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People buried at Jesmond Old Cemetery
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Northumberland
Image Right - Jesmond Old Cemetery Gateway off Jesmond Road
Geograph © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.
The Gateway and former Chapels were built for the Newcastle General Cemetery Company in 1836, designed by John Dobson (1787-1865) who is buried here. They were restored by Tyne & Wear County Council in 1978. Old maps identify the right side building as Dissenters Chapel (non-conformist) and the left side as Episcopal Chapel (Church of England).
In 1833 the Mayor of Newcastle, Henry Bell, was asked by leading citizens, including John Dobson, architect, and Richard Grainger, property developer, to call a meeting ‘to form and establish, for the use of town, a General Cemetery a measure for which the crowded state of the church yards has long rendered necessary’.
Early in 1834 the meeting took place in the Guildhall. It was agreed to form a private company to carry out the scheme with a capital of £8000 to cover purchasing the ground plus the necessary building and landscaping work. The proposed cemetery would be on 11 acres in Jesmond Fields, owned by the Corporation. The cemetery would be open to all religious denominations, roughly one half as consecrated ground to ministered by the curate of St Andrew’s, in whose parish the cemetery would lie, and the other half as unconsecrated ground for all non-conformists.
Work began in 1835. The land was drained and three-metre walls built to enclose the triangular site to deter bodysnatchers. By that time the 1832 Anatomy Act, which stated that medical schools could use any unclaimed corpses (not just criminals) once 48 hours had elapsed and put most bodysnatchers out of work.
The western half of the cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Durham on 11th November 1836 and declared open for burials five days later. On 9th December Margaret Redford Hoy, (1822-1836) the 14-year-old daughter of a Newcastle grocer, was the first to be buried in the cemetery. Her grave, in the non-conformist section, was unmarked.
By 1845 non-conformist family vaults near the Middle Walk were not selling as well has been expected so this land too was consecrated by the Bishop of Durham.
In the mid 1960s there were plans for a dual carriageway to connect the Coast Road from Tynemouth with the Central Motorway East along a widened Jesmond Road, encroaching on part of the cemetery. In 1967 the private company was wound up and returned to the City Council. About 600 graves (nearly 1,100 burials) some more than 100 years old, would need to be exhumed and reinterred, and John Dobson’s magnificent entrance gateway and chapels would have to be moved.
Notices were issued and the attempts made to contact the relatives of the burials involved. Relatives were given the option to carry out removals to any other cemetery, or to allow a transfer to another part of the cemetery. The Council undertook to re-erect all monuments and tombstones unless in a ruinous condition. Years later the number of unclaimed graves was ‘considerable’, and of those families successfully contacted only two opted for private removal. Only one was ‘not keen to have remains disturbed’. The rest of the tombs had to be moved without consent.
The estimated cost of re-siting the gateway and chapels amounted to £100,000. Because the buildings were of exceptional architectural and historical importance the Environment Minister offered a 75 per cent grant to re-site them. In 1971 work began on the removal of the graves, ‘with the utmost reverence’ by the London Necropolis Company. Public access was not allowed. All soil was sifted for remains which were then re-coffined and reburied. The work on the Jesmond Road border took several months. At a later date more exhumations took place on the Sandyford Road and in the South West area. Eventually the whole bypass scheme collapsed because of legal difficulties and when the project was resurrected nearly 30 years later the ‘dualling’ of Jesmond Road and the widening of Sandyford Road never took place.
Burials still take place in the cemetery -nearly 25,000 people have been buried there since 1836. Not all the graves are marked by a monument or a headstone. Although the grassed areas of the cemetery are mown regularly many parts have become jungles of vegetation with headstones and monuments submerged beneath a sea of brambles and ivy. Others have been damaged by self seeded saplings and falling trees.
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There are ten Commonwealth service personnel buried in this cemetery, eight from World War I and two from World War II.
The Cemetery is home to many of the Victorian men and women who made the City of Newcastle what it is today. Please link any profiles of people buried there to the project, and add interesting notes to the listing below.
Many of the people listed below are mentioned in Alan Morgan's publication A Fine and Private Place - Jesmond Old Cemetery 2004
Names with Bold links are to Geni profiles or projects. Other links take you to external biographical web pages.
A
- John Abbot (1784-1863)
- William Edwin Adams (1832-1906) Founder of Dick Bird Society - editor of Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
- Luke Armstrong (1834-1888) Surgeon at Newcastle Infirmary
- William Armstrong (1778-1857) Father of Lord Armstrong
---
- William Armstrong (1817-1884) Master Printer
- John Arthur (1819-1893) Cooper
- Joseph Simpson Arnison (1820-1892) Brewer
B
- Donald Bain - 1867 aged 41 - Police constable - victim of the Town of Moor Explosion
Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge (1817-1892) J.P. of Eshott Hall, Northumberland.
Image - Courtesy of Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery
Spouse:
- Anne Hudson Bainbridge (1821 - 1902)
Children:
- Cuthbert Bainbridge (1841 - 1873)
- Margaret Armstrong wife of Cuthbert
- Cuthbert Bainbridge son
- Mary Ethel Bainbridge daughter
- Thomas Hudson Bainbridge (1842 - 1912)
- Elizabeth Anne Bainbridge (1847 - 1850)
- Anne Emerson Bainbridge (1849 - 1850)
- George Bargate Bainbridge (1851 - 1944)
- Jane Margaret Bainbridge (1852 - 1852)
- John Kirsop Bainbridge (1855 - 1867)
- William Bainbridge (1859 - 1861)
- Arthur Emerson Bainbridge (1862 - 1930)
Bainbridge Family - Friends of Jesmond
- Thomas Pallister Barkas (1819-1891)
http://www.jesmondoldcemetery.co.uk/barkas_115.html
- Frederick Beavin (1846-1928) founder of Beavin Department Store - grandson of one of Nelson's surgeons at Trafalgar in 1805.
- Thomas Bell (1774-1845) Ironmaster
- Ann Black (1800-1866) Servant of William Woods Esq.
- John Blackmore (1802-1844) Civil Engineer
- Henry Bowman Brady (1835-1891) Chemist
- Charles Bragg (1802-1874) Shopkeeper
- Susan Bragg wife (1804-1880)
- Charles Wilson Bragg (1836-1859) Son.
- Archibald Brown (1830-1905) employee of James Coxon and Co. for 55 years
- Rev. John Collingwood Bruce (1805-1892) Historian and Educationalist
- Thomas Bryson (1806-1867) Town surveyor
Spouse: Eleanor Smith Bryson (1816 - 1856)*
Children:
- John Alexander Bryson (1837 - 1890)*
- Georgina Bryson (1842 - 1926)*
- Thomas Lowe-Bunting (1868-1925) Doctor (father of poet Basil Bunting)
- David Burn (1797-1873) Merchant and Iron-founder
- Thomas Burt (1837-1922) MP and Pitman and Family links:
Parents: Peter Burt (1810 - 1882)
Spouse: Mary Weatherburn Burt (1842 - 1926)
Children:
- Rebecca Burt (1860 - 1916)*
- Mary Hannah Burt Annand (1868 - 1900)*
- Thomas John Burt (1870 - 1927)*
- Jane Stella Burt (1875 - 1908)*
- Theodora Ann Burt White (1877 - 1933)*
- Robert Burt (1883 - 1906)*
- Eva Burt (1884 - 1884)*
C
- Richard Cail (1812-1893) Building contractor
- William Campbell (1856-1878) Heaviest man in Britain
- Sid Chaplin (1916-1986) Writer
- Abel Henry Chapman (1836 - 1902) Engineer
- Hedley Chapman Jnr (1844-1916) furniture manufacturer.
- Emerson Charnley Snr. (1781-1845) Bookseller
- James Coxon (1804-1867) Founder of Coxon's Department Store. Died at Benton House. Family links:
Spouses:
- Jane Coxon (1807 - 1837)
- Eleanor Coxon (1813 - 1892)
Children:
- James Henry Coxon (1834 - 1874)
- John Ralph Coxon (1836 - 1860)
- William Dawson Coxon (1841 - 1903)
- Frederick Coxon (1842 - 1877)
- George Edward Coxon (1844 - 1910)
- Alfred Coxon (1845 - 1899)
- Helen Coxon (1846 - 1853)
- Herbert Coxon (1855 - 1913)
- William Crawford (1787-1844) Iron Founder at Walker Iron works
- Thomas Crossling (1829-1888) Plumber
D
- Herbert Davy (1834-1889) Tobacco King
- Robert Deucher (1831-1904) Brewer and property speculator
- John Dobson (1787-1865)
- Armorer Donkin (1779-1851) Solicitor
- John Dove (1789-1860) Cement Manufacturer
- Thomas Dunn (1796-1855) Roman Catholic Mayor of Newcastle
E
- Sir Joseph Baxter Ellis (24 Apr 1842- 28 Dec 1918) flour business - Mayor of Newcastle 1905. Find-a-Grave Family links:
Spouses:
- Frances Laidler Ellis (1848 - 1886)
- Mary Sharp Ellis (1871 - 1927)
Children:
- Nora Ellis (____ - 1886)
- John Alfred Ellis (____ - 1872)
- George Alfred Ellis (____ - 1875)
- Mary Baxter Ellis (1892 - 1968)
F
- John James Fenwick (1846-1905) - owner of Fenwick's Department Store
- John Fleming (1807-1890) Founder of the Fleming Memorial Hospital for Sick Children. Solicitor
* Mark Frater (1805-1861) Tax collector and victim of fatal stabbing
- Patrick Freeman II (1816-1894) Miller
- Patrick Miller III (1845-1888) Miller
G
- Thomas George Gibson (1830-1911) Solicitor
- Edward Glynn (1817-1871) Solicitor
- Benjamin Green (1811-1858) Architect
- John Green (1787-1852) Architect
- Elizabeth Greenhow (1795-1850) wife of Surgeon Thomas Greenhow
H
- David Haggie (1819-1895) Haggie's Robeworks
- Sir Charles Frederic Hamond (1817-1905) Barrister, Shipowner, MP
- Albany Hancock (1806-1873) Naturalist
and his brother
- John Hancock (1808-1890) Naturalist
---
- John Harvey (1804-1893) Tobacco King
- John Hawthorn (1808-1866) Surgeon
- Robert Heads (1824-1869) Victim of High level bridge accident
- George Yeoman Heath (1819-1892) Surgeon
- Charles Edward Henzell (1863-1884) "who was injured on board the Italian turret ship Giovanni Bausan in 1884 and died in Walker Hospital on the following day aged 21 years'
- John Hewitson (1839-1907) Slate merchant
- Thomas Hodgson (1785-1867) Solicitor
- John Henry Holmes (1857-1935) Electrical Engineer - invented the light switch in 1884.
I
J
- Joicey - see Robinson
K
- Thomas William Keenleyside (1798-1867) Solicitor - children died in cholera epidemic 1841-42
L
- Alexander Laing (1828-1905) Wine merchant and Patron of the Arts
- Benjamin Carr Lawton (1815-1889) Engineer. Family links:
Spouse:
- Elizabeth Lawton (____ - 1850)
Children:
- Elizabeth Ann Lawton (1840 - 1919)
- Benjamin Bentley Lawton (1843 - 1920)
- Sarah Ann Lawton (1843 - 1860)
- Jesse Lawton (1846 - 1927)
M
- Christopher Thompson Maling (1824-1901) Pottery Manufacturer
- John Mawson (1815-1867) Chemist, Town Sheriff, victim of the Town of Moor Explosion
Eight people died on the Town Moor including well-known local chemist and Town Sheriff John Mawson as he attempted to make safe a number of containers of nitro glycerine which had been stored in a cellar at White Swan Yard in the Cloth Market for reasons unknown. It is believed that some of the nitro glycerine had deteriorated and crystallized which can make it unstable to jarring. The local papers described the dreadful fate of Bain and the others in graphic detail.
- Benjamin May (1870-1892) Student of medicine aged 22 - accidentally drowned
- William Milburn (1826-1903) Shipping Magnate
- Find-a-Grave wife Mary (1829-1909) children Charles Thomas (1860-1922) and Frederick (1862-1944)
- John Morrison (1792-1858) Inventor of Transparent Adhesive Plaster
- Henry Murton (1818-1874) Founder of Murton's Store Friends of JOC Family links:
Spouse:
- Isabella Marshall Murton (1821 - 1913)
Children:
- Henry Angus Murton (1848 - 1927)
- John Murton (1849 - 1917)
- Joseph Murton (1851 - 1889)
- Thomas Potts Murton (1854 - 1934)
- Kate Elizabeth Murton Jenkins (1855 - 1890)
- Charles James Murton (1857 - 1901)
N
- John Innes Nisbet (1866-1910) Murdered on Alnmouth train
- Susan Nesbit (1789-1862) Servant to family of Ralph Park Philipson for 60 years
- Dr. William Newton (1817-1863) Surgeon and Social Reformer
- Spouse: Eliza Jane Newton (1816 - 1908)
O
- Thomas Oliver (1791-1857) Architect and surveyor;
- Spouse: Elizabeth Best Oliver (1800 - 1886)
- son Charles William Oliver (1847 - 1855)
P
- Jane Palmer (1824-1865) wife of Charles Mark Palmer
- John Peter Parland (1807-1871) Captain of the Russian Imperial Guard
- Camborne Hastings Paynter (1836-1854) Victim of the fire of 1854
---
- George Hare Philipson (1801-1876) Coach builder - partner and brother-in-law John Atkinson - Northumberland Coach Factory, Newcastle-on-Tyne, made a car in 1896. The Coach Factory had been in business since 1774, making mail coaches, then railway carriages for George Stephenson. In 1896 they produced a rather crude-looking steam brake with iron-shod wheels, which was advertised in various motor papers.
-
- Carlo Pallotti (1855-1890) Italian Vice-Consul and Doctor
https://www.flickr.com/photos/natures_mathematics/3359717587
- Addison Potter (1820-1894) Owner of Heaton Hall
- Jonathan Priestman (1787-1863) Tanner and Quaker
- Spouse: Rachel Bragg (1791 - 1854)
Children:
- Anna Maria Priestman (1828 - 1914)
- Mary Priestman (1830 - 1914)
- Joseph Proctor (1800-1875) Flour Miller
- Thomas Pumphrey (1833-1911) Teetotaller and Coffee dealer; of Summerhill Grove, Newcastle - Family links:
- Spouse: Emma Richardson Pumphrey (1833 - 1924)
Children:
- Rachel Pumphrey (____ - 1873)
- Emma Louisa Pumphrey (1861 - 1950)
Q
R
- William Rea (1827-1903) Town organist
- Andrew Reid (1823-1896) Printer
- Archibald Reed (1766-1842) Mayor of Newcastle - 6 times
- Thomas Miles Richardson Snr. (1784-1848) artist
- John Roach (1809-1865) West Indian, East house proprietor.
Elizabeth Amy Robinson (1856-1881) wife of James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey (1846-1936) - only daughter of Joseph Robinson, of North Shields, Northumberland, Commemorated on husband's memorial in Ford. According to cracroftspeerage.co.uk; bur. in Jesmond Cemetery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Children:
- James Arthur Joicey (1880 - 1940)
- Hugh Edward Joicey (1881 - 1966)
- Robert Robinson (1817-1903) Bookseller
- John Philip Robson (1808-1890) Bard of the Tyne and Minstrel of the Wear
- Robert Robson (1812-1878) Furniture manufacturer
- Walter Runciman (1847-1937) Shipowner, Philanthropist and MP
S
- Jane Sopwith (1807-1855) Wife of Thomas Sopwith, Civil Engineer
- William Spencer (1783-1839) Steel Manufacturer
- Thomas Stokoe (1812-1877) Sailcloth manufacturer
- Aubone Surtees (1777-1859) Wine and Spirits importer and coalowner
- Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland (1867-1953) Shipowner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sutherland
- John Cameron Swan (1827-1916) Merchant
T
- General' Terrot (1758-1839) Lieutenant General Charles Terrot - Royal Artillery
- Lewis Thompson (1812-1889) Benefactor of Byker (township)
- John Humble Todd (d. 1881 Valet to Prince Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte - a great nephew - killed fighting against the Zulu's
- William Toward (1797-1865) Steam engine manufacturer
- Parent: Ann Toward (1777 - 1861)
- Spouse: Mary Peile Toward (1796 - 1865)*
- Frederick Turnbull (1868-1939) draughtsman engineer
- Thomas Hall Tweedy (1816-1892) Wood carver and gilder
Friends of JOC
http://monsterbrains.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/thomas-hall-tweedy-tam-...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mutantskeleton/21869089419
U-V
W
- John Watson (1784-1853) - cholera victim
- Spouse: Barbara Watson (1788 - 1853)
- Child: Janet Watson (1827 - 1853)
"These successively cut off in so brief a period were amongst the earliest victims of the fatal pestilence with which it pleased God to visit this town in the year 1853. "
- Robert Spence Watson (1837-1911) Solicitor Of Bensham Grove, Gateshead
Family links:
- Father Joseph Watson (____ - 1874)
- Mother Sarah Spence Watson (1814 - 1871)
- Spouse: Elizabeth Watson (1838 - 1919)
Children:<br/>
- Mabel Watson Richardson (1864 - 1907)
- Ruth Spence Watson Gower (1867 - 1914)
- Arnold Spence Watson (1879 - 1897)
Siblings:
- Robert Spence Watson (1837 - 1911)
- Joseph Watson (1840 - 1873)
- Helen Watson Gurney (1848 - 1922)
- Herbert Watson (1852 - 1873)
- Gertrude Watson Edmundson (1854 - 1930)
- Henry West (1786-1861 - Captain RN - veteran of the battle of Trafalgar - lived at 1 Jesmond Gardens
- Frances White (m. Swan) (1829-1868) - wife of Joseph Wilson Swan, inventor of the incandescent electric lamp.
- William Boutland Wilkinson (1819-1902) Inventor of re-enforced concrete
- Joe Wilson (1841-1875) Songwriter
X-Y-Z
References, Sources and Further Reading
- Find-a-Grave 2966 listed - see http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GScid=2492761
- Friends of Jesmond old Cemetery
this project is in History Link 