![Lych gate to the cemetery - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Lych_gate_to_the_cemetery_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1380878.jpg)
Osney Cemetery is a disused
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
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 ...
in
Osney
Osney or Osney Island (; an earlier spelling of the name is ''Oseney'') is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. In modern times the name is applied to a community also known as Osney Town astride Botley Road, just we ...
, west
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
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 ...
. It is in
Mill Street south of
Botley Road
Botley Road is the main road into the centre of Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road ( A34) to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close t ...
and near the site of
Osney Abbey
Osney Abbey or Oseney Abbey, later Osney Cathedral, was a house of Augustinian canons at Osney in Oxfordshire. The site is south of the modern Botley Road, down Mill Street by Osney Cemetery, next to the railway line just south of Oxford s ...
. It borders the
Cherwell Valley Line railway a short distance south of
Oxford railway station
Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station, one of two serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road. It is on the line for trains betwe ...
.
The cemetery was established in 1848, along with
Holywell Cemetery
Holywell Cemetery is next to St Cross Church in Oxford, England. The cemetery is behind the church in St Cross Road, south of Holywell Manor on Manor Road and north of Longwall Street, in the parish of Holywell.
History
In the mid 19th cen ...
and
St Sepulchre's Cemetery, because central Oxford churchyards were becoming full. In 1855, new burials were forbidden at all Oxford city churches, apart from in existing vaults.
The entrance has a
lych gate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...
.
The cemetery contains 25
Commonwealth war graves
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 mi ...
from 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 ...
and also one British soldier killed in the
Second World War
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 ...
.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
The cemetery is now closed to new burials. It is still a large green space in central Oxford. It has been proposed to plant more native trees in the area.
Osney Cemetery planting project
West Oxford Wildlife Group
2006.
See also
* Holywell Cemetery
Holywell Cemetery is next to St Cross Church in Oxford, England. The cemetery is behind the church in St Cross Road, south of Holywell Manor on Manor Road and north of Longwall Street, in the parish of Holywell.
History
In the mid 19th cen ...
* St Sepulchre's Cemetery
* Wolvercote Cemetery
Wolvercote Cemetery is a cemetery in the parish of Wolvercote and district of Cutteslowe in Oxford, England. Its main entrance is on Banbury Road and it has a side entrance in Five Mile Drive. It has a funeral chapel, public toilets and a small a ...
References
External links
Monumental inscriptions
(available on CD)
Mursejlerne photographs: Osney Cemetery
*
1848 establishments in England
Cemeteries in Oxford
Anglican cemeteries in the United Kingdom
Christianity in Oxford
Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England
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