RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Northamptonshire => Topic started by: Ridgeback on Monday 13 December 21 20:21 GMT (UK)
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Hello
I've come across the document "Removal of Graves and Tombstones" see attachment, those listed are my Great Grandparents. (they were all born & died in Northampton)
Would anyone have any knowledge of which Cemetery these were removed from and why.
Regards
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I have found a few of these recently and they refer to the Billing Road Cemetery in Northampton. Look in the page header for confirmation.
Regards, Paul
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I have found a few of these recently and they refer to the Billing Road Cemetery in Northampton. Look in the page header for confirmation.
Regards, Paul
Thank you Paul for the Info, I must admit I didn't see the header detail first time around but I can confirm it is Billing Road.
Regards
David
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I scratched my head too the first time I looked but it is a frequent trick on Ancestry...
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I scratched my head too the first time I looked but it is a frequent trick on Ancestry...
One question which you might not be able to answer, what happened to the Headstones and remains etc.
Regards
David
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Sorry David I have no idea though I suspect Sandy Hall will know the answer should she happen to look in.
Regards, Paul
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It looks like the council may have removed the gravestones after they took over management of the cemetery.
When Billing Road Cemetery was big business
It [the cemetery] was taken over by Northampton Borough Council in 1959.
...
They [cemeteries] are an outdoor museum, a place for reflection and spiritual renewal in a tranquil setting. They are also expensive to maintain, and councils, always seeking to cut costs, see them as a drain on the public purse; and so they must be turned into “open space” (some would say a green desert) for cheap and easy upkeep.
...
If you visit Billing Road Cemetery today you will find very little of its former Victorian garden atmosphere, with only a few scattered monuments remaining to remind us of the love, care and respect with which the dead were treated by the Victorians.
https://nenequirer.com/2018/06/18/when-billing-road-cemetery-was-big-business/
Another article online has a photo of damage that occurred during WWII. Damage aside, part of the photo shows an undamaged area, showing how densely placed the graves were.
Memories of Northampton Past: IN MEMORY OF NORMAN AMOS 1933-2011...
One of the early memories was when the Luftwaffe decided to drop a stick of bombs on the cemetery on Billing Road.
https://memoriesofnorthamptonpast.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-memory-of-norman-amos-1933-2011.html
Looking at the cemetery on Google Maps' satellite view, there appears to be very few remaining gravestones.
Google Maps: Billing Road Cemetery
https://www.rootschat.com/links/01r3y/
There are a few newspaper references to the deaths and burials. An item for Edwin's funeral states the internment was at the "General Cemetery", which I presume means Billing Road Cemetery and was a reference to the company that owned the cemetery, General Cemetery Company.
Northampton Mercury
01 Apr 1904
page 8
Deaths
In Memoriam
Smith
- March 26th, at 37, Stanhope Road,
- after a brief illness,
- Eunice,
- the beloved wife of Edward Smith,
- aged 66
- R.I.P.
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
21 Sep 1923
page 5
Deaths
James
- on September 19th,
- at 101 Oliver Street, Northampton,
- Edwin,
- dearly-beloved husband of Sarah Elizabeth James
- After a short painful illness, at rest
- Aged 60 years
- Funeral, 11.15 am, tomorrow (Saturday),
- St Matthew's Church
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
25 Sep 1923
page 5
In Memoriam
- Mrs James and Sons and Relatives
- of the late Mr Edwin James
- wish to thank very sincerely all friends and his colleagues
- for the kind sympathy shown in their sad bereavement;
- also for the beautiful floral tributes sent
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
29 Sep 1923
page 4
The Late Mr Edwin James
[funeral of Edwin James; see attached]
Northampton Mercury
28 Sep 1923
page 12
Oddfellowship
Nottingham Order A.D.A.
At Northampton
- The half-yearly meeting of members of the
- Northamptonshire Provincial Grand Lodge
- of the United Order of Oddfellows
- was held in Abington Parish Buildings, Northampton,
- on Saturday evening
...
- The Late Bro. Burgess
- Prior to the business of the meeting, the
- Provincial Grand Master moved a vote of the
- condolence with the relatives of the late Bro T. P. Burgess.
...
- The lodge had lost two of its members by death of
- Bro. Burgess and Bro. Edwin James
- Both had been laid to rest that afternoon
...
EDIT: Straightened newspaper image
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Hi All.
Yes as stated it was Billing Road Cemetery previously the General Cemetery and stones were removed in the 1960's .
The stones were removed not the graves. In total there are only 476 remaining headstones.
I downloaded all the data on Ancestry which gives the grave numbers at the top of each page which amounted to over 4,000 images I put into folders as shown below.
Sandy
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David if you would like the information from the Interment books I can type here for you for your listed family. Sandy
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Wow, Thank you all for the info a lot to digest and once I've sifted through it I'll get back to you.
Thanks again
David :) :) :)
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I will list them anyway to go with the info cuffie81 kindly found and also in case anyone else is related.
Sandy
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David if you would like the information from the Interment books I can type here for you for your listed family. Sandy
Sandy
Thank you for the offer I would very much appreciate that if it's not to much trouble.
David
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It looks like the council may have removed the gravestones after they took over management of the cemetery.
When Billing Road Cemetery was big business
It [the cemetery] was taken over by Northampton Borough Council in 1959.
...
They [cemeteries] are an outdoor museum, a place for reflection and spiritual renewal in a tranquil setting. They are also expensive to maintain, and councils, always seeking to cut costs, see them as a drain on the public purse; and so they must be turned into “open space” (some would say a green desert) for cheap and easy upkeep.
...
If you visit Billing Road Cemetery today you will find very little of its former Victorian garden atmosphere, with only a few scattered monuments remaining to remind us of the love, care and respect with which the dead were treated by the Victorians.
https://nenequirer.com/2018/06/18/when-billing-road-cemetery-was-big-business/
Another article online has a photo of damage that occurred during WWII. Damage aside, part of the photo shows an undamaged area, showing how densely placed the graves were.
Memories of Northampton Past: IN MEMORY OF NORMAN AMOS 1933-2011...
One of the early memories was when the Luftwaffe decided to drop a stick of bombs on the cemetery on Billing Road.
https://memoriesofnorthamptonpast.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-memory-of-norman-amos-1933-2011.html
Looking at the cemetery on Google Maps' satellite view, there appears to be very few remaining gravestones.
Google Maps: Billing Road Cemetery
https://www.rootschat.com/links/01r3y/
There are a few newspaper references to the deaths and burials. An item for Edwin's funeral states the internment was at the "General Cemetery", which I presume means Billing Road Cemetery and was a reference to the company that owned the cemetery, General Cemetery Company.
Northampton Mercury
01 Apr 1904
page 8
Deaths
In Memoriam
Smith
- March 26th, at 37, Stanhope Road,
- after a brief illness,
- Eunice,
- the beloved wife of Edward Smith,
- aged 66
- R.I.P.
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
21 Sep 1923
page 5
Deaths
James
- on September 19th,
- at 101 Oliver Street, Northampton,
- Edwin,
- dearly-beloved husband of Sarah Elizabeth James
- After a short painful illness, at rest
- Aged 60 years
- Funeral, 11.15 am, tomorrow (Saturday),
- St Matthew's Church
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
25 Sep 1923
page 5
In Memoriam
- Mrs James and Sons and Relatives
- of the late Mr Edwin James
- wish to thank very sincerely all friends and his colleagues
- for the kind sympathy shown in their sad bereavement;
- also for the beautiful floral tributes sent
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
29 Sep 1923
page 4
The Late Mr Edwin James
[funeral of Edwin James; see attached]
Northampton Mercury
28 Sep 1923
page 12
Oddfellowship
Nottingham Order A.D.A.
At Northampton
- The half-yearly meeting of members of the
- Northamptonshire Provincial Grand Lodge
- of the United Order of Oddfellows
- was held in Abington Parish Buildings, Northampton,
- on Saturday evening
...
- The Late Bro. Burgess
- Prior to the business of the meeting, the
- Provincial Grand Master moved a vote of the
- condolence with the relatives of the late Bro T. P. Burgess.
...
- The lodge had lost two of its members by death of
- Bro. Burgess and Bro. Edwin James
- Both had been laid to rest that afternoon
...
EDIT: Straightened newspaper image
Thank you Cuffie81 for the research and hard work you must have put in to come up with so much detail, very much appreciated, it certainly has give me a lot more information of my Grandparents.
Kind regards
David :) :)
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I will list them anyway to go with the info cuffie81 kindly found and also in case anyone else is related.
Sandy
Sandy it always amaze me the amount of knowledge and expertise you have on subjects relating to Northampton, it has certainly helped me with my Ancestry and I'm sure help many other Root Chatters too
Thanks again
David :) :)
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Most welcome David.
Sandy
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:) :) :) :) To you
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Would a grave plot map still exist of this cemetery, I have searched the grounds and unfortunately failed to locate any of the list I have
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Hi brummyko.
Welcome to Rootschat. :)
I have mentioned often that there are only 400+ graves still in the Cemetery.
Sadly there are too many maps to actually put on line but the Northampton Borough Council Cemetery Office have them all and other cemetery records.
I have quite a few of them too.
If you would like to list names we may be able to help.
Sandy
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Hi Sandy
I have taken a brief look around the cemetery but didnt find any of the headstones listed
Amelia Knightall d 1889 plot A2 1194
William Knightall d 1903 plot A2 94
Louisa Serpell d 1939 Plot 4044
Fanny Jardine d 1882 No Info
Walter Jardine d 1891 No Info
Robert Walcot d 1856 Plot 4141
Joseph Routhorn d 1905 Plot A2 354
James Sibly d 1883 Plot 3538
Sarah Sibly d 1852 Plot 3538
George Hill d 1900 Plot A2 2697
Rose Green d 1914 Plot A2 1919
Eva Johnson d 1917 Plot 2025
Ann Mayes d 1898 Plot A2 6729
Florence Knighthall d 1887 Plot 12267
Emmeline Knighthall d 1888 Plot 5666
Henrietta Cary-Elwes d 1864 No Info
John Willett d 2011 No Info ( guess this date is to late for this cemetery)
Thanks for looking, much appreciated
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Hi brummyko.
I have had a look at the list you have noted.
Henrietta is buried in Great Billing, Northants and there is a lot about the family on F.A.G.
James and Sarah have the Surname SIBLEY. Robert has WOOLCOT. Joseph ROWTHORN. in the Interment Books.
The area A2 was mainly flattened in WW2.
So what precisely do you want?
Sandy
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Hi Sandy
I just needed to know if any of the headstones still survive
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HI again.
I am afraid not.
Sorry I could not help more.
Sandy