In memory of the 85 people buried in this single, unmarked public grave in 1838-9. Of these burials, 70 were children including 54 infants aged two and under.
Grave B 27 has the largest number of burials in a single grave in this Cemetery.
Grave B 27 was a public grave owned by the General Cemetery Company, allocated for the burial of unrelated individuals who did not have the means to buy a private burial plot. Public graves were also used for pauper burials, often for people who died in the local workhouses and whose burials were paid for by the Board of Guardians who administered the workhouses.
There are 85 people interred in this grave. 70 of these burials were children, including 54 infants aged two or under. 16 of the people, 10 children and 6 adults, buried here had their last residence recorded as the Sheffield Workhouse.
The grave was in use between 15th March 1838 and 8th October 1839. During this period, it was not unusual to have two or three burials on the same day. On the 8 June 1838, there were eight burials – seven of these were children.
The most common cause of death for the babies in this grave was convulsions, nine died of hooping (sic) cough and eight died of scarlet fever. For the adults, the most common cause of death was consumption (also known as tuberculosis or TB).
Across the whole Cemetery, there are nearly 2400 public graves. This represents 15% of all the graves, yet they contain nearly 40% of all the people buried here.
As public graves were unmarked, those buried here have not been memorialised until now.