Gravestones at the cathedral

[Annie65115]

Hi.

I know that my ancestors James and Mary Rawson were buried at the Cathedral; I've seen their headstone there, it's one of the ones that were relocated in a "snake" of upright stones in the cathedral grounds.

I haven't been there for a while but I have just seen a photo of the headstone on "find a grave" - where it says that it's been relocated to Welford Road!

Does anyone know if this is true? Have stones been moved (again!) from the cathedral to Weford Rd, say within the last 3 years?

[Little Nell]

This article:

http://www.pukaarnews.com/leicesters-new-cathedral-gardens-come-to-life/10624/

implies that some have been kept at the cathedral in the new gardens, while others are now at Welford Road. 

You might want to contact the Friends of Welford road Cemetery:

http://www.fowrcl.org.uk/

who might be able to confirm what you found on Find a Grave.

Nell

[Annie65115]

Thanks.

[Ozdais]

Assume you mean this one Annie - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159514598/james-rawson

I go to Welford Road Cemetery most Saturdays - the visitor centre is open all day Fridays, and Saturday and Sunday mornings, and we do now have some of the stones from the cathedral behind the centre. There are also some at Saffron Hill, where I found my own ancestor(John Butler 1800 - 1834)'s stone - tho his body I assume is still at the cathedral!!

[Derek C Goodwin]

I don't like this headstone moving, I would be pretty upset if it had happened to my relative to a new graveyard, we had two moved at Twyford in Leicestershire and that was disconcerting.

[Ozdais]

Don't go near the record office then - seems the cathedral grounds have been reordered a number of times (including the late 1800s and the 1930s) - record office has copies of letters of complaint when, in a previous reordering, headstones were buried underground at the cathedral!! Don't know if my John's parents, Henry and Elizabeth (nee Fielding) Butler, had a headstone (they were buried at the cathedral) but have never found it!! :-(

[Derek C Goodwin]

I might put pen onto paper in the Mercury!

[Annie65115]

The gravestones as they stood at the cathedral prior to their recent removal, were obviously not in their original formation. I can't see much point getting excited about the latest move when it's definitely not the first.

[Ozdais]

Did find an exercise book at the record office with pencil drawings of where some of the graves are - think my John Butler now has a bench near him so can sit and chat to him. John's widow, Jane (nee Hollins), is commemorated on his stone, but her body is (and always has been) at Welford Road Cemetery with her second set of in laws so she must be really confused!! Just wish "Mike from Leicester" was still around - he was so helpful to me in my early searches - he'd be loving all these new findings!! :-)