (above)
A Magpie in the cemetery
Magpie (above)

The Corvid family also includes Rooks, Ravens and Jays. I’ve never seen any of these in the Cemetery but a couple of Jays have been seen in the adjoining Western Cemetery by a visitor a few months ago.

The usual smaller birds are around in good numbers – Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins and Wrens.  I also saw a Coal tit – usually I see a couple of them most days but I haven’t seen any for a few weeks, so it was nice to finally see one again.  I also caught brief glimpses of a Blackcap and a Treecreeper.

Insects

And now a first for the Cemetery – a Southern Oak Bush-cricket.  These are relatively new arrivals to the UK, the first records being in the south of the country in 2001.  They’re expanding northwards, and this could be one of the most northerly sightings so far.  They’re usually found high up in the tree canopy but also appear in lower shrubs.  This one is a female.

Southern Oak Bush-cricket on a headstone in the cemetery
Southern Oak Bush-cricket

There are still a few Butterflies around – I saw a Red Admiral near the Cholera Monument, and a Small White along the grass verge.  The species I’ve seen most often though is the Speckled Wood, often flying high up in the trees and then coming to rest on the ground.

Speckled Wood inside the cemetery
Speckled Wood

There are still plenty of Ladybirds around, both native and Harlequin.  I found quite a lot on the sunny sides of headstones as well as on the vegetation. This 7-Spot is one of our native species.

7-Spot Ladybird on an Oak leaf in tjee cemetery
7-Spot Ladybird on Turkey Oak Leaf

I’m also still seeing hoverflies, including this Common Banded one.

Common Banded Hoverfly on Autumn Hawkbit
Common Banded Hoverfly on Autumn Hawkbit

Mushrooms

I found this interesting mushroom growing on a grave – it’s a type of Bolete.  It started off larger and paler than in the photo and now it’s shrivelled to a much smaller size. Parts have been eaten by the cemetery wildlife too.

A mushroom growing out of a grave in the cemetery
Bolete Mushroom – side and top views

There are quite a number of mushrooms in the cemetery at the moment.  They can be quite difficult to identify accurately as their appearance can change quite quickly.  This one started off smooth on top, and now it has its own fungus on it!

Mushroom with its own fungus in the cemetery
Mushroom with fungus

There are some tiny Inkcaps growing along some of the paths, and jelly-like fungus on some fallen trees.

Inkcap mushroom in the cemetery

Jelly-type fungus on a fallen tree in the cemetery

Conclusion

The only significant rainfall was early in the month. Since then, it has been cool and the footpaths are dry again, making an early Autumn stroll around the cemetery easy.  Do pop in there and look at the cemetery wildlife – you might spot something I haven’t noticed yet!

Robin on a headstone in the cemetery

Link to further information about fungi – 

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/

 

Heritage Open Days

by Pete Lowdenin Events, News, Volunteers, Walks2 Comments on Heritage Open Days

First, the good news

Another year over. At least in terms of Heritage Open Days and Hull General Cemetery. It was its usual success. Approximately 50 people turned up over the two Saturdays which is a very good response. It’s down on last year when it was over 100 but I think that year was partly a response to lockdowns and people wanting to get out into the fresh air. We were also blessed with good weather for the last two years which is always a bonus on an outdoor gig.

It is still the most popular of guided walks. Indeed I have been told that it is the most popular attraction of the entire HODS week. That’s pretty cool for a derelict cemetery. The initial aim of the Friends was always to raise the profile of the site and I think that we may have achieved this to some extent.

However the other major aim, such as returning it to a viable, well maintained community resource, is still ongoing. It will probably need a lot more effort from the Council and the wider community to assist the Friends to achieve that goal. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress.

And now the bad

As for Heritage Open Days I’m afraid that is it for the time being for guided walks around the site. I’m taking a year out as I have a lot of other projects which desperately need work on. So I have taken the decision not to undertake any guided walks next year for the Heritage Open Days. This includes the Western Cemetery one too. I will probably come back in 2024 but right now 2023 is earmarked for other things.

Having said that, I don’t have the monopoly on giving the guided walks. I’m quite happy for that mantle to be passed on to others. Permanently if they like the job. So, if you are up to giving it a go, feel free to contact me and I’ll give you as much help as I can.

 

A New Book

by Pete Lowdenin Books, General, History

There’s a new book. It’s called The Life of Hull General Cemetery Lodge and Other Stories.

The book covers the story of how the Cemetery Lodge, the jewel in the crown for the cemetery, was created but also the sad story of its loss to the forces of ‘progress’ in the 20th century. This building, the first commission of the noted Hull architect, Cuthbert Brodrick, was a creation in the Victorian Gothic mode. Its fairy tale castle effect was a highlight of the town. Yet within a a lifetime it was swept away.

Other stories in the book cover the struggle to create the Cemetery; the story of how the destruction of most of the headstones during the development of the cemetery in the 1970s took place and finally, a revisiting of a celebrated walk around the Cemetery by John Symons in the 1880s.

It’s available at Amazon and is priced at £10 post free.

The other books in this series are also still available from Amazon. These are a Short History of Hull General Cemetery, priced at £7. The War Dead of the Cemetery, priced at £10. Public Graves, Workhouse Graves, Catacombs and Crosses, priced at £7 and finally A Short History of Burial in Kingston Upon Hull from the Medieval Period to the Late Victorian Period. This is also priced at £7.

With the nights drawing in, what better way to spend them by reading  about cemeteries and death. Go on, treat yourself for Halloween. At the worst you can always burn them to keep warm.

The other books

 

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

Cemetery Wildlife – August 2022

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife1 Comment on Cemetery Wildlife – August 2022

The very warm dry weather of the last month continued throughout the first half of August and this included another heatwave.  The temperatures didn’t quite reach the record ones set in July but it was still very hot and dry.  As a result, the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West is looking parched and dry and not ideal for the cemetery wildlife.  I found very few wildflowers growing there as most of the plants have died and no fresh ones have sprouted up to replace them. 

Mushrooms

I’m starting this month’s report with fungi for a change, because on the very first day of the month I saw a small group of Hare’s foot Inkcaps (pictured above).  These delicate little beauties last for less than 48 hours, so I was very lucky to catch them when I did.  The ones in the photo have just started to decay, hence their curling up at the edges and starting to turn inky black.  At the bottom of the photo are some new mushrooms just starting to emerge.  This is how they get their name, because these new “buds” are said to resemble a hare’s foot.

I also spotted a much more robust species – the Dryad’s Saddle – earlier in the month.  Its condition has now deteriorated, having been partially eaten by the cemetery wildlife.  But in its prime I watched it releasing some tiny spores, like very faint smoke drifting in the air. This is the underside of one of those deteriorating mushrooms.

Dryad's Saddle mushroom in the centre of the cemetery

Butterflies and Insects

I noticed quite a few dragonflies in the air over various parts of the cemetery and also over the planted areas behind Thoresby Street school.  However they were quite high up and none of them landed so I’m unable to say which species they were.

I saw several white butterflies in flight, and managed to identify at least some of them as Green-veined Whites.  But the commonest and easiest to identify at this time of the year is the Speckled Wood.  I saw several of these throughout the month.

A Speckled Wood Butterfly in the cemetery

 

I also caught brief glimpses of lots of newly-emerged Holly Blue butterflies this month.  These will most probably be the second brood of the year. They fly quite high in the air, looking for a mate.  Once mated they will then lay their eggs on Ivy flower buds.  I also saw some Bees, Hoverflies and Ladybirds in and around the Cemetery.

Birds

I caught a couple of brief glimpses of some Bullfinches – a male and a female – but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any photos.  But a Goldfinch pair I’ve been watching throughout the month have successfully raised two young.

Adult and juvenile Goldfinch in Hull General Cemetery

A Sparrowhawk was seen by one of the volunteers, and I’ve also heard at least one Tawny Owl calling on a number of occasions.

I’ve seen good numbers of Blue Tits and Great Tits, both adults and fledglings. The most common finch in the Cemetery is the Chaffinch and there are several pairs and youngsters around.  There are always several Robins around, and I’ve seen young of theirs as well.  There are several pairs of Blackbirds in the cemetery, also with fledglings.  It’s been a good year for all these species.

Juvenile Blackbird looking out over the cemetery

Trees and Flowers

Back in March last year the volunteers planted three Silver Birch trees at the eastern end of the cemetery.  I’m pleased to report two of the trees are thriving and have catkins on them. This is a monoecious species, meaning the tree contains both male and female catkins and can therefore produce its own seeds without the need for cross-pollination with another tree.

Silver Birch at the eastern end of the cemetery

The hot dry weather has meant some of the trees have started to lose their leaves earlier than usual.  Some of the medium sized trees are already bearing ripe fruit, such as the Elderberry and Dogwood.  Both these types of berry are an important source of food for the cemetery wildlife, especially the birds.

Dogwood with berries along one of the cemetery's footpaths

 

As already mentioned, there are hardly any flowers growing on the grass verge other than a few Dandelions.  A few plants inside the cemetery are still flowering, with the Great Willowherb adding a splash of welcome colour in the centre of the cemetery.

Great Willowherb in the centre of the cemetery

I also managed to find a few plants with clusters of small white flowers on them.  They can be difficult to identify, all looking very similar at first glance.  However, one should never assume they are just Cow Parsley, by far the most prolific of the white-flowering plants in and around the Cemetery!  In any case their flowering season ended in July.  This month I found Upright Hedge-parsley, Wild Carrot and Common Hogweed growing in various places.

Upright Hedge-parsley

 

Wild Carrot

Common Hogweed

 

Conclusion

August started off hot, dry and sunny with a heatwave in the middle of the month.  Then it got cooler and there were a few days with intermittent rain showers.  The heaviest of the rain fell in the last week but at best it simply left the footpaths rather damp. The Cemetery was not affected by the flooding that other parts of the country suffered.  It’s too early to say whether or not the rainfall was sufficient to enable fresh growth, especially along the grass verge.  The rain was certainly good for the cemetery wildlife though!

Snail on Headstone at the Prim Corner end of the cemetery

Snail and headstone on a rare rainy day!

An interesting article about trees:-

https://friendsofhullgeneralcemetery.com/tree-hugging/

And a useful site for wildflower identification:-

https://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/

 

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.