Weaste Cemetery is a public cemetery in

Weaste Weaste () is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. In 2014, Weaste and Seedley ward had a population of 12,616. History Historically in Lancashire, it is an industrial area, with many industrial estates. The A57 (Ec ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, Greater Manchester, in

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 ...

. Opened in 1857, it is the oldest of Salford's four cemeteries, covering 39 acres and containing over 332,000 graves.

Location

The cemetery lies south of Eccles New Road (

A57 road The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, England, Lincoln via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Greater Manchester, Eccles, Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and Manchester, then through t ...

) and is approached via Cemetery Road.

History

Salford was one of the earliest British municipalities to recognise that churchyards were getting full and that alternative burial grounds were required. When originally opened the cemetery included four chapels and a glazed summer house, which have since all been demolished. The first interment was that of the very popular MP,

Joseph Brotherton Joseph Brotherton (22 May 1783 – 7 January 1857) was a reforming British politician, Nonconformist minister and pioneering vegetarian. He has been described as the first vegetarian member of parliament. Biography He was born in Whittington ...

, who had campaigned for the cemetery and died just before its completion. Brotherton died on 7 January 1857 and his funeral took place a week later on 14 January. The cemetery was formally opened on 1 September 1857. Then known as Salford Borough Cemetery, the site was extended by in 1887, by which time there had been 124,500 burials. The original site was becoming full and a area bought earlier with the intention of being used as an addition had been compulsorily purchased for development of the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...

. At that time, the cemetery was making a profit of around £2,500 per annum. During 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 ...

at Christmas 1940, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

bomb fell on the cemetery during a raid on the nearby docks. Several headstones are still peppered with marks and holes caused by the shrapnel. Salford Council have mapped out a heritage trail for the cemetery and noteworthy graves have been provided with information panels. Occasional guided tours of the cemetery also take place. Several of the monuments in the cemetery are Grade II listed.

Notable interments

(1783–1857) - first MP for

* Martha Brotherton (–1861) - wife of above and writer of first vegetarian cookbook *

Elkanah Armitage Sir Elkanah Armitage DL (6 September 1794 – 26 November 1876) was a British industrialist and Liberal politician. Early life He was born the third of six sons of Elkanah Armitage, a farmer and linen weaver from Failsworth, Lancashire. He le ...

(1794–1876) - Lord Mayor of Manchester *

Charles Hallé Sir Charles Hallé (born Karl Halle; 11 April 181925 October 1895) was an Anglo-German pianist and conductor, and founder of The Hallé orchestra in 1858. Life Hallé was born Karl Halle on 11 April 1819 in Hagen, Westphalia. After settling ...

(1819–1895) - founder of Hallé Orchestra *

Mark Addy Mark Ian Addy (born 14 January 1964) is an English actor. His roles in British television include Detective Constable Gary Boyle in the sitcom '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–1996) and Hercules in the fantasy drama series ''Atlantis'' (2013–2 ...

(1838–1890) - awarded Albert Medal for saving over 50 people from drowning in the Irwell *

Eddie Colman Edward Colman (1 November 1936 – 6 February 1958) was an English football player and one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster. Colman was born on Archie Street in Ordsall, Salford, Lanca ...

(1936–1958) - Manchester United player killed in Munich air disaster * William Norman, VC (1832–1896) - Awarded Victoria Cross for courage in the

Crimea War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the d ...

* Edward Hardy (1884–1960) - MP for Salford South * William Johnson Galloway (1868-1931) - MP for Manchester South West * Four survivors of the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

File:Joseph Brotherton grave.JPG, Joseph Brotherton monument File:Elkanah Armitage tomb.JPG, Tomb of Elkanah Armitage File:Sir Charles Hallé grave.JPG, Sir Charles Hallé monument File:Mark Addy monument.JPG, Mark Addy monument File:Eddie Colman grave.JPG, Grave of Eddie Colman File:William Norman grave.JPG, Grave of William Norman, VC File:Edward Hardy headstone.JPG, Grave of Edward Hardy File:Galloway grave, Weaste Cemetery.JPG, Grave of Galloway family

War graves

The cemetery contains the graves of 373 Commonwealth service personnel who died during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

s, plus numerous memorials to servicemen buried abroad. Some of the 274 First World War dead lie in war grave plots in both the

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 ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

sections, each plot having a Screen Memorial listing the dead buried within them, while the 99 Second World War dead are scattered amidst the cemetery and there is also a special memorial listing 7 personnel buried in graves that could not be marked.

References

{{coord, 53.477, -2.303, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Cemeteries in Greater Manchester Buildings and structures in Salford 1857 establishments in England