Memorials in Beeston -

Beeston Cemetery - The cemetery is situated towards the northern end of Wollaton Road and was opened in 1886 in response to the problem of lack of space in the churchyard and the demands of a growing population. A cemetery chapel is situated just inside the gate.

Today, the cemetery is owned, maintained and administered by Broxtowe Borough Council which holds the burial records. Details of how and where enquiries should be made, can be found here.

The database provides details of almost all surviving memorials - and some that no longer survive - within the older parts of the cemetery. Most have been photographed and the images are available here. The remainder will be available as the necessary photography progresses. It is a unique and powerful facility to explore the memorials in the older sections of the cemetery.

GOOD NEWS: The main issue that arose from the forced upgrade of the underlying system that drives this database which, in turn. forced a rewrite of this enquiry facility is now largely fixed. There remains a few relatively minor, cosmetic issues that should be fixed routinely before the end of October 2023. In the meantime, any residual issues should not inhibit its use in finding the information you seek.

New users of this index may wish to read the following notes to assist in getting the best use of the facility and to find out about its scope and features.

Scroll through the help topics or display them all by selecting the expanded option here Scrolling Expanded

What does it include ? - every effort has been made to include all surviving memorials in the original section of the cemetery (i.e the area up to the side gate, the limit of the cemetery before its extension in the 1930s) as well as those in the first two blocks of the extension. This is based on a transcription of the names, dates, ages and significant wording on the memorials in the original cemetery, by David Hallam in 1985-86. A similar transcription of the older blocks in the extension was made in 2005. Further memorials and additional inscriptions, mostly relating to subsequent burials, were found while photographing the memorials, which started in about 2012. Linking the images to the index is now essentially complete for those memorials surviving in the original cemetery sections and the left hand side of the first section of the extension (known here as Section X1). The corresponding right hand side of the extension (Section X2) is included in the transcription but has not yet been photographed and linked. In summary, images may not display currently for the following reasons :

- an indexed memorial has been removed in the intervening period (which continues to happen as memorials become severely damaged)
- the memorial is in Section X2 of the cemetery extension which has not yet been photographed
or
- a very few surviving memorials may have been missed during the photographing exercise - checking continues

Displaying & Searching - an option in the table header, allows for searching for any element (such as a surname) occurring in anywhere in the inscription records. Simply, enter the required value and click the first magnifier icon to the right of the search box. By default the results include occurances of the entered term, anywhere in the inscriptions. This can be refined, cleared and sorted as needed by use of the adjacent controls. The data may also be sorted by clicking on the appropriate column heading. Progressing through the pages can be actioned using the controls in the table footer.

Clicking in the + button on the left end of any displayed line offers options to display details of all persons recorded on the respective memorial, to display the heading details common to the memorial stone overall, or any recorded or implied father, mother or spouse (Please read the note at the top of this page) while also providing access to any image(s) of the stone. Alternatly, Clicking the Down Arrow icon on the left hand side provides similar links while focussed on the respectove individual. The ability to View, Export and Print individual details is also supported.

Details provided : only information that is recorded on the memorial or can be implied from its wording, is recorded in the index. Although most fields are self-explanatary, the following fields may need clarification:

- Birth years are based on the birth dates (where given) or the age, if given
- 'R' in the Ref Only field indicates that the entry does not derive from an inscription for the individual, but has been derived from a reference in another inscription on the memorial (e.g. Mary Smith, wife of William - where no actual inscription for William appears)
- Note shows any significant recorded information relating to the individual. Notes relating to the memorial as a whole are recorded on the respective 'stone' record
- 'Stone' number is allocated by the system itself to identify a memorial stone or group of stones related a single grave. It has no external significance.

Locating the Memorials - each 'stone' record records the block where the memorial was found within the cemetery. These 'blocks' are sections within the cemetery bounded by paths and its overall boundaries. The original cemetery consists of three blocks each side of the central path with margin strips on three sides. We have designated the blocks on the left side (facing from the main entrance) "Chapel Block', "Left Middle" and 'Left Top". Those on the right side are designated "Right Bottom", "Right Middle" and "Right Top". Two of the margins have been designated "Wollaton Road Margin" and "Beeston Fields Drive Margin" respectively (those in the Hillside Road margin are recorded currently in the main right side blocks but this may change). Taken together, these blocks, comprise the original cemetery and extend as far as the gate onto Hillside Road. Beyond that, the cemetery has been greatly extended, the first extension being made towards the end of the 1930s. Only the first section of this extension, designated "Extension - Block 1 - Left" and Extension - Block 1 - Right" has been indexed currently.

In a few cases, where it appears on the memorial stone, the grave number is available. This may assist further in locating the memorial.

It should be noted that the location has been recorded where it was found when transcription took place. In some circumstances, this may not be the location of the related grave. This applies particularly to urns, many of which have been moved to the Beeston Fields Drive margin.

Click here to access the cemetery memorial transcription database : Beeston Cemetery

Beeston Parish Churchyard - The churchyard of St John the Baptist Church - Beeston's Parish Church - was the final resting place of local inhabitants from very early times. Burials there are recorded in the Parish Registers since these records began in 1558 up until 1888 when the churchyard was closed for almost all burials after the opening of the present cemetery in 1886.

During the 1960's the local Council took over the responsibility of maintaining the churchyard and repositioned the memorial stones around the perimeter, alongside the north-east side of the church and on the south-west side of the chancel. During the construction of the tram track, those on the north-east perimeter where removed and positioned elsewhere in the churchyard, mainly set into the grass on the opposite side. Although the tram now skirts its north-east corner, the churchyard continues to provide a pleasant oasis within the bustle of the town centre and has much of interest for those who take the time to look.

This pages provides acess to details for all surviving memorials, the earliest of which is dated 1711. Most include a transcription, a recent photograph and, where available, a link to the Burial Register.

Roll of Honour - the Great War - a Roll of Honour of the Fallen from the Great War (World War 1) with a brief account of the life of many of the 273 recorded Beeston men who made the Supreme Sacrifice in that terrible war.

War Memorials - Beeston is unusual in that it has one of the few Crimean War memorials in the country, as well as a Boer War memorial and another for the World Wars. Here, we tell the story behind each of these.

© David Hallam 2005 -