General Cemetery

The General Cemetery opened in 1836 'at some distance in the countryside' in a 'remote and undisturbed' location. It became established as the principal burial ground in Victorian Sheffield containing the graves of 87,000 people. The site today is a Grade II* listed park which is the highest listed in Sheffield, and one of only four in South Yorkshire. It is a Conservation Area, Local Nature Reserve and Area of Natural History Interest. One of the earliest commercial cemeteries in Britain, it contains the largest collection of listed buildings and monuments in Sheffield, ten in total including Grade II listed catacombs, Anglican Chapel and monuments with the Gatehouse, Non-conformist Chapel and the Egyptian Gateway, each listed at Grade II*. There is the largest single grave plot in the country, holding the bodies of 96 paupers. It is also home to many important figures in Sheffield history such as Mark Firth, the steel manufacturer, and Samuel Holberry, the Chartist. The Cemetery was closed for burial in 1978, when half the Cemetery was demolished to make way for a green space. The Sheffield General Cemetery Trust carries out education tours and workshops; conservation work to maintain and enhance the monuments, the landscape and the paths; and historical research of the Cemetery and its occupants. The aim is to encourage everyone to enjoy this historical site by walking its paths, learning its history or simply as a quiet place to sit and contemplate.