Welford Road Cemetery

Welford Road Cemetery is a public cemetery in Leicester, England.

The Leicester General Cemetery Company was founded in 1845, and the cemetery itself opened in 1849. The buildings and plan of the cemetery were designed by J. R. Hamilton and J. M. Medland, who also designed cemeteries for Birmingham and Plymouth. Welford Road Cemetery was initially intended for dissenters, but the local Anglican community was able to gain inclusion. The site was initially 17 acres (6.9 ha) in size, but was extended by 13 acres (5.3 ha) in 1894.

The original parts of the cemetery were built to a symmetrical plan. Two adjacent chapels were built, serving both Anglicans and non-Anglicans. Similarly, the original cemetery contained roughly equal areas of consecrated and unconsecrated ground.

The two chapels have now been demolished, as has a gothic lodge near the main entrance. The gardener's lodge survives as the University of Leicester chaplaincy, and the ornate 1895 entrance gates are still in place. A modern visitor's centre is located near the cemetery's main entrance.

The cemetery contains over 300 British Commonwealth war graves, cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), 286 from the First World War (more than half of these in a war graves plot where a Screen Wall memorial lists names of those buried in it) and 46 from the Second, beside graves of 8 Belgian servicemen (one unidentified). It also has a war memorial which includes a statue designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

A leaflet published by Leicester City Council identifies one hundred notable burials within the cemetery. The cemetery itself contains a large number of commemorative plaques, giving biographical information about notable interments.

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