A poignant tribute to thousands of Salfordians buried without a memorial stone is to be unveiled in the city.
Over 330,000 people have been buried at Weaste Cemetery since it opened in 1857 but many were buried without a gravestone or memorial to mark their final resting place.
Now the Friends of Salford Cemeteries Trust has teamed up with Salford City Council to place a single, simple memorial stone in the cemetery in tribute to them. Ceremonial Mayor Councillor Peter Dobbs will unveil the stone at a special ceremony on September 8.
Councillor Dobbs said: “Weaste Cemetery opened in 1857 and is the oldest cemetery in Salford. Over the years thousands of people have been buried without any stone to mark their final resting place.
“The Friends group approached us about putting up a single memorial to all those men, women and children – a place where anyone whose loved one is buried there could lay flowers and stand to remember them and we thought it was an excellent idea.
“We’ve worked with them to put the stone in place. It is near to the entrance of the cemetery in a prominent place and I hope people will find it a dignified and lasting tribute to all the Salfordians buried there.”
Pete Kilvert, secretary of the Friends Trust said: “More and more people are interested in their family history and like to visit the place where their ancestors are buried. Unfortunately many people in earlier times just couldn’t afford to mark their loved one’s grave with a headstone so we wanted to put in a simple tribute to everyone to show they are not forgotten.”
Weaste, which opened in 1857 and covers 39 acres, is the oldest of Salford’s four cemeteries and is Grade II listed.
The first person buried in the cemetery was Salford’s first MP Joseph Brotherton who campaigned for improvements to children’s working hours and passed laws which allowed local councils to open cemeteries, libraries and museums. He also championed the creation of Peel Park, the world’s first public park which, unlike many of the time, was open to working class men and women and was a founding member of the Vegetarian Society.
Since then the cemetery has become the resting place of thousands of Salfordians, from veterans of the Crimean, Boer, First and Second World wars to Charles Halle, founder of the Halle Orchester. Mark Addy, famed for rescuing dozens of people from the River Irwell, is also buried in Weaste Cemetery.
Ceremonial Mayor Councillor Peter Dobbs will unveil the new memorial stone at 2pm on September 8 at Weaste Cemetery, Cemetery Road (off Eccles New Road), Salford M5 5NR. Anyone who would like to join him in paying tribute is welcome to attend.
The Friends will lead a free guided tour of Weaste cemetery on Sunday September 13 as part of the Heritage Open Days weekend. The 90 minute tour starts at 11am and there is no need to book. Please meet by the war memorial.
