St Sepulchre's Cemetery
St Sepulchre's Cemetery is located in Jericho, central Oxford, England.
 View of St Sepulchre's Cemetery. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1849 |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Type | Public (closed) |
| Size | ? |
| No. of graves | ? |
This cemetery was opened in Walton Street, Oxford in 1848 as a parish cemetery for four of the twelve parishes of Oxford (St Giles, St Paul, St Michael, and St Mary Magdalen). All the existing Oxford churchyards were overcrowded after many hundreds of years of burials, and two other cemeteries Osney Cemetery and Holywell Cemetery.[1] were opened in the same year to cater for the other eight Oxford parishes. In 1855, new burials were forbidden in all Oxford city churchyards, apart from in existing vaults.
The cemetery was originally surrounded on two sides by the Lucy factory, the former Eagle Ironworks, but this industrial site has now been redeveloped for housing.
St Sepulchre's Cemetery itself became overcrowded later in Victorian times.[2] The cemetery is now unused and had become overgrown, and so the Friends of St Sepulchre's Cemetery group was formed who regularly meet to clear vegetation from the grounds, making it a more hospitable open space and protecting the memorials from damage.
Before the cemetery was created, Walton Manor Farm used to be on this site.[3]
Access to the cemetery is through iron gates attached to a Gothic lodge off Walton Street.
The cemetery is listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[4]
Notable burials
People buried here include:
- Edward Caird, Master of Balliol College, Oxford.
- John Cavell, proprietor of what was once Oxford's leading department store, Elliston & Cavell, and mayor of Oxford.
- Thomas Combe, an early Superintendent of the Oxford University Press and benefactor of St Barnabas Church, both nearby.
- Benjamin Jowett, a Victorian Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and Master of Balliol College.
- George Uglow Pope popularly known as Rev. G.U. Pope or just G.U. Pope, a Christian missionary who spent many years in Tamil Nadu and translated many Tamil texts into English.
- Henry John Stephen Smith (1826-1883) mathematician
- John O. Westwood, entomologist and archaeologist.
References
- Burial grounds in the city of Oxford, Burials in Oxford.
- An Overcrowded Cemetery, The New York Times, May 8, 1887.
- Christopher Hibbert and Edward Hibbert (editors), The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. Macmillan, 1988, page 490. ISBN 978-0-333-39917-0.
- Historic England, "St Sepulchre's Cemetery (1001682)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 December 2016
External links
- Friends of St Sepulchre's Cemetery, with biographies of many people buried here
- Oxford Guide information
- Jericho Echo information
