Forgotten Cemetary - Dec 09 - Sheffield

[cstevens]

Today I searched out a Forgotten Cemetery that I had heard about, it sickens me that the powers that be have let this sacred resting place fall into such disrepair. Its been there since the 12th centry, and was closed in the 80's and then our "modern" society allows this.....anyway, heres a few images.

A complete set of images from the day can be seen here
http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/graves/

 

[cstevens]

A bit of history of the site:

Wardsend Cemetery has a distinct military influence due to its close proximity to Hillsborough Barracks. The obelisk monument commemorates the soldiers of 6th, 19th, 24th, 33rd, 51st, 55th Regiments of Foot, Victorian Army, who died whilst at Hillsborough Barracks during the period 1866 - 1869.

A separate grave belongs to Lieutenant George Lambert V.C., an Irishman, born in Markethill, County Armagh, in December 1819. A sergeant in the 84th Regiment (York & Lancaster Regiment), he was promoted twice without purchase, and was awarded his Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery during the Indian Mutiny at Oonao in 1857. His death was due to the breaking of a blood vessel on the parade ground of Hillsborough Barracks on February 10th 1860.

There are also memorials to several soldiers who gave their lives during both world wars.

Some of the 240 victims of The Great Sheffield Flood of the night of 11th/12th of March 1864, when the Dale Dyke reservoir at Bradfield, collapsed, were laid to rest in Wardsend Cemetery, including the children of Paymaster Sergeant Foulds, Isabella, aged 5 and John, aged 3, of Hillsborough Barracks, also Mr. Joseph Goddard and his wife Sarah, of Malin Bridge.

Of the 213 bodies which were found, there were 35 which were buried without being identified. In addition to the 240 people who were drowned there were 50 horses, 38 cows, 8 donkeys, 258 pigs, 267 fowls and 72 tame rabbits allegedly lost!!

Other epitaphs of interest are dedications to a number of Bible readers, one a member of the Philadelphian Wesleyan church; the Secretary of Sheffield Angling Association; widows referred to as relicts, and a reference to a 15 year old boy tragically killed at work in a colliery accident.

Wardsend dates back as far as 1161 and was then called wereldesend.(relating to a forest clearing), by 1336 the spelling had been changed to Werlsend and by 1388 it was call Wordesent.

Wardsend House was built on this site in 1477 and stood for 400 years,before being demolished in 1957.

By 1901 there had been some 20,000 interments on the site and the new area was concecrated in 1859 by Archbishop musgrave of York. It is said to be the only cemetry in the uk with a railway running through it.

It was also frequented by grave robbers,who sold the bodies to the medical school.

The final burial took place in 1977,when the re-internment of remains from a building site close to the Cathedral took place. It was officialy closed in 1988.

 

[Krypton]

Some very atmospheric shots there

It saddens me that they would pull down a house that had been standing since 1477!

 

[TK421]

Excellent set of photos there, I see what seems like an old churchyard from the train, just North of Sheffiled, is this same place?

 

[cstevens]

To see this from the train you would have to look up, so probably not, the entire site is set on a steep hilside (god only knows how they dug graves back in the 12th centry).

Wardsend House was in fact demolised after standing for 400 years - discusting!, I am not sure on the detail of the Chapel that also once stood there, but only the foundations of this are somewhat visable now (I am not sure where though)

Local rumor/legend, says that an American Red Indian was burried there to, he was one of the onterage of Bufflo Bill when he came to Sheffield last century, he apparrantly came down with a fever and died so he was layed to rest in Wardsend.

If you look through my enture set, you will notice a gravestone that's been chiselled in half so that the railway could erect the fencing? Not moved a foot or so, just chiselled in half! Whoever did that should be bloody hung!

There are some really disturbing reports linked with the site, there is a history of grave robbers in the 1860-1880s and a mass grave robbing by the sexton, with links to the owner and the local vicar all implicated in the deeds.

A really detailed report on the body snatching here:
[url]http://www.chrishobbs.com/agraveaffair1862.htm[/URL]

And another here:
[ame="http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=112252"]http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=112252[/ame]

 

[night crawler]

Some excellent photo's there but the best are on your site. See what you mean about the gravestone being chilled in half. You should send a copy to Network rail and ask what type of person do they employ who would be so disrespectful as to do this to a grave. They could have moved it. Great photo's though , I'd love to get some like that

 

[Seahorse]

Initially shocked.

And yet.

Thinking about it, if that happened to my last resting place, I guess you could call it the Ultimate Explore. You are simply part of the natural decay that we all love so much.

YAY!!! to graveyards returning to nature.

 

[cstevens]

Cheers all for the comments, its not the normal urbex I know (in fact I went from here over to Jacobs http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/jacobs/), but this cemetery needs to be seen to believed.

This was a first outing with a new camera for me, so please with the results.

Save you having to look through them all at http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/graves here is the fence picture.

I think your right, I might actually send this to them and also the Sheffield Star...pretty appauling if you ask me!

 

[kevsy21]

shame to see it left and forgotten,nice pics and report

 

[james.s]

Well at least they can rest in peace now
Nice shots.

 

[Dieter_Schmidt]

Cheers all for the comments, its not the normal urbex I know (in fact I went from here over to Jacobs http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/jacobs/), but this cemetery needs to be seen to believed.

This was a first outing with a new camera for me, so please with the results.

Save you having to look through them all at http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/graves here is the fence picture.

Probably took a mash to it.

 

[UrbanX]

Wow! Stunning place, have you ever been to highgate in London? More mainstream but similar feel. Look forward to more reports!

 

[RichardH]

I think your right, I might actually send this to them and also the Sheffield Star...pretty appauling if you ask me!

It's not often that I get angry, but this photograph hit paydirt.

It isn't an area of law with which I'm familiar. In fact, the law governing burial sites and the desecration thereof is something I've never studied. However, I know a man who has, and I'll be seeing him sometime between now and the new year. I shall seek his opinion. If the people who erected the fence did not own the graveyard and grave markers, then it would appear on the facts to be criminal damage at least.

Even if smashing up a gravestone - which could easily have been removed and laid flat - is not illegal in this context, it's certainly immoral. I would bring it to the attention of as many meejya outlets as you can. Let them do something worthwhile for a change.

 

[mexico75]

Great shots, personally I think it looks better the way it is now. I'd much rather end up somewhere like that than in a neatly manicured new cemetary. The fence thing is pretty disgusting though

P.s. judging from the poppy crosses its a soldiers grave as well which makes it worse.

 

[cstevens]

I have sent a note to Network Rail on this matter:

"I would like to bring to your attention a very disturbing matter.

I have been recently documenting a forgotten cemetery in Sheffield (Wardsend), this cemetery is the only one in the UK that has a rail running through it.

I would like you to study one of my photographs below:
http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/graves/images/P1000562-LR.jpg

Please then let me know if you as a company feel that desecrating someone's headstone to lay your fence is acceptable. I am sure you can agree that you could easily have righted the drop stone, or simply removed and laid the stone flat (which is acceptable).

In this case your workers have smashed the stone in half in order to lay your fence. You might also notice the poppy crosses, so it’s likely that this is a soldiers grave which makes it worse.

Let me know you comments, I would be interested to hear them!!!"

 

[mexico75]

Give them a couple of days then send it to the Sun

 

[cstevens]

Oh believe me, I will unlease the press on them

 

[RichardH]

P.s. judging from the poppy crosses its a soldiers grave as well which makes it worse.

I'm not sure I agree that it being a soldier's grave makes the desecration worse, at least in my mind. However, those crosses are relatively new; a few years old a most. That would indicate that, even though the cemetery may be forgotten, this grave is still visited.

It would be bad enough that an abandoned gravestone was smashed, but can you imagine being a grave visitor and seeing such vandalism, apparently officially sanctioned?

 

[godzilla73]

A very interesting thread with great pics. thanks!

 

[night crawler]

I have sent a note to Network Rail on this matter:

"I would like to bring to your attention a very disturbing matter.

I have been recently documenting a forgotten cemetery in Sheffield (Wardsend), this cemetery is the only one in the UK that has a rail running through it.

I would like you to study one of my photographs below:
http://www.cm-photos.co.uk/events/graves/images/P1000562-LR.jpg

Please then let me know if you as a company feel that desecrating some one's headstone to lay your fence is acceptable. I am sure you can agree that you could easily have righted the drop stone, or simply removed and laid the stone flat (which is acceptable).

In this case your workers have smashed the stone in half in order to lay your fence. You might also notice the poppy crosses, so it’s likely that this is a soldiers grave which makes it worse.

Let me know you comments, I would be interested to hear them!!!"

Spot on. I used to cut the grass in a grave yard and quite often moved some old headstone that had fallen over out of the way. People used to get upset with you for doing it I'd hate to think what the relatives would have thought of the cut headstone.