HEDON AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Following his fascinating talk on the ' Rise and Fall of Hull General Cemetery ', Pete Lowden now invites you to join him for a guided tour of the cemetery on Spring Bank West.    Hear about, and view the last resting place of, some of the movers and shakers of Victorian and Edwardian Hull - from Henry Hodge, mayor and mill owner, to Zachariah Pearson, disgraced mayor and benefactor of the town; from Sir James Reckitt, industrialist and philanthropist to William Clowes, founder of Primitive Methodism and relative of Josiah Wedgwood and Charles Darwin.   Hull General Cemetery is a place of local and national importance and you will certainly enjoy your visit.   Meet : Hull General Cemetery (main gates), Spring Bank West. Time : 2.15pm for 2.30pm. Parking : free local parking on Sunny Bank (access via Brandesburton Street). Cost : £5 donation to Friends of Hull General Cemetery (FOHGC). Refreshments : not included (nearby cafes on Princes Avenue and Cha...

Pete Lowden 's story of Hull General Cemetery , offers a fascinating insight into Victorian Hull. In the late 1840s a group of far-sighted entrepreneurs sought to solve one of the worst problems of their era - how to dispose of the urban dead in a decent and dignified way.    On Spring Bank - then on the edge of town - they opened a cemetery as a private venture, unashamedly aiming to make a profit by providing this public service.    Notables instrumental in Hull's nineteenth-century growth as a town and port are buried there - among them sculptor Thomas Earle and shipowner Zachariah Pearson - and the last burials took place in the 1970s.    A guided tour of Hull General Cemetery and its memorials will follow on Tuesday 9 July .   Books available for purchase : Hull General Cemetery 1847-1972: a Short Introduction (£5); The War Dead of Hull General Cemetery (£8)  New members always welcome !  More information : hedon.history...