Summary

An Anglican Cemetery of 1836 with dessenters' extension added in 1865 both with their own mortuary chapels, since demolished.

Historical Development

The Cemetery was set up by the Nottingham General Cemetery Company established by a special Act of Parliament for which Royal Assent was given on 9th May 1836 (Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter) and comprised of fourteen acres. A further four acres was added under the 1845 Enclosure Act and is shown on the Enclosure Award Map of 1865.

The Nottingham Enclosure Act enclosed fields and meadows, used by the burgesses of freeholders of the City to graze their animals, and to compensate for the loss of open space used for recreation, allotted space for a series of places of public recreation and public walks.

One hundred and thirty acres made up of Queen's Walk and Queen's Walk Park (Meadows Cricket Ground) Victoria Park, Robin Hood Chase, Corporation Oaks, St Ann's Hill Avenue, Nottingham Arboretum (qv), the General Cemetery (qv), Waterloo Promenade, the Church Cemetery and the Forest were created as public open spaces from the enclosures.

By 1923 150,000 bodies had been buried and the then Medical Officer of Health expressed concern about the future of the Cemetery if interments continued. A Bill was brought before Parliament by Nottingham Corporation to close the Cemetery if further interments took place except into existing family graves. Due to the escalating operating costs after the Second World War the Company made representations to the Corporation to take over the Cemetery. The Corporation declined, the Company went into voluntary liquidation and the Cemetery became vested in the Crown. The Crown conveyed the Freehold of the Cemetery and all its responsibilities to the City Council in 1956 and it remains in their ownership (Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter).

Site Development

Location, Area, boundaries, Landform and Setting.
General Cemetery is located in the centre of the City of Nottingham immediately to the South-West of the Arboretum (qv) and comprises 7.28 hectares. The Cemetery is bounded by Canning Terrace on the South-West boundary, by Cromwell Street on the North-Western boundary with part of Waverley Street as the North-Eastern boundary. The northern part of the Eastern boundary is made up of part of Clarendon Street, the mid part by the Friends Meeting House and its garden and the Southern part of the boundary is part of Talbot Street. The Cemetery occupies part of a long shallow valley which rises gently towards the South-West. The setting is urban.

Entrances and Approaches

The Main Entrance is from Canning Terrace on the South-West boundary of the Cemetery. The Cemetery gatehouse flanked Almshouses (listed Grade II) was designed by S S Rawlinson for the General Cemetery Company. Built 1837-40 in stucco and brick it has slate roofs and corniced stacks. The Façade is symmetrical with a square gatehouse flanked by ranges of Almshouses with pedimented centres. The processional route was from the gates (1839 by Falconer and Company of Derby) of the gatehouse and leads North-Eastwards along a raised path to the site of the Anglican Mortuary Chapel (demolished late 1950's). Another entrance off Talbot Street leads Northwards also to the site of the Anglican Chapel. In the North-East corner of the Cemetery, off Waverly Street, a further entrance was formerly marked by a Lodge (demolished late 1950's) (Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter). From this entrance a path leads North-Westwards to the site of the Dessenters' Mortuary Chapel (demolished late 1950's)

Principal Building

The Southern Anglican Mortuary Chapel (demolished late 1950's), located 150 metres North-East of Canning Street entrance (Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter) was built in a Neo-Greek style with tetra style ionic portico approached up a flight of steps (Brooks 1989). The Northern Dissenters Mortuary Chapel, located 100 metres of the North-East entrance (Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter) was built in English Gothic style Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter).

Other Land

The Cemetery has an informal layout of grass and mainly native broadleaved trees, winding paths and simple headstones, some of Swithland slate. A path running South-West to North-East runs through two thirds of the Cemetery. This path meets the serpentine path which connected the two former Mortuary Chapels. Further paths lead off the main serpentine path.

Standing 100 metres East of the Gatehouse, North of the path is a memorial obelisk (1838, listed grade II). Built of ashlar, it stands on an inscribed square pedestal and base with a flight of four steps leading up to it. The obelisk was erected by the Directors of the Cemetery Company to a fellow Director, D S Churchill, who died in a shipwreck off the Farne Islands.

Standing South-East of the site of the Anglican Chapel is a family memorial (c1908, listed grade II) to the members of the Bright family who died between 1871 and 1928. By the North- East entrance of the Cemetery stands a War Memorial (listed grade II).

The Nottingham Enclosure Map of January 1848 shows the area North of General Cemetery marked as 'Proposed Dissenters Cemetery'. The narrative of the map states that 'A Dissenters and a Church Cemetery (the situation not yet fully decided upon) will relieve the overcrowding burial places in the Town'. By 1865 the Nottingham Enclosure Award Map shows the General Cemetery with, to the North-East, an area between the General Cemetery and Waverley Street marked thus: 'Smith Baldwin be divested of the Mayor and Aldermen and Burgesses of Nottingham Dissenters Cemetery'. The division between the two parts of the Cemetery is shown clearly on the 1865 Award Map. The Dissenters' part lies in the North-East part of the Cemetery, the boundary between the two marked as a continuation of Clarendon Road (formally Cemetery Road), running northwards the boundary continues for a short distance North-Westwards possibly on the line of a continuation of Shakespeare Street (formally Lark Dale Road) to the North-East edge of the Cemetery (1865 Map). The First Edition Ordnance Survey shows the Cemetery lad out with the main serpentine path from Canning Street entrance leading to the Mortuary Chapel (Anglican) and on past an unidentified building, gone by 1901 9Second Edition Ordnance Survey) which stood at the junction of the path running alongside the North-West of the Friends House garden, and the main serpentine path, then so to the Dissenters Mortuary Chapel. A building stood immediately South-West of this Chapel. At this date, 1883, the whole Cemetery was scattered with trees.

References

C Brooks, Mortal Remains (1989), p171
C Brooks, 'English Historic Cemeteries, a theme study' (1994), p79
D Gray, Nottingham, Settlement to the City (1953, reprinted 1969), pp66-68
N Pevsner and E Williamson, Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire (2nd Edition 1979), pp243
J Beckett, Nottingham, an Illustrated History (1997) p49
Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter, M Peck, 'City of Nottingham Cemeteries', No 72. April 1987
Nottingham Civic Society Newsletter, Stephen Best, 'A Lively Club - Exploring Nottingham General Cemetery' No's 80, September 1989 and 81, January 1990
R Mellors, Gardens, Parks and Walks of Nottingham and District (1926), pp 148-151

Maps

George Sanderson, Twenty Miles around Mansfield, 1835 (reproduced in Beckett)
William Dearden, Plan of the Town of Nottingham, 1844 (reproduced in Beckett)
Nottingham Enclosure Award 1865
Ordnance Survey First Edition 25" to mile published 1883
Ordnance Survey Second Edition 25" to mile published 1901
Ordnance Survey 25" to mile published 1920

View the Historical Information about Church Cemetery (also known as Rock Cemetery)

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