Having been in Salford and it's environs for well over 50 years I decided to visit one of our more interesting local heritage sites today. Weaste cemetery was Salford first municipal cemeteries and, despite the rain, we spent a good hour walking round and finding all sorts of interesting things. As well as the graves and memorials of the famous, including Charles Halle, Joseph Brotherton and Mark Addy we found a very sad and poignant mass grave of orphan children, all dead within days of each other. Presumably some illness at the orphanage.

A little light relief was to be had with the grave of Euphemia and Launcelot C. Tulip, a mother and grown up son from Gateshead. I know we should not laugh at names but when we found what the 'C' stood for we could not help it. Try and guess without recourse to any genealogy sites. I will post it tomorrow if no-one has guessed right by then.

Back to the more famous, Joseph Brotherton was one of those rare, real philanthropists. A massive anti-slavery campaigner and supporter of the public library movement he ensured that Salford was the first municipal authority in Britain with a public museum, art gallery and library. A founder of the vegetarian movement and pacifist it speaks volumes that his huge memorial was built by public support. A great difference to the worst examples of the era characterised by the factory and mine owners who used slave labour and rode roughshod over the working classes.

Anyhow - Anyone else visit cemeteries? Why~ and what do you get from it? Who is in your local?

Cheers

DeG