Now every year I almost miss National Heritage Open Days but this year I am ready.*
It runs from September 8-11 and there should something historical for everyone.
And for me it will be Southern Cemetery which of course has shed loads of history.
It starts with the lives of the people laid out on their headstones and the memorials to those who died in two world wars.
And it extends to the memorials themselves which reflect the changing fashion for expressing public and private grief. These range from the elaborate and florid language recording the lives of loved ones, to the simple broken column signifying a life cut short.
More recently there has been the growing practice of including a photograph of the deceased with objects associated with their lives.
For the cultural historian there will be parallels with similar burials abroad along with that ancient custom of leaving personal items in the grave to accompany the dead.
And as many know in the Remembrance Lodge there is a permanent exhibition maintained by David Harrop of memorabilia associated with the two world wars some of which is directly related to men and women buried in the cemetery.
David has been collecting this material for many years, so I wasn’t surprised when he told me he had recently acquired a small booklet from 1919 on the charges levied by Manchester Corporation for services relating to the cemetery.
They make for a fascinating if slightly gruesome read and offer up an insight into the cost of burials at the beginning of the 20th century.
The booklet will be part of a small special exhibition David will be mounting during National Heritage Open Week.
Pictures; grave in Southern Cemetery, 2013 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and Scale of Charges, Manchester Corporation, 1919, courtesy of David Harrop.
*National Heritage Open Days, https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/
And for me it will be Southern Cemetery which of course has shed loads of history.
It starts with the lives of the people laid out on their headstones and the memorials to those who died in two world wars.
And it extends to the memorials themselves which reflect the changing fashion for expressing public and private grief. These range from the elaborate and florid language recording the lives of loved ones, to the simple broken column signifying a life cut short.
More recently there has been the growing practice of including a photograph of the deceased with objects associated with their lives.
And as many know in the Remembrance Lodge there is a permanent exhibition maintained by David Harrop of memorabilia associated with the two world wars some of which is directly related to men and women buried in the cemetery.
David has been collecting this material for many years, so I wasn’t surprised when he told me he had recently acquired a small booklet from 1919 on the charges levied by Manchester Corporation for services relating to the cemetery.
They make for a fascinating if slightly gruesome read and offer up an insight into the cost of burials at the beginning of the 20th century.
Pictures; grave in Southern Cemetery, 2013 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and Scale of Charges, Manchester Corporation, 1919, courtesy of David Harrop.
*National Heritage Open Days, https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/
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