Now over the next few weeks I want to feature the work of the photographer, Simon Garner in a series devoted to Weaste Cemetery.
Simon contacted me recently and offered to share his pictures of the cemetery and I leapt at the opportunity.
As a historian I tend to be drawn to the detail on the gravestones wondering just what stories lie behind the inscriptions and where they will take me.
But I am also interested in the image and how the photographer came to choose that subject on that day and the skill at composition.
So looking through the catalogue this one caught my eye.
In time I will go looking for the people recorded here but for now it is the contrast of the broken stone set against the belief in the permanence of the memorial and those around it which are still intact.
"Weaste is the oldest of Salford's four cemeteries. Since it opened in 1857, over 332,000 interments have taken place in its 39 acres.
Weaste Cemetery is included on English Heritage's Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic
Interest in England. It is one of two registered parks and gardens in the city, both of which are grade II. In addition six of the beautiful memorial stones commemorating leading citizens of Salford have been given Grade II listed building status by English Heritage, in recognition of their ornate structure."*
Location; Weaste Cemetery
Picture; gravestone Weaste Cemetery, © Simon Garner, 2016,
*Weaste Cemetery
As a historian I tend to be drawn to the detail on the gravestones wondering just what stories lie behind the inscriptions and where they will take me.
But I am also interested in the image and how the photographer came to choose that subject on that day and the skill at composition.
So looking through the catalogue this one caught my eye.
In time I will go looking for the people recorded here but for now it is the contrast of the broken stone set against the belief in the permanence of the memorial and those around it which are still intact.
"Weaste is the oldest of Salford's four cemeteries. Since it opened in 1857, over 332,000 interments have taken place in its 39 acres.
Weaste Cemetery is included on English Heritage's Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic
Interest in England. It is one of two registered parks and gardens in the city, both of which are grade II. In addition six of the beautiful memorial stones commemorating leading citizens of Salford have been given Grade II listed building status by English Heritage, in recognition of their ornate structure."*
Location; Weaste Cemetery
Picture; gravestone Weaste Cemetery, © Simon Garner, 2016,
*Weaste Cemetery
For anyone interested in Weaste Cemetery, the following website gives access to lots of information on people buried there. Unfortunately some details on the site are now out-of-date, including the address for obtaining postal copies of the Heritage Trail book. There are still plenty of copies around, if anyone wants one. I for one have a stack of them, if anyone contacts me. http://www.weasteheritagetrail.co.uk/Resources/publications/index.htm
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