2012

SP0892 : First World War Memorial, Witton Cemetery

taken 12 years ago, near to Perry Barr, Birmingham, England

First World War Memorial, Witton Cemetery
First World War Memorial, Witton Cemetery
A view of the memorial in context is SP0892 : First World War Memorial, Witton Cemetery. The inscription reads:
Their name liveth for evermore.
To the honoured memory of these members of His Majesty's forces who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914-1918 whose graves are in this cemetery but are not marked by separate headstones.
The memorial is one of several war memorials and memorial gardens in Witton Cemetery.
Witton Cemetery, Birmingham

Witton, or Birmingham City Cemetery, was the first public cemetery to be laid out by the Corporation of Birmingham. As in other towns and cities by the early nineteenth century, churchyards were overcrowded and private cemetery companies were becoming established. Birmingham’s Burial Board (the Town Council) acquired 105 acres (40 hectares) at Witton, an elevated site overlooking the valley of the River Tame, in 1859. The layout and implementation were largely by Richard Ashwell, superintendent of London Road Cemetery, Coventry SP3478; buildings, boundary walls etc were by R.Clarke of Nottingham; the builder was C.Wright of Nottingham. Following consecration by the Bishop of Worcester the cemetery was opened for burials on 28 May 1863. A small parcel of land at the north corner was sold to the Jewish congregation in 1868 for their exclusive use as a burial ground.

The surviving Anglican chapel of [?local] Hampstead stone was designed by R.Clarke. It was originally complemented by a non-conformist chapel of similar form but this and the Roman Catholic chapel were demolished around 1980. The nursery was abandoned and cleared. A new circular cemetery office was constructed in 2000 immediately south of the site of the RC chapel. At points along the ridge – the main north-south axis of the cemetery – is a series of war memorials, as well as a group of Commonwealth War Graves and a garden to commemorate civilians killed in Birmingham in the Second World War. Thanks to nineteenth-century and later planting, Witton is notable for its magnificent trees.

Mainly taken from: English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest, reference GD2817, revised draft description by Jonathan Lovie, Register Inspector, 2001. The site extends through SP0891 and SP0892. The main east and west entrances are in SP0892.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Robin Stott and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Lowlands Historic sites and artefacts Suburb, Urban fringe People, Events Burial ground, Crematorium other tags: First World War Memorial Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · World War Memorial [9] · Graves are in this Cemetery [6] Other Photos: · First World War Memorial, Witton Cemetery Title Clusters: · First World War Memorial, Witton Cemetery [4] ·
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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Grid Square
SP0892, 57 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Robin Stott   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 10 August, 2012   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 18 March, 2013
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 0818 9219 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:31.6513N 1:52.8514W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 0818 9219
View Direction
West-southwest (about 247 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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