From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
Witton Cemetery
Cemetery in Birmingham, England
Cemetery in Birmingham, England
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Witton Cemetery |
| image | Witton Cemetery Birmingham chapel.jpg |
| imagesize | 250px |
| caption | Chapel near the highest point |
| established | |
| country | England |
| location | Birmingham |
| coordinates | |
| owner | Birmingham City Council |
| website | |
| findagraveid | 2201852 |
Witton Cemetery (), which opened in Witton in 1863 as Birmingham City Cemetery, is the largest cemetery in Birmingham, England. Covering an area of 103 acre, it once had three chapels; however, two of these were demolished in 1980. The cemetery would perform up to 20 burials a day; however, it was declared "full to capacity" in December 2013, allowing burials only in existing family plots, or of babies or cremated remains. Extra capacity was therefore provided at the nearby New Hall Cemetery. The cemetery office was opened in 1999.
History
Started in May 1860 and consecrated by the Bishop of Worcester on 23 May 1863, it was the only cemetery owned by the Corporation of Birmingham until 1911, when an expansion of the city boundary brought in others. Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemetery were private concerns.
War graves
The cemetery contains 459 Commonwealth service war graves from World War I, over 200 of whom form three denominational war graves plots marked by screen walls bearing names of those buried within the plots and elsewhere in the cemetery whose graves could not be marked by headstones.
There are 224 Commonwealth war graves from World War II, the highest concentration (31 burials) in a small war graves plot in Sections 55 and 56, and the rest are scattered individually in the rest of the cemetery. The names of 12 service personnel of that war whose graves could not be marked by CWGC headstones were added to the screen wall at the World War I plots.
Notable burials
- Private George Ravenhill (1872–1921), VC recipient Boer War. Grave currently (2012) unmarked.
- William Snook, athlete (1861–1916). Died in workhouse hospital, his funeral paid for by former running club Birchfield Harriers.
- Sergeant Arthur Vickers (1882–1944), VC recipient First World War.
- John Cadbury (1801–1889) was the proprietor of a small chocolate business in Birmingham, England, that later became Cadbury plc.
- James Guidney (1782–1866), former soldier and pedlar
References
References
- (28 February 2014). "Fears over chapel future as cemetery reaches capacity". Great Barr Observer.
- ''In The Midst of Life - A History of the Burial Grounds of Birmingham'', Joseph McKenna, Birmingham Library Services, 1992, {{ISBN. 0-7093-0188-X
- It opened in 1863 with an area of {{convert. 106. acre. km2. In 1869, {{convert. 2. acre
- [http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/45007/BIRMINGHAM%20(WITTON)%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery report.
- [http://www/victoriacross.org.uk/birmingh.htm] Burial Locations for VC Holders, city of Birmingham.
- Andrews, Harry. (2008). "The Follies of a Victorian Athlete (William Snook 1861–1916)". Leonie Press (Anne Loader Publications).
- "James Guidney aka Jemmy the Rockman".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about Witton Cemetery — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report