Southampton Old Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
located in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
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
Southampton Common
Southampton Common is a large open space to the north of the city centre of Southampton, England. It is bounded by the districts of Shirley, Bassett, Highfield and Portswood. The area supports a large variety of wildlife, including the largest recorded population of the internationally rare great...
. It covers an area of 27 acres (109,265.2 m²) and the total number of burials is estimated at 116.800. Currently there are 6 to 8 burials a year to existing family plots.
History
The town council approached John Claudius LoudonJohn Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...
. He was a well known landscaper, designer of arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
s and cemeteries including Histon Road Cemetery at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and Bath Abbey Cemetery
Bath Abbey Cemetery
The Anglican Bath Abbey Cemetery, officially dedicated as the Cemetery of St Peter and St Paul , was laid out by noted cemetery designer and landscape architect John Claudius Loudon in 1843 on a picturesque hillside site overlooking Bath, Somerset, England...
. Loudon, normally based in London, had been staying on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
whilst his wife was writing a book. The damp sea air had a debilitating affect on his health and he moved to take temporary lodgings in Southampton. Southampton Town council had no previous experience of laying out a cemetery and was pleased that Loudon was conveniently available. They paid him £37 for his services, but decided not to use his proposed layout. The Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
was not willing to concede that the proposed Anglican chapel would adjoin a nonconformist chapel.
Competition
As was customary in the planning of early cemeteries, the council held a competition and asked for suggested lay outs to replace the one made by Loudon. The design of William Rogers a local nurseryman and councillorCouncillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
was accepted and he was awarded the contract. The cemetery opened in May 1846 as a 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) site, in the 1860s expanded by 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) and in the 1880s the third phase with a feature of an avenue of yew trees was added.
Opening
The cemetery was opened on 7 May 1846 when the Bishop of Winchester consecrated part of the grounds. A section was left unconsecrated for the "Dissenters" (non-conformistsNonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
), while another part was provided for the Hebrew community. In 1856, the Roman Catholics were given ground within the cemetery for their use.
Famous incumbents
The cemetery has 45 headstones associated with the Titanic although no bodies were returned to Southampton.Edward Askew Sothern
Edward Askew Sothern
Edward Askew Sothern was an English actor known for his comic roles in Britain and America, particularly Lord Dundreary in Our American Cousin.- Early years :...
, Victorian comedy actor, famous as Lord Dundreary
Lord Dundreary
Lord Dundreary is a character of the 1858 British play Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor. He is the personification of a good-natured, brainless aristocrat. The role was created on stage by Edward Askew Sothern. The most famous scene involved Dundreary reading a letter from his even sillier...
in the play Our American Cousin
Our American Cousin
Our American Cousin is an 1858 play in three acts by English playwright Tom Taylor. The play is a farce whose plot is based on the introduction of an awkward, boorish but honest American, Asa Trenchard, to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family estate...
is buried here and General Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
has a tomb but his body was exhumed in 1989 and returned to his homeland.
The headstone of the grave of the aviation pioneer, Edwin Moon
Edwin Moon
Squadron Leader Edwin Rowland Moon DSO* was an English aviation pioneer who served in the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force during the First World War. He was a prisoner of war and he was twice awarded a DSO.-Family:...
, was made from the propeller of the aircraft in which he was killed in 1920.
Charles Rawden Maclean
Charles Rawden Maclean
Charles Rawden Maclean, also known as "John Ross" was born on 17 August 1815 in Fraserburgh and died 13 August 1880 at sea on the RMS Larne while on route to Southampton...
(1815–1880), alias "John Ross" friend of King Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
and an opponent of slavery, died on board a ship bound for Southampton and was buried in a pauper's grave. On 2 May 2009, the grave was marked with a headstone in a ceremony attended by representatives of his home town, Fraserburgh
Fraserburgh
Fraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
, and of the Zulu nation.
Charlie Barr
Charlie Barr
Charlie Barr , was an accomplished sailing skipper who captained the winning yacht in the America's Cup three times.-Early life:...
(1864–1911), the three times winner of the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
, is also buried inthe Cemetery.
There is also a memorial to the RMS Rhone
RMS Rhone
The RMS Rhone was a British packet ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on 29 October 1867 during a hurricane with the loss of approximately 123 lives...
, wrecked off the coast of Salt Island
Salt Island, British Virgin Islands
Salt Island is one of the islands of the archipelago of the British Virgin Islands located about 4.7 miles south east of Road Town, the main town on Tortola...
in the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
on 29 October 1867 during a hurricane with the loss of over 120 lives.
The Robert Pearce family grave is marked by a sculpture depicting the figures of Faith, Hope and Charity
Faith, Hope and Charity
Saints Faith, Hope and Charity , Church Slavonic: are a group of Christian martyred saints. Their mother is said to have been Sophia ; Sapientia is also mentioned in some accounts, though not as their mother. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, these were, in fact, two groups bearing the...
, surmounted by a draped urn. The memorial was sculpted by Richard Cockle Lucas
Richard Cockle Lucas
Richard Cockle Lucas was an English sculptor and photographer.-Career:Lucas was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the son of Richard Lucas and his wife, Martha Sutton ....
from Chilworth and is English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Listed, Grade II.