history

Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery
Halifax

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Crossley Memorial Repair

History of the Cemetery

Halifax`s General Cemetery was opened in 1841, between Lister Lane and Gibbet St, just beyond the Western boundary of the town. It was part of the wave of cemeteries developed as a result of the population explosion in urban areas.

The process started on May 5th 1836, with an advertisement in the Halifax Express for a meeting convened to form a committee.
Shares were sold and land was bought. By 1839 estimates were being received, and by 1841 posters were being printed to announce the opening of the new General Cemetery, complete with Greek style chapel, a lodge cottage for the keeper, and a gardener to tend, mow, and plant up the grounds.

This section of a 19thC map shows the cemetery (centre), the new Halifax Union Workhouse (top left) which opened at around the same time, old Bellvue House (below) before Francis Crossley’s reconstruction, pleasure gardens (to the left) and Rhodes St edging the town on the right.

The last burial recorded was in 1969, though a few names were recorded since. The cemetery was already falling into neglect, though many people who were children at the time still remember it as a place they enjoyed playing in. In the 1980s it received attention from Manpower Services, but was again abandoned to fly-tipping and abuse.
Since 2000 the Friends group has been caring for it, and it has been benefiting from increased attention from Calderdale Funeral Services.

The chapel and curtilege are Listed Grade II. The grounds are listed as a Historic Park or Garden, and lie within the People’s park Conservation Area.