User:Displaced1980/St Woolos Cemetery

St Woolos Cemetery (officially named Newport and St Woolos new Cemetery) is the main cemetery in the Welsh City of Newport, situated 1 mile to the west of the Church in Wales cathedral known by the same name. It contains 4 chapels, and various ornate memorials dating back to the early Victorian period, and was the first public cemetery in the UK. It remains in use to this present day as the main cemetery for burials in Newport, and has been used as a filming location for the BBC Sci-Fi, Dr Who.

History

In the first half of the 19th century, the graveyard immediately outside the Cathedral had become full, but burials continued to take place there in the shallow soil covering the existing graves. This became a public health hazard, and "represented a ghoulish aspect with coffins protruding from the ground, many broken open with the grisly contents spilling out." In 1842, a new cemetery was opened near to the cathedral on Clifton Road, however, this too quickly became full, and new arrangements had to be made.

Land was obtained from the Tredegar Estate between Risca Road and Bassaleg Road, and a new cemetery was constructed - the first municipally owned cemetery in Britain. The first internment in the new cemetery was that of a sailor named Cooper, and took place on 1 July 1854.

The cathedral graveyard continued to be used for new internments until it was finally closed in 1866, though in latter years these had primarily been the additional internments in existing family lairs. Other chapels in the town continued to make use of their own graveyards until 1869, by which time they had all closed. From that point forward, all burials in Newport took place in the new cemetery, until a second public cemetery was opened in Christchurch, Newport in 1883.

Cemetery Listed Buildings and Structures

The cemetery contains a number of listed buildings, mostly from the Victorian period.

Lodge

51°34′53.2″N 3°0′57.04″W

Completed in 1855, the original lodge is constructed of "coursed rubble stonework and ashlar quoins and window surrounds." This building has been identified by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) as being under threat. As a result, it was the subject of emergency recording in 2004, and is currently unoccupied and disused. The original lodge is located at the main entrance to the cemetery on Bassaleg Road, as opposed to the more modern lodge located on Risca Road, which remains occupied, but is not a listed structure.

Anglican Chapel

51°34′54.37″N 3°0′58.18″W

This is a Gothic style building, entered via a columned porch in the gable. The building is one of a pair of symmetrical chapels facing each other across a circular plot near the main Bassaleg Road entrance to the cemetery. The Anglican Chapel is the easterly building of this pairing, with the Non-confirmist chapel at the west. The building has no tower or spire, however, does have a bell-gable with space for a single bell where the roof line changes between the nave and the chancel. This building was in use as a chapel up until 1997, , although as of 2011 it appears to be unused, with the inside of the porch being home to pigeons, and the porch floor littered with bird related debris.

Non-conformist Chapel

51°34′54.72″N 3°0′54.35″W

A Romanesque style building, forming the westerly building in the symmetrical pair of chapels at the main entrance on Bassaleg Road. This chapel features a distinctive circular tower with a conical, slate roof over the chancel. As with the Anglican Chapel, RCAMH recorded the building still being used as a chapel in 1997, however, as of 2011, the chapel appears to be disused, in a similar condition to the Anglican chapel.

Roman Catholic Chapel

51°35′0.65″N 3°1′6.5″W

This building stands alone within the cemetery grounds, due south from the Risca Road/Fields Park Road roundabout, and unlike the other chapels, the windows of this chapel have now been bricked up. RCAMH recorded this building as being 'disused' in 1997.

Synagogue and Jew's Burial Ground

51°35′3.73″N 3°1′3.41″W

The Synagogue and Jewish cemetery are situated outside and to the North of the main cemetery, within Coed-Melyn Park. The entrance to the synagogue is on Risca Road, to the east of the Fields Park Road roundabout. This small octagonal building is a modern extension to an older Jewish chapel of Rest. The buildings small stained glass windows contain a Star of David motif. The burial ground is situated at the rear of the synagogue, containing large gravestones with Hebrew inscriptions. As of 2011, the burial ground has been padlocked, and the gravestones and enclosing walls show evidence of vandalism.

Mortuary Chapel

51°34′59.3″N 3°1′1.35″W

The Mortuary Chapel, situated near to the mortuary on the thoroughfare between the Basslag Road and Risca Road entrances, is also grade II listed.

Eastern Entrance

51°34′52.69″N 3°0′56.08″W

The gates, piers and flanking walls at the main entrance to the cemetery from Bassaleg Road are also listed. This entrance provides vehicular access access to the cemetery.

Notable Memorials

In addition to the buildings within the cemetery, there are a number of notable memorials within the site.

Newport Docks Disaster Memorial

The cemetery contains a coarse finished, granite obelisk in memory of the victims of the Newport Docks disaster. On 2 July 1909, 39 men were killed when the retaining wall in the excavation which would become an extension to the Alexandra Dock collapsed, trapping the men in mud, water and debris.

At the foot of the memorial are three brass plaques. The first contains a list of the names of the men killed in the disaster. Some of the men were known solely by their surname, as recorded in the pay book, as they were migrant workers employed temporarily on the docks site. The second plaque contains a poem the the then editor of the South Wales Argus, W J Collins, entitled Soldiers of Industry. The final plaque records the purpose of the memorial, to commemorate "the 39 men who lost their lives in the Trench Disaster at the New Dock Works". The memorial was erected by the contractors responsible for undertaking the work, Easton Gibb & Son.

War Memorial

51°34′54.54″N 3°0′56.5″W

In the midpoint between the symmetrical chapels at the main entrance, a war memorial commemorating local men who died in the Great War has been erected. The monument was amended following World War II to include those who were killed in that war.

The Cemetery in Popular Culture

The cemetery was used as a filming location for the 2008 Doctor Who Christmas Special, starring David Tennant.

See Also

St. Woolos Cathedral

External links

• http://www.newportpast.com
• http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=council.homepage&contentid=N_057215