Boston Cemetery is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

located in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The cemetery dates back to 1855 and was laid out by Darlington architect James Pigott Pritchett junior.

History

In 1854, a competition was held to design two chapels, a lodge and entrance gates for the new Boston Cemetery. The first prize was won by Pritchett & Sons of York, the firm of James Pigott Pritchett senior, but it was his son James Pigott Pritchett junior, who had just established his own firm in Darlington, who attended the meeting in July 1854 and was commissioned to prepare plans. He provided the layout for the grounds and plans for the twin chapels and a lodge, all in the gothic style. The layout of the cemetery, lodge and Anglican chapel remain intact, though the nonconformist chapel was demolished in 1961.

Notable burials

Herbert Ingram Herbert Ingram (27 May 1811 – 8 September 1860) was a British journalist and politician. He is considered the father of pictorial journalism through his founding of ''The Illustrated London News'', the first illustrated magazine. He was a L ...

, founder of ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

War Graves

The cemetery contains the war graves of 82 Commonwealth service personnel. There are 50 from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 30 from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The graves from the former war are scattered throughout the cemetery, most of those from the latter war are in a special war graves plot, behind which is a memorial to civilians of Boston who died by enemy action in the same war. There is also one non-war grave in the war graves plot.Boston Cemetery
CWGC Cemetery Report. One of the most curious graves is that of Major

Walter George Burnett Dickinson Major Walter George Burnett Dickinson FRSE FRCVS TD (22 April 1858 – 6 August 1914) was a British veterinary surgeon, and (officially rather than correctly) one of the first "victims" of the First World War. He did not die in battle, but of a ...

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRCVS TD (1858–1914) who died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

36 hours after the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

whilst requisitioning horses in the Boston area. Due to

CWGC The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

rules this still qualifies as an official "war death", making him, on paper at least, the first Major to die serving in the war. Another grave is that of Linley Moreton Phillips, an Australian civilian prisoner of war in

Ruhleben internment camp Ruhleben internment camp was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I. It was located in Ruhleben, a former ''Vorwerk'' manor to the west of Berlin, now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The ...

from 1914 to 1918, who died on ship returning to Boston.

References

External links

Boston Victorian Cemetery Trust

Boston Cemetery, Boston, Lincolnshire, England
- Ennever/Enever Boston Cemetery
- Billion Graves--> * {{Cemeteries in England 1855 establishments in England Cemeteries in Lincolnshire Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England Boston, Lincolnshire