The Burial Ground Problem in Leeds, c.1700-1914

Burial Ground Problem in LeedsJIM MORGAN'S MOST COMPREHENSIVE analysis The Burial Ground Problem in Leeds, c.1700-1914 gives a graphic account of a subject frequently ignored by historians; yet it was a subject which, in part, dominated the politics of Leeds during much of the nineteenth century.  The vastly increasing population of the town, spawned by its burgeoning industrial base, saw ever greater demands on the need for space for interments. This itself was compounded by the acrimonious religious feuds as Anglicans and Nonconformists bitterly disputed the issue. Having first explained the provision of burial ground under the parochial administration from c.1700 to 1820,the extent the pressure the parochial administration was placed in between c.1820 and 1840  is then examined. The first part of the work concludes with a consideration of the achievement of a non-sectarian provision for burial.

 Part Two is an extensive gazetteer of all the burial grounds existing and created in the pre-1912 borough of Leeds between 1700 and 1914 and two which were erected outside the borough by Leeds communities. The burial grounds are grouped by township, with Leeds township first and the other townships following in alphabetical order. Within each township the burial grounds are described chronologically and these descriptions are supplemented with a series of maps specially created for the publication by David Thornton.

This major academic study which is aimed at the social historian, the student of local history and the general reader opens up an area of research frequently ignored.


Jim Morgan, is a retired academic who for many years lectured at Leeds Polytechnic and then Leeds Metropolitan University. He contributed the chapter 'Demographic Change' in A History of Modern Leeds edited by Derek Fraser and published by Manchester University Press in 1980. For many years he has been a member of the Thoresby Society, acting as its secretary from 2001 to 2005 and then from 2005 to 2011 as its president. He is now a vice-president. His other interests include caring for his allotment and watching cricket at Headingley.

 

Index

ISBN   978 0 900741 73 9

 

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