Cholera Monument Grounds and Clay Wood

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The Cholera Monument.

The Cholera Monument is a memorial in Sheffield, England to the victims of a cholera epidemic of 1832. 402 victims of the disease were buried in grounds between Park Hill and Norfolk Park adjoining Clay Wood. Money from the treasurers of the Board of Health was set aside for a monument for the site.

The monument was designed by M. E. Hadfield, sculpted by Earp and Hobbs and completed in 1835. It is a neo-Gothic pinnacle and has a plaque naming John Blake, Master Cutler in 1832 and a victim of the epidemic and noting that the foundation stone was laid by poet James Montgomery.

The monument is situated in gardens laid out around the monument in the 1850s and next to Clay Wood, an ancient woodland. These were given to the city by the Duke of Norfolk in 1930. A shaded path built between 1971 and 1995 traverses the woods and leads from Fitzwalter Road to the monument gardens. The monument was struck by lightning in 1990 and the top removed for safety, rebuilding began in 2005 thanks to a grant and was completed in 2006.

A clay cobbled mound art installation was erected in 2004 representing the individuals who lost their lives.

The monument is grade II listed, and the grounds are a conservation area which had received a Green Flag Award.