Weaste Cemetery
Weaste Cemetery is a public cemetery in Weaste, Salford, Greater Manchester. Opened in 1857, it is the oldest of Salford's four cemeteries, covering 39 acres and containing over 332,000 graves.[1]
Location
The cemetery lies south of Eccles New Road and is approached via Cemetery Road.
History
Salford was one of the earliest British municipalities to recognise that churchyards were getting full and that alternative burial grounds were required. When originally opened the cemetery included four chapels and a glazed summer house, which have since all been demolished.[2]
The first interment was that of the very popular MP, Joseph Brotherton, who had campaigned for the cemetery and died just before its completion. In the circumstances his burial was allowed to take place before the cemetery had been officially opened.
The cemetery contains the graves of 368 servicemen killed during the First and Second World Wars, plus numerous memorials to servicemen buried abroad. [3]
At Christmas 1940, a German bomb fell on the cemetery during a raid on the nearby docks. Several headstones are still peppered with marks and holes caused by the shrapnel. [4]
Salford council have mapped out a heritage trail for the cemetery and noteworthy graves have been provided with information panels. Occasional guided tours of the cemetery also take place. Several of the monuments in the cemetery are Grade II listed. [5]
Notable interments
- Joseph Brotherton (1783–1857) - first MP for Salford
- Martha Brotherton - wife of above. Writer of first vegetarian cookbook.
- Elkanah Armitage (1794–1876) - Lord Mayor of Manchester
- Charles Hallé (1819–1895) - founder of Hallé Orchestra
- Mark Addy (1838–1890) - awarded Albert Medal for saving over 50 people from drowning
- Eddie Colman (1936–1958) - Manchester United player killed in Munich air disaster
- William Norman, VC (1832–1896) - Awarded Victoria Cross for courage in the Crimea War
- Edward Hardy (1884–1960) - MP for Salford South
- William Johnson Galloway (1868-1931) - MP for Manchester South West
- Four survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade
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Joseph Brotherton monument
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Tomb of Elkanah Armitage
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Sir Charles Hallé monument
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Mark Addy monument
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Grave of Eddie Colman
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Grave of William Norman, VC
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Grave of Edward Hardy
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Grave of Galloway family
War Graves
The cemetery contains the war graves of 366 Commonwealth service personnel, 267 from World War I and 99 from World War II. Most of the former war's graves are scattered throughout the cemetery but there are two war grave plots, one in the Church of England, the other in the Roman Catholic section of the cemetery. In each of these plots is a commemorative Screen Wall memorial listing those buried within them, and there is also a special memorial listing 7 personnel buried in graves that could not be marked. The second war's graves are scattered throughout the cemetery.[6]
References
- ↑ "Weaste cemetery". Salford City Council. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ↑ "History of Weaste cemetery". Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ↑ "SALFORD (WEASTE) CEMETERY". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ↑ "Weaste Cemetery, Salford". Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ↑ "Listed Bildings in Salford". Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ↑ CWGC Cemetery Report.
Coordinates: 53°28′37″N 2°18′11″W / 53.477°N 2.303°W