The Cholera Monument - Sheffield, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 22.558 W 001° 27.552
30U E 602499 N 5915201
This tall obelisk was erected in 1835 to commemorate victims of a cholera outbreak in 1832 and stands close to the burial grounds of the victims.
Waymark Code: WMZM3Q
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/28/2018
Views: 0
"The Cholera Monument is a memorial in Sheffield, England, to the victims of a cholera epidemic of 1832. 402 victims of the disease were buried in grounds between Park Hill and Norfolk Park adjoining Clay Wood. Money from the treasurers of the Board of Health was set aside for a monument for the site.
The monument was designed by M. E. Hadfield, sculpted by Earp and Hobbs and completed in 1835. It is a neo-Gothic pinnacle and has a plaque naming John Blake, Master Cutler in 1832 and a victim of the epidemic and noting that the foundation stone was laid by the poet James Montgomery.
The monument is situated in gardens laid out around the monument in the 1850s and next to Clay Wood, an ancient woodland. These were given to the city by the Duke of Norfolk in 1930. A shaded path laid between 1971 and 1995 traverses the woods from Fitzwalter Road to the monument gardens. The monument was struck by lightning in 1990 and the top removed for safety. Rebuilding began in 2005 thanks to a grant, and was completed in 2006.
A clay cobbled mound art installation was erected in 2004, representing the individuals who lost their lives.
The monument is grade II listed, while the grounds are a conservation area which has received a Green Flag Award."
link
A plaque in front of the obelisk has the following information.
THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF 402
PERSONS WHO DIED FROM ASIATIC CHOLERA DURING THE
EPIDEMIC OF 1832, & WERE BURIED IN THESE GROUNDS.
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONS ATTACKED BY THIS
DISEASE WAS 1347 AND AMONGST THOSE WHO DIED WAS THE
MASTER CUTLER FOR THE YEAR MR JOHN BLAKE.
THE FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID BY JAMES MONTGOMERY
THE POET, 11TH DECEMBER 1834
THE MONUMENT WAS COMPLETED AND THE TOP STONE
PLACED IN POSITION 11TH APRIL 1835