 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points.(September 2018) |
| Brandwood End Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 Entrance and mortuary chapels in March 2015 | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1899 |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°25′02″N1°53′52″W / 52.4172°N 1.8978°W |
| Owned by | Birmingham City Council |
| Size | 53 acres (0.21 km2; 0.083 sq mi) |
| Website | birmingham |
| Find a Grave | Brandwood End Cemetery |
Brandwood End Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Brandwood ward of Birmingham, England.
Until the early 19th century the Church of England church yards and burial grounds were the only major places available for burials. By that time these ancient burial grounds were becoming overcrowded, causing the burials to become shallower and the graveyards to be considered as unsanitary health hazards.[ citation needed ] Added to this was the massive increase in the population, particularly in the expanding urban industrial areas, which increased the demand for burial space. The situation was further exacerbated by the increased death rate during periodic epidemics such as cholera, occurring unchecked within these overcrowded urban environments.[ citation needed ]
These burial problems were resolved with the development of ‘public cemeteries for all’. This was initially not under the direction of local or central government, but under Joint Stock Companies for profit. For example, Key Hill Cemetery in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, founded in 1834, was a local example of such a Joint Stock venture.[ citation needed ]
However, these efforts by private enterprise could not, by themselves, solve the overall problem,[ citation needed ] and as a direct result of the cholera epidemics of 1831-1832 and 1848-1849 central government had to take action. Between 1852 and 1857 a series of Burial Acts were passed, which established a national system of public cemeteries under the direction of local Burial Boards. These Boards were responsible for the interment of the dead; could build and manage new cemeteries; and, charge the expenses to the Poor Rate.
In the late 19th century, King's Norton Rural District Council was one of the largest administrative districts surrounding Birmingham.[ citation needed ] As Birmingham expanded in the 1880s and its population increasingly settled in this parish due to the new rail and tram routes, it created increasing pressure on the existing church burial grounds. These, like others across the country, were full and unable to expand. To resolve this problem using the new legislation, the Kings Norton RDC resolved to establish a cemetery, in the north of the district where population growth was greatest, but experienced some difficulty in finding a suitable site.[ citation needed ]
In 1892, the first plan was to build a cemetery in Billesley, in the parish of Yardley, but this was abandoned due to objections by the Yardley authorities to the scheme.[ citation needed ] In 1895, an area of farmland was finally acquired[ citation needed ] for the purpose of building a new cemetery in Brandwood End, near Kings Heath, within the parish of Kings Norton.
Brandwood End Cemetery was therefore one of the later Victorian Cemeteries, and was formally opened on 13 April 1899, [1] [2] by Mr George Tallis, [1] the Chairman of the Local Cemetery Committee; [1] the cemetery being subsequently incorporated within the City of Birmingham in 1911, under the Greater Birmingham Act, when the city expanded its boundaries. [1] [2]
The two semi-detached mortuary chapels stand at the highest point in the cemetery grounds, and provide a dramatic central focus for the cemetery. The chapels are joined by a carriage entrance archway (a porte-cochčre), which is surmounted by a tower and spire. [2] [3] The twin chapels were designed by Mr J. Brewin Holmes, [2] [3] a Birmingham architect, [2] and are built in the Gothic style [1] [2] with Art Nouveau details [2] from red brick and terracotta. [3] The mortuary chapel on the east was for Non-conformists [2] and the chapel on the west consecrated for Anglican services. [2] [3] The chapels are mirror images of each other, containing: a chancel, a coffin chamber, a vestry and an underground heating chamber. There is also a Cemetery Lodge, built from red brick and terracotta, which contained the cemetery offices and living quarters for the cemetery Superintendent.
The plans for the original cemetery, drawn up by the Birmingham District Surveyor, [2] are a classic example of the Victorian grid plan design for a cemetery. [2] It contained a grand tree lined central driveway running north to south through the cemetery ground, and passing beneath the carriageway arch between the two mortuary chapels. [2] There are subsidiary pathways which run in an east to west direction, at right angles to the grand central driveway, and which divide the cemetery into its various Sections. Later extensions to the cemetery grounds: to the west in 1915; to the east in 1917, 1920 and 1950; and two further purchases of small parcels of ground in 1967 and 1996, continued to follow this original grid plan maintaining the original Victorian lay out. [2]
The landscape was a very important aspect in the design of a Victorian cemetery, and Brandwood End was planted with a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees [2] which were popular in that period. Evergreens are concentrated within the original area of land obtained in 1885, and consist of avenues of: Scots pines; Cypress trees; and, Wellingtonia. [1] The dark green foliage was deliberately planted to present a striking contrast to the red terracotta chapels. The deciduous planting included Horse-Chestnut, Beech, Hornbeam and Poplar, which were added to existing Oak trees.
While this was a cemetery for everyone, the most impressive funerary monuments are those grouped around the mortuary chapels, where the local ‘great and the good’ purchased their grave plots. These illustrate a range of early twentieth century styles including Edwardian Italian marble angels and the Art Deco memorials of the 1930s.[ citation needed ]
In 1929, a ‘Cross of Sacrifice' was erected in the main central driveway to commemorate those who died in the First World War, [2] and below this, to the east of the drive, a Memorial Garden was laid out in 1952, [2] in memory of the Civilian War dead from the Second World War who are buried in this cemetery. There are in all 206 British Commonwealth service war graves (108 from the First World War, 98 from the Second) in this cemetery, besides 2 Polish war graves. [4]
For the local historian all these ‘new’ Victorian cemeteries, whether privately or publicly constructed, are not simply a new style of burial grounds constructed to answer a burial problem, but a reflection of the attitude of our Victorian and Edwardian predecessors to death, and their cherished memory of the departed.
It is from this 'culture of commemoration' we gain these beautifully landscaped cemeteries, with their Gothic buildings and funerary monuments which are now treasured open spaces within our 21st century urban environment. Many of these Victorian cemeteries, including Brandwood End Cemetery are contained within English Heritage's, National Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England, [1] [5] and many of the Victorian cemetery buildings are contained within the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. [1]
Brandwood End Cemetery is listed as Grade II [2] in both the above registers reflecting its historical value. [6] [7]
It has been named by the Victorian Society as a heritage building at risk of disrepair. [8]
The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery (FBEC) arose from community interest in maintaining this historic landscaped Victorian Cemetery, which is also a valued green open space within an urban setting. The group officially commenced its activities following an inaugural meeting on 21 July 2005, when its Constitution was agreed and an Executive Committee elected by a well attended public meeting.
It has the full non-political support of the local Birmingham City Councillors for the area and is a registered charity, number 1114333. [9]
The objectives of The Friends are: to promote for the benefit of the local community and others, the restoration, conservation and respectful enjoyment of Brandwood End Cemetery and Chapels, including monuments, buildings, records, green spaces, adjacent pool and allotments and overall environment.
In June 2011, it was announced that comedian Alistair McGowan, who has over 30 members of his extended family interred at Brandwood, had become a Patron of the friends. [10]
West Norwood Cemetery is a 40-acre (16 ha) rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and ecological interest.
Capernwray Hall is a former country house situated 3 miles east-northeast of Carnforth, Lancashire, England, and is currently used as a Christian Bible school and holiday centre. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It stands in grounds included in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade II.
Anfield Cemetery, or the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is located in Anfield, a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It lies to the northeast of Stanley Park, and is bounded by Walton Lane to the west, Priory Road to the south, a railway line to the north, and the gardens of houses on Ince Avenue to the east. The cemetery grounds are included in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade II*.
Arnos Vale Cemetery, in Arnos Vale, Bristol, England, was established in 1837. Its first burial was in 1839. The cemetery followed a joint-stock model, funded by shareholders. It was laid out as an Arcadian landscape with buildings by Charles Underwood. Most of its area is listed, Grade II*, on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
Warstone Lane Cemetery,, also called Brookfields Cemetery, Church of England Cemetery, or Mint Cemetery, is a cemetery dating from 1847 in Birmingham, England. It is one of two cemeteries in the city's Jewellery Quarter, in Hockley. It is no longer open to new burials.
Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemetery and is located on forty-four hectares of land at the corner of Frederick Street and Mount Coot-tha Road approximately four and a half kilometres west of Brisbane. It was previously known as Brisbane General Cemetery. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 December 2002.
The cemetery has had various titles including The Cemetery by the Common, Hill Lane Cemetery and is currently known as Southampton Old Cemetery. An Act of Parliament was required in 1843 to acquire the land from Southampton Common. It covers an area of 27 acres (11 ha) and the total number of burials is estimated at 116,800. Currently there are 6 to 8 burials a year to existing family plots.
The Watts Cemetery Chapel or Watts Mortuary Chapel is a chapel in a Modern Style version of Celtic Revival in the village cemetery of Compton in Surrey. While the overall architectural structure is loosely Romanesque Revival, in the absence of any appropriate Celtic models, the lavish decoration in terracotta relief carving and paintings is Celtic Revival, here seen on an unusually large scale. According to the local council, it is "a unique concoction of art nouveau, Celtic, Romanesque and Egyptian influence with Mary's own original style".
The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery and crematorium in the east of London. It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation. It is designated Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
The English coastal city of Brighton and Hove, made up of the formerly separate Boroughs of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, has a wide range of cemeteries throughout its urban area. Many were established in the mid-19th century, a time in which the Victorian "cult of death" encouraged extravagant, expensive memorials set in carefully cultivated landscapes which were even recommended as tourist attractions. Some of the largest, such as the Extra Mural Cemetery and the Brighton and Preston Cemetery, were set in particularly impressive natural landscapes. Brighton and Hove City Council, the local authority responsible for public services in the city, manages seven cemeteries, one of which also has the city's main crematorium. An eighth cemetery and a second crematorium are owned by a private company. Many cemeteries are full and no longer accept new burials. The council maintains administrative offices and a mortuary at the Woodvale Cemetery, and employs a coroner and support staff.
St Woolos Cemetery is the main cemetery in the city of Newport, Wales situated one mile to the west of the Church in Wales cathedral known by the same name. It contains four chapels, and various ornate memorials dating back to the early Victorian period, and was the first municipally constructed cemetery in England and Wales. It remains in use to this present day as the main cemetery for burials in Newport, and has been used as a filming location for the BBC series, Doctor Who. The cemetery is listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The two Camberwell cemeteries are close to one another in Honor Oak, south London, England. Both have noteworthy burials and architecture, and they are an important source of socioeconomic data in recording the historical growth and changing demography in the community for the Southwark area since 1855.
Mortuary Chapel, Handsworth Cemetery is a Grade I listed chapel in the Church of England in Handsworth, Birmingham, England.
Smallcombe Cemetery is on the edge of Bath, Somerset, England, in a valley between Widcombe Hill and Bathwick Hill. It has two distinct parts, the Anglican section known as St Mary's Churchyard and the nonconformist section known as Smallcombe Vale cemetery; they are sometimes known together as Smallcombe Garden cemetery. The two cemeteries have been closed to new burials since 1988 and are maintained by Bath and North East Somerset Council. The Bath Corporation had assumed responsibility for both cemeteries in 1947.
Maryborough Cemetery is a cemetery in Walker Street, Maryborough West, Maryborough, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The cemetery and its heritage-listed Mortuary Chapel have importance to the local community as the principal place of public burial in Maryborough for over 120 years.
Earlham Road Cemetery, Norwich also known as Earlham Cemetery or Norwich Cemetery is a cemetery located in Norwich which was officially opened on 6 March 1856 and covers 34 acres (14 ha). The cemetery is divided into two distinct sites by Farrow Road A140 which runs north–south across the site. To the east of the road is the original 19th century cemetery and to the west of the road lies the 20th century addition. Today, it caters for all faiths with separate burial grounds and chapels for Jews and Catholics and a growing one for Muslims together with two military cemeteries. The 19th century cemetery is designed with an informal garden cemetery layout with winding paths while the remainder is a more formal grid type which was favoured by cemetery designer John Claudius Loudon. Much of the original cemetery is a County Wildlife Site and contains grassland and a wide selection of mature trees.
Hull General Cemetery was established by a private company in 1847 on Spring Bank in the west of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. In 1862 the Hull Corporation established a cemetery adjacent, now known as Western Cemetery, and in c. 1890 expanded the cemetery west across Chanterlands Avenue onto an adjacent site.
Townsend Cemetery is a cemetery in Crewkerne, Somerset, England. It is owned by Crewkerne Town Council, and jointly run by the Town Council and West Crewkerne Parish Council.
Nottingham Road Cemetery is a municipal cemetery in Chaddesden, an inner suburb of Derby, in central England. It was established in 1855 to provide more more burial capacity for the rapidly growing town.
| Parks & gardens |
|
|---|---|
| Gardens | |
| Nature reserves (not listed above) | |
| Cemeteries | |
| Reservoirs | |
| Related | |
| East Midlands |  | |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | ||
| North East | ||
| North West |
| |
| South East |
| |
| South West | ||
| West Midlands | ||
| Yorkshire and the Humber |
| |
| By city | ||
