Sheffield General Cemetery completes £3m four-year conservation
The council was able to carry out these repairs through funding from the National Lottery to ‘help celebrate the significance of the site’ as a heritage treasure
Sheffield General Cemetery has reopened following the conclusion of its £3m four-year conservation and repair programme that had been carried out by Sheffield City Council.
Extensive structural repairs were carried out on the cemetery’s catacombs, while key monuments have also been stabilised and the cemetery’s almost 200-year-old walls have been reinforced.
The council was able to carry out these repairs through funding from the National Lottery to “help celebrate the significance of the site” as a heritage treasure.
According to the council, it has described the site as ‘Sheffield’s Highgate’ and expressed wanting to preserve its value as a green space and wildlife habitat.
Cllr Richard Williams, chair of communities, parks and leisure policy committee, said: “This is a really important milestone, building on the earlier restoration achievements of Sheffield General Cemetery Trust. The hard work of the projects team, the volunteers and the contractors has really paid off.
“The General Cemetery is such a well-loved space, it is a delight to welcome people back to enjoy it and see the results for themselves. We will be marking the completion of the repair works and National Cemeteries Week with events and activities including the fascinating Celebrating Then and Now Exhibition at the Samuel Worth Chapel.”
He added: “Everyone is welcome to come and have a look for themselves to see what we’ve been up to and be part of the week, which runs from June Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 June.”
The cemetery first opened in 1836 in response to overcrowding and bad conditions in many of Sheffield’s local churchyards, and is one of the oldest commercial cemeteries in the UK.
