City Road Cemetery

City Road Cemetery is the largest municipal burial ground in Sheffield, England, and one of the city's most significant pieces of Victorian and Edwardian funerary heritage. Spread across roughly 100 acres (40 hectares), it is a place where local history, architecture and remembrance meet.

When did City Road Cemetery open?

The cemetery was laid out in the early 1880s and received its first burials in May 1881. Its original name was Intake Road Cemetery. Sheffield City Council took it over in 1900, and from then on it was known as City Road Cemetery, the name it carries today.

What makes the site unusual for a visitor?

Size is the first thing to note. At about 100 acres it is the biggest of Sheffield's municipal cemeteries, and the figures reflect that: more than 167,000 burials and around 210,000 cremations have taken place here. The grounds also house the head office of Sheffield's Bereavement Services, so the site is still a working part of the city's infrastructure and not only a historic landscape.

What is the story of Sheffield Crematorium?

In 1903 the council hired the architects C and C M Hadfield to design a crematorium as an annexe to the existing Nonconformist chapel. The building was deliberately given a medieval look. Its model was the Abbot's Kitchen at Glastonbury, and that choice had a practical side: the steel exhaust flue from the cremator could be hidden inside a Gothic lantern. The first cremation took place on 24 April 1905, when Eliza Hawley of Upperthorpe was cremated. The old Church of England chapel was pulled down in 1982, after a modern chapel had been built to the north of the crematorium.

Are there war graves?

Yes. The cemetery contains Commonwealth war graves, with 193 burials and commemorations from the First World War and 138 from the Second World War. A memorial in the war graves plot honours 30 servicemen whose remains were cremated at Sheffield Crematorium.

What else is worth looking for?

The Roman Catholic mortuary chapel of St Michael is a listed Gothic Revival building. Reports describe it as having stood derelict for years, so expect to admire it from outside. The crematorium building, with its medieval-style design, is another architectural highlight.

Practical notes

• City Road Cemetery is an active cemetery, so visit quietly and respect mourners and funerals in progress.
• The site is large, so plan enough time and wear comfortable shoes if you want to walk the grounds.
• Local tours of the cemetery have been advertised by Welcome to Sheffield; check for current dates.

Frequently asked questions

Who runs City Road Cemetery? Sheffield City Council, which has managed it since 1900.

Was it always called City Road Cemetery? No. It opened as Intake Road Cemetery.

When did the crematorium begin operating? Its first cremation was on 24 April 1905.

Is it the biggest cemetery in Sheffield? It is the largest of the city's municipal cemeteries.

Can I see war graves there? Yes, there are Commonwealth graves from both world wars and a memorial to 30 cremated servicemen.