Ghoulish

The grave of a local hero - Samuel Holberry

Even though I claim not to be ghoulish or obsessed with death, I seem to have done a fair amount of hanging around in graveyards recently. If you are not quite sure what "ghoulish" means - here's the definition: "an unhealthy, morbid fascination with death, disaster, or horrifying things. It also describes things that look or act like a ghoul—a mythical, evil creature that robs graves and feeds on dead bodies". Interestingly, the word has Arabic roots.

Anyway, today I needed to burn off a few hundred calories so I donned my walking shoes and set off down Ecclesall Road aiming later to turn down Cemetery Avenue en route for the northern gate of The General Cemetery. This Victorian civic cemetery was opened in 1836. Some of it remains overgrown but it has an active "Friends" group and on a hot summer's day it is a pleasant place to stroll in the shade of mature trees.

The grave of Mark Firth 

Significant people who are buried there may seem insignificant to outsiders. One of the giants of the Sheffield steel industry was Mark Firth (1819 - 1880) and his impressive grave is Grade II listed. The grave that means the most to me is that of Samuel Holberry (1814 - 1842). He died of consumption in York Castle. He was a key figure in the Chartist movement that sought better conditions for working people and that is why the establishment had him arrested and imprisoned. It is said that over 50,000 people attended his funeral during a time of social upheaval in this country.

Not far from Samuel Holberry's grave, in an area that was specially reserved for children, I came across this gravestone:-

You might need to enlarge the image to read the inscriptions.

What we are looking at here is heartbreaking tragedy and of course it was not at all uncommon in past centuries.  Ebenezer and Sarah Adams lost five children after they had been born.

In 1839 William Abraham died after just twenty one days of life. In 1846, young Joshua died at the age of six. He was followed by Elizabeth Mary Ann who was only two years and two months old when she passed away. And then in 1855, little Selina died at the age of fourteen months, followed in the same year by her sister Sarah Hannah who was six. 

In the modern western world we expect babies to live - perhaps to a ripe old age. After successful births, we do not anticipate early deaths. But back then it was different. Ebenezer and Sarah would have been very aware of the possibility of infant mortality.  Plenty of families were touched by this shadow. Life was a precious gift that could be snatched away in a few days. Just imagine how Ebenezer and Adam must have felt when Sarah Hannah left them. The pain must have been unbearable even if it seemed to prove that "God" did indeed move in mysterious ways. Perhaps not just mysterious but downright cruel.

I walked all the way along Psalter Lane and back to Banner  Cross. In an alleyway next to The Banner Cross Hotel, I spotted this graffiti. If only William, Joshua, Elizabeth, Selina and Sarah Hannah could have lived forever - but sadly they didn't. Far from it...