Key Hill Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
(not being in a churchyard) in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It opened on 23 May 1836. Located in Hockley
Hockley, Birmingham
Hockley is a central inner-city district in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies about one mile north-west of the city centre, and is served by the Jewellery Quarter station...
, the city's Jewellery Quarter
Jewellery Quarter
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....
, it is one of two cemeteries there (the other being Warstone Lane Cemetery
Warstone Lane Cemetery
Warstone Lane Cemetery, , also called Brookfields Cemetery, Church of England Cemetery, or Mint Cemetery, is a cemetery dating from 1847 in Birmingham, England. It is one of two cemeteries located in the city's Jewellery Quarter, in Hockley...
). It is no longer available for new burials.
Many of the fittings and memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
s are of architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
istic merit - the entrance gates (piers by Charles Edge) and railings are Grade II listed. The Greek Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
chapel by Charles Edge has been demolished. The cemetery is itself grade II* on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...
. A campaign group, the Friends of Key Hill & Warstone Lane Cemeteries, lobby to have the cemetery restored. The entrance piers and gates on Icknield Street have now been restored and further works to the entrance at Key Hill are planned to commence in 2010/2011.
Burials
A comprehensive record of memorial inscriptions of existing memorials (and of some of those removed by B'ham City Council) may be consulted through The Jewellery Quarter Research Group's web site at: jqrg.orgNotable people buried there include:
- Marie Bethell BeauclercMarie Bethell BeauclercMarie Bethell Beauclerc was a pioneer in the teaching of Pitman's shorthand and typing in Birmingham, England. In 1888 she was the first woman to be appointed as a teacher in an English boys' public school. The school was Rugby...
- First female reporter (i.e. Pitman's shorthand recorder) in England. Pioneer in teaching of shorthand and typing in Birmingham. First female teacher in an English boys' public school (Rugby). (b 10 Oct 1845, d 19 Sept 1897), (plot 961.I) - Alfred BirdAlfred BirdAlfred Bird was a British food manufacturer and chemist. He was born in Nympsfield, Gloucestershire, England in 1811 was the inventor of a series of food products mostly now taken for granted...
- inventor of egg-free custard and baking powder, (d 18 December 1878, age 67), (plot 164.H) - Joseph Chamberlain (senior) - father of the politician Joseph Chamberlain, Master of the Cordwainer's Company of LondonWorshipful Company of CordwainersThe Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Cordwainers were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain" , the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordova, Spain...
, (plot 622.K) - Joseph ChamberlainJoseph ChamberlainJoseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
and his two wives, Harriet and Florence - Mayor and reformer of Birmingham, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, plot 610.K) - John Henry ChamberlainJohn Henry ChamberlainJohn Henry Chamberlain , generally known professionally as J H Chamberlain, was a nineteenth century English architect....
- local architect, (plot 701.K) - Robert Lucas Chance - director of Chance BrothersChance BrothersChance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....
, glass makers of Smethwick, (d 24 November 1897, age 76), (plot 902.K) - Robert William DaleRobert William DaleRobert William Dale was an English Congregationalist church leader.-Life:Dale was born in London and educated at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, for the Congregational ministry...
- preacher, (b 1 December 1829, d 13 March 1895), (637.K) - George DawsonGeorge Dawson (preacher)George Dawson was an English nonconformist minister.-Ministry:He was born in London and educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and the University of Glasgow....
- preacher, (d 30 November 1876, age 55), (plot 507.O) - Joseph GillottJoseph GillottJoseph Gillott was an English pen-maker and patron of the arts.- Pen manufacturing :For some time he was a working cutler in his home town Sheffield, but in 1821 he moved to Birmingham, where he found employment in the steel toy trade, the technical name for the manufacture of steel buckles,...
- pen manufacturer, (b 1799, d 5 January 1872), (plot 374-375.E) - James Hinks - developer and manufacturer of oil lamps (company run by brother, Joseph HinksJoseph HinksJoseph Hinks was a British inventor, working in Birmingham. He patented improvements to oil lamps, marketing the resultant Duplex lamp.Brother of James Hinks he took over his company, James Hinks & Son, of 91-96 Great Hampton Street and 66 Hockley Street, Birmingham in 1839, patenting a duplex...
), (d 1905), (plot 389.P) - Harriet MartineauHarriet MartineauHarriet Martineau was an English social theorist and Whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist....
- author, (b 12 June 1802, d 27 June 1876) (plot 790/I) - Robert Martineau - Mayor of Birmingham 1846, JPJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, Bailiff of Lench's Trust, (d 17 June 1870, age 72) (plot 790/I) - Robert Francis Martineau - JPJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, Secretary of the BMIBirmingham and Midland InstituteThe Birmingham and Midland Institute , now on Margaret Street in the city centre of Birmingham, England was a pioneer of adult scientific and technical education and today offers Arts and Science lectures, exhibitions and concerts. It is a registered charity...
, council member of Mason's CollegeMason Science CollegeMason Science College was founded by Josiah Mason in 1875, the buildings of which were opened in Edmund Street, Birmingham, England on 1 October 1880 by Thomas Henry Huxley...
and then University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, (d 15 December 1909, age 78) (plot 790/I) - Sir Thomas Martineau - Mayor of Birmingham 1884-7, (b 4 November 1828, d 28 July 1893) (plot 134.K)
- A. Follett OslerA. Follett OslerAbraham Follett Osler , known as A. Follett Osler, was a pioneer in the measurement of meteorological and chronological data in Birmingham, England.-Early life:...
- glass manufacturer, developer of time-pieces, ( d 26 April 1903, age 95), (plot 611.K) - John Skirrow WrightJohn Skirrow WrightJohn Skirrow Wright was one of the prominent pioneers and social improvers of the 19th century in Birmingham, England. He was involved in many aspects of Birmingham's mid-Victorian life that were for the benefit of its citizens including the General Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce, The School of...
- reformer, MP, (d 15 April 1880, age 68), (plot 218.E) - Edwin YatesEdwin YatesGeorge Edwin Yates was an Australian Labor Party representative for the South Australian Division of Adelaide in the Australian House of Representatives. He was first elected at the 1914 Adelaide by-election, and was defeated at the 1919 election. He regained office at the 1922 election until he...
- Mayor of Birmingham 1865, (d 30 June 1874, age 54), (plot 426.K)