| AdminHistory | Sheffield General Cemetery was one of the earliest commercial cemeteries in Britain. In 1834 a company was formed to open a cemetery for Sheffield. The company purchased 7 acres of land and built an office building, gateways and a lodge. The first burial took place in 1836. The company made its money by selling burial rights in perpetuity and by carrying out funerals. The last sale of a right of burial took place in 1960. It was incorporated by the Sheffield General Cemetery Act 1846. As well as created a limited company the Act authorised the cemetery for Church of England burials as well as con-conformist use. At this time the Company purchased a further 10 acres.
A Church of England chapel was built in 1848 (and consecrated in 1850). A nonconformist chapel was already in existence. By the Companies Act 1948 it became the Sheffield General Cemetery Company Limited. The number of burials declined by the 1930s, and by the 1960s/70s only about 12 burials a year were taking place. By the latter part of the 20th century over 87,000 burials had taken place in 22,000 graves. By the 1960s - 1970s the cemetery was suffering from a lack of investment. Numerous proposals were suggested for the City Council to take over the ownership. This finally occurred in 1979 under the Sheffield General Cemetery Act 1979. All burials ceased in 1978. Half of the cemetery was cleared around this time to create an open park.
The site is now (2011) a Grade II* listed park. |
| CustodialHistory | On the abolition of South Yorkshire County Council on 31 March 1986, these records passed from South Yorkshire County Record Office (SYCRO) to the custody of Sheffield Archives. On 1 Apr 2009 the ownership of these items was assigned to Sheffield Archives. |