Engraving of General Cemetery, c. 1840. Source: Picture Sheffield.
Sheffield General Cemetery was one of England’s first commercial cemeteries, opening in 1836 and closing for burials in 1978. The dramatic landscape was designed to be enjoyed by the living with fine buildings set amongst mature planting, walks and picturesque views, while also being the setting for over 86,000 burials. Many of the town’s affluent and well-known nineteenth century residents were buried here beneath large imposing monuments alongside thousands of people in unmarked public graves.
Though fashionable in the Victorian era, business declined in the twentieth century, the site became derelict and was reclaimed by nature and vandals. Taken over by Sheffield City Council in the 1970s and saved as a Heritage Park, the buildings and landscape are being restored by the volunteers of the Sheffield General Cemetery Trust. Substantial grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other supporters have enabled major conservation work to be undertaken, with structures stabilised and buildings renovated, to ensure that this listed Grade II* landscape is safe for the future.
Today people can once more stroll along the paths, enjoying the relaxed planting and fine views, while wildlife is encouraged and flourishes among the stones.
Read more about the history of Sheffield General Cemetery in the SGCT publications For the Living and the Dead, Sheffield General Cemetery – Then & Now, and Recollections of a Former Occupant.
