City Road Cemetery History

The first cremation at City Road took place on 24th April 1905.  The newly completed crematorium was only the tenth to be built in the UK.  The service in remembrance of Eliza Hawley from Upperthorpe, Sheffield was attended not only by her family but by many other interested parties.  The Town Clerk, the architect that designed the crematorium and even Mrs Hawley’s medical attendant came.   It was reported that the service took 90 minutes to complete.   Following the cremation, Mrs Hawley’s remains were placed in a niche in the 'columbarium', where they remain to this day.  

 

 

 

On 25th August 1907 a party of day-trippers set off for Derbyshire from the George Hotel on Boston Street.  Unfortunately, the trip ended in disaster.  On its way back to Sheffield in heavy rain, the charabanc swerved, collided with a telegraph pole and then hit a wall, whilst trying to overtake a two-horse carriage near Moscar Top.  Three of the passengers were killed, including a young child.  Twelve others were seriously injured, including one woman who died later from her injuries.  It was the city’s first serious motor accident and caused widespread shock.  The victims are buried in plots 5545, 5548 and 5549 in section EE1 of the cemetery.

 

The memorial was erected to commemorate members of the Belgian Army and Belgian refugees who died in Sheffield during the First World War.  It was refurbished in 2004 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

The chapel was donated to Sheffield City Council by the Duke of Norfolk (himself a Catholic) for the use at burial services.  Many of the 'Little Sisters of the Poor', who nursed at the Shrewsbury Hospital (Almshouses) are buried here.  The area in front of the chapel, known as the Priest Vaults, was not originally designated as land for burial.  However, a special resolution was passed by the Burial Board, that enabled the Catholic Diocese to bury their Priests and Canons in a vault on the land.  The chapel closed in 1980 due to lack of funds and use.