The Western Cemetery in Dundee, Scotland, is a still-operational cemetery founded in the mid 19th century. It rises northwards from the Perth Road, with terraces in its upper sections. It views over the Firth of Tay to the Tay Rail Bridge and Fife. The Western Cemetery is maintained and managed by Dundee City Council. [1]
The Cemeteries Act (Scotland) 1840 had permitted private companies to create burial grounds, unconnected to the historic church parish burial grounds or traditional burial grounds such as The Howff. This provided a religiously neutral burial ground (at a price) in a controlled environment, usually some distance from the town centres.
Dundee had planned a new cemetery north of the Howff Burial Ground [2] based on a curvilinear layout as already executed in burial grounds such as Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh (1842). However, such curvilinear layouts, whilst visually more attractive, were far more difficult both to manage and maintain, and to track graves once more than a few dozen were created.
A rectilinear layout was therefore chosen, based on more organised layouts such as found in Grange Cemetery in south Edinburgh (1847). The site chosen was Blackness House and Blackhouse Nurseries, to the west of Dundee, thereby gaining the name Western Cemetery. It had the huge advantage of already being laid out with paths and an established landscape, due to its previous nursery use. [3]
Unlike most traditional graveyards, the site was far from flat. However, as a nursery, soil depths were good, and the ground was well-drained. The southern aspect also created a sunnier position than normal and views from almost all parts of the cemetery (especially the upper sections). The terraces within the cemetery predate its conversion to cemetery use and belong to Blackness House.
Designed by James Findlater in 1852 (mainly the entrance gates) the cemetery did not fully open until around 1858. [4] From around 1860 the cemetery quickly became popular, especially amongst the wealthier families.
Lightning destroyed the dome on top of the eastern gatepost in 1953 and this has never been repaired. The site changed from private control to Council control in 1979. In 2014 the Council created a new section in the centre of the western wall for interment of ashes. [4]
A new northern terrace was created in 2014 as an area for private burials. [5]
Local names include Nucator, Mealmaker, Easson, Fyffe, Soutar, McMaster and Keiller.
The cemetery contains the Commonwealth war graves of 17 British service personnel of World War I and 10 of World War II.
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was 148,210, giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or 6,420/sq mi, the second-highest in Scotland. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland.
The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on its west by the Dean Gallery. A 20th-century extension lies detached from the main cemetery to the north of Ravelston Terrace. The main cemetery is accessible through the main gate on its east side, through a "grace and favour" access door from the grounds of Dean Gallery and from Ravelston Terrace. The modern extension is only accessible at the junction of Dean Path and Queensferry Road.
Lochee is an area in the west of Dundee, Scotland. Until the 19th century, it was a separate town, but was eventually surrounded by the expanding Dundee. It is notable for being home to Camperdown Works, which was the largest jute production site in the world.
The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral. Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only a small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone. Approximately 3,500 monuments exist here.
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland with a population of around 150,000 people. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast of the Central Lowlands of Scotland. The Dundee area has been settled since the Mesolithic with evidence of Pictish habitation beginning in the Iron Age. During the Medieval Era the city became a prominent trading port and was the site of many battles. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, the local jute industry caused the city to grow rapidly. In this period, Dundee also gained prominence due to its marmalade industry and its journalism, giving Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".
Keiller's marmalade is a Scottish marmalade, believed to have been the first commercial brand made in Great Britain. It was first manufactured by James Keiller in Dundee, Scotland, later creating James Keiller & Son, a brand name which became iconic in the 18th and 19th centuries, and has been sold several times.
James Thomson (1852–1927) was the City Engineer, City Architect, and Housing Director of Dundee, Scotland. He originally planned an immense Beaux Arts style Civic Centre covering the centre of Dundee. At the onset of First World War, his plans were scaled down and he retired in 1924.
Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around 14 acres (5.7 ha) of land on a slightly sloping site. It contains many tens of thousands of graves, including notable Victorian and Edwardian figures, the most eminent being the physician Sir James Young Simpson.
The Howff is a burial ground in the city of Dundee, Scotland. Established in 1564, it has one of the most important collections of tombstones in Scotland, and is protected as a category A listed building.
Camperdown Works was a jute works in Dundee, Scotland, which covered around 30 acres and at one point employed over 14,000, mostly female, workers. It was for a time the world's largest jute works and was owned by Cox Brothers.
Events from the year 1866 in Scotland.
Events from the year 1849 in Scotland.
Craigton Cemetery is a cemetery in south-west Glasgow dating from the mid-19th century. It stands on Berryknowes Road.
John Murray Robertson FRIBA was a Scottish architect who did much to change Dundee.
Charles Ower (1813–1876) and son (1849–1921) were father and son architects, operating in eastern Scotland.
Dr Alice Margaret Moorhead MD LRCP LRCSE LM (Dub), also known as Dr A.M. Moorhead, was one of the first practising female physicians and surgeons in Scotland. In the late 19th-century she established a practice and hospital for women in Dundee with her colleague Dr Emily Thomson.
Brigadier Surgeon George Alexander Moorhead MD LRCSI MRCPI was a British military surgeon. He was father to Alice Moorhead and Ethel Moorhead.
Alexander Riddoch DL was a Scottish merchant who served eight non-consecutive terms as Provost of Dundee. His nicknames included the "Old Hawk". "The Gudeman of Blacklunans" and "Archdeacon of the Self-Elected".
The timeline of Dundee history shows the significant events in the history of Dundee, Scotland.
Cemeteries in Scotland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argyll and Bute |  | |||
| Dundee | ||||
| East Dunbartonshire | ||||
| East Renfrewshire | ||||
| Edinburgh | ||||
| Falkirk | ||||
| Glasgow | ||||
| Highland | ||||
| Midlothian | ||||
| Perth and Kinross | ||||
