Philips Park Cemetery

[buntings]

Hi,

I am thinking of making  trip up to Manchester to track down a few graves in Philips Park Cemetery and  to save me wasting a trip was wondering if anyone can give me any indication of what I may find - ie, what condition the place is in, are the headstones generally still there etc.

The sections in question are Section N consecrated, Section H consecrated, Section E consecrated.

I also have a grave in "Section D consecrated" to find - it appears to be a communal grave since there are some 20 names listed, none of which are related to my ancestor. Does anyone know, assuming I can find the plot,  if there is likely to be a headstone?

Many thanks in advance,

Gareth

[alpinecottage]

Looks to be in reasonable condition - here's a link http://www.foppc.com/

[Cancan]

Hi Gareth,

Ohhh!  one day late, we were there yesterday having a look around.

The cemetery is in Great shape, only the Jewish burials section was lacking in any kind of tidy up.  As for the old Gravestones, there are plenty, it's a matter of finding them, although we did notice that a lot were numbered.  If your going by Car you can drive in, even on the weekends.

Here is the plot plan:

http://www.twbaird.co.uk/cemplans/philpcem.html

And below is a small photo we took.

[Cancan]

Hi again,

You mention the D Section, most of these are buried under soil but there are still some that can be seen.  Might worth taking a spade/hoe.  They don't seem very deep.

I did notice that near the lodge (on the left on the map) if you start near the wall they start about 1900 and as you walk down towards section I (on the map) they go up in age,  last one we saw was 1967? (I Think it was)

Whilst it is a large Cemetery, we thought there might have been more old gravestones? But maybe it was us as we are more used to Southern Cem (& The General)

Good Luck!!

[uk2003]

Hi Gareth

D section is a nightmare, many flat stones have been uncovered but the vast majority have not or have gone.

What is the grave number for this section, a friend has a database which may help in locating it.

Regards
Ken
 

[buntings]

Hi,many thanks to you both for the helpful and promising replies.

Ken, thanks for the offer of the database lookup. I actually have two graves to locate in section D:-

Eliza Lucas, buried 08/02/1905 Grave number 785
Cornelius Lucas, Buried 12/01/1907. Grave Number 644
( my 3xgreat grandparents)

These appear to be what I would refer to as a pauper or communal grave since there are 20 apparently unrelated burials in each.

As I am trying to fit a whole load of places and graves into my daytrip to Manchester, anything that points me in the right direction and saves some time would be a great help. Would the database help  me with the other sections? No rush as it will be 2 or 3 weeks before I can get up to Manchester.

Thanks for the advice to  take some tools to clear the grass/soil from the horizontal stones.

Gareth

[uk2003]

Hi Gareth

The answer I got back to the question was

Answer to 1) = DIG
 
Answer to 2) = DIG

So it's probe, spade, brush & water job

I am going to PP and St Joseph's (for another board) in a short while, I will see if I can get a good approximation from the grave plan I have and what I can see on the ground in that area.

Regards
Ken

[uk2003]

Hi Gareth

I located D644 by the grave number on the stone, but not having any tools I could not uncover.

Also I have found the position of D785 this set of stones are completely covered and would need digging out, if they are there that is.

To make it easier for you to find I have created a small pdf file of the grave plan I have and also a photo I took to put you in the right place when you visit.

I have uploaded this file to my sendspace.com account - it is free to download

http://www.sendspace.com/file/pdq52l

Sorry I did not have time to do the job, but hope you have fun when the time come's to visit

Regards
Ken

[buntings]

Ken,

That is absolutely fantastic -  I cant thank you enough for taking the time, it has given me promise of success when I visit ( hopefully in a couple of weekends time ).

Whilst Ive been tracing the family history for some 30 years I havent yet had to deal with a large municipal cemetery, just local church graveyards so this is something of an interesting exercise.

I have a couple of questions if I may....

You say you located D644 from the grave number on the stone but not uncovered - does this mean that each stone is actually numbered?

The second is a bit more general.. I am wondering how the choice of cemetery for burial is made. I also have a couple of graves to find in the southern cemetery, one of these is for my great-grandfather that actually lived in Newton Heath which from the map is very close to Philips Park. I am wondering why he wasnt buried there - would it have been his or family choice or was only one cemetery in use at a given time?

Again, thanks for the help, I appreciate it greatly.

Gareth