Southampton Old Cemetery - Hampshire
Posted by: 
Norfolk12
N 50° 55.236 W 001° 24.798
30U E 611525 N 5642194
A varied collection of Tombs and Headstones in this vast Cemetery, in Southampton, which includes two churches, A Belgian War Memorial
and several interesting last resting places.
Waymark Code: WM9RPB
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/26/2010
Views: 7
Parts of this cemetery are listed Grade II on English Heritage's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Established by the Southampton Cemetery Act of 1843 It was landscaped by W H Rogers, a local nurseryman and the first burial took place on 8th May 1846.
The cemetery was extended northwards in 1863 and eastwards in 1886.
PARTS OF THE CEMETERY HAVE RETURNED TO NATURE AND CARE IS NEEDED IF GOING OFF THE FOOTPATHS.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"
Southampton Old Cemetery is a cemetery located in Southampton, England.
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 (110,000 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 Loudon a well known landscaper, designer of arboretums and cemeteries including Histon at Cambridge and Bath Abbey. Loudon, normally based in London, had been staying on the Isle of Wight whilst his wife was 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 was not willing to concede that the proposed Anglican chapel would adjoin a non conformist 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 councillor was accepted and he was awarded the contract. The cemetery opened in May 1846 as a 10 acres (40,000 m2) site, in the 1860s expanded by 5 acres (20,000 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-conformists), 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 gravestone of Charles Rawden Maclean, alias "John Ross" in Southampton Old CemeteryThe cemetery has 45 headstones associated with the Titanic although no bodies were returned to Southampton.
Edward Askew Sothern, Victorian comedy actor, famous as Lord Dundreary in the play Our American Cousin is buried here and General Rosas of Argentina 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, was made from the propeller of the aircraft in which he was killed in 1920.
Charles Rawden Maclean (1815–1880), alias "John Ross" friend of King Shaka 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, and of the Zulu nation."
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