Key Hill Cemetery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Key Hill Cemetery, (grid reference SP059882), first called Birmingham General Cemetery, a Nonconformist (non-denominational) cemetery, is the oldest cemetery (1836) in Birmingham, England. Located in Hockley, the city's Jewellery Quarter, it is one of two cemeteries (the other being Warstone Lane Cemetery): the only open spaces in Jewellery Quarter. It is no longer available for new burials.
Famous people buried there include:
- Alfred Bird (plot 164.H)
- Joseph Chamberlain (senior), father of the politician Joseph Chamberlain (plot 622.K)
- Joseph Chamberlain and his two wives (plot 610.K)
- John Henry Chamberlain (plot 701.K)
- George Dawson (plot 507.O)
- Joseph Gillott (plot 374-375.E)
- Joseph Hinks
- A. Follett Osler (plot 611.K)
Many of the fittings and memorials are of architectural and artistic merit - the entrance gates (piers by Charles Edge) and railings are Grade II listed - and a campaign group, The Friends of Key Hill Cemetery, are lobbying to have the cemetery restored. The chapel has been demolished. The cemetery is itself grade II on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.
[edit] Sources
- Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
- Official Guide to the Birmingham General Cemetery, E H Manning, Hudson & Son, Livery Street, Birmingham, 1915. Birmingham Public Libraries (Reference, Local Studies, B.Coll 45.5)
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