The famous names from Cardiff’s past laid to rest in city cemetery
Did you know that one of the largest cemeteries in Wales and England is in the centre of Cardiff? Reporter Morgan Hughes joins a guided tour of the 117-acre Cathays Cemetery to learn all about its rich history and the notable people buried there
FORMER bereavement services worker Roger Swan is so passionate about the history of Cathays Cemetery that he takes guided tours around the grounds in his retirement.
Roger, who worked for Cardiff Council for 15 years, usually takes groups of 20 people but on Sunday, nearly 90 joined in.
As you walk through the magnificently maintained grounds, Roger shares his wealth of knowledge.
The cemetery opened in late 1859 and the first burial was Maria Dolores DePico in July of that year. She was the 25-year-old daughter of the Spanish ambassador to Cardiff.
The cemetery hadn’t officially opened at that time but permission was granted for the burial.
Maria died of tuberculosis and was buried in the Catholic section of the cemetery but until recently had no memorial, therefore a wooden cross was erected to memorialise her.
Since then, there have been more than 224,000 burials, including many significant figures in Cardiff including mayors, shipping magnates and lords, as well as others who helped to create the city we know today.
In 1859, there had been a demand for burials to take place away from residential areas because of the concerns for public health. As the smaller inner city church graveyards filled up, a bigger site was needed.
During the tour, Roger said: “Victorians loved symbolism with death and headstones, evident in the ornate memorial of John Stuart Rogers, whose headstone has become quite the talking point on the tours. The headstone, carved from marble, features the branch of a tree with a cut in it to symbolise life cut short, the leaves on the tree continue to grow depicting life continues on, with an anchor that represents hope and stability.”
In the 1890s there were, on average, 16 burials per day, six days a week with a service held at one of the three chapels on site – the non-conformist chapel, Church of England chapel and Catholic chapel.
The chapels, lodge, bell tower and entrance arch were originally designed by architect Robert George Thomas.
Over the years the chapels fell into disrepair and in the 1980s were in a sorry state. Tarpaulin covered the two chapels with fencing protecting the public from falling masonry.
In 2006, the Friends of Cathays Cemetery group was formed to help preserve its historical legacy, as well as maintain the grounds for visitors.
Today, the cemetery is a sanctuary for local wildlife and is an asset to the city of Cardiff for its rich historical legacy.
The council’s bereavement services department donated £400,000 to reroof the chapels and repair the masonry in 2009, and they were fully restored to their former glory.
The tours of the grounds have become more popular in recent years with A48 Theatre Company hosting trails and tales at the cemetery. There are three events planned in June.
Another notable point from the tour was that there are several limbs buried around the cemetery without their owners.
One of those is the leg of Samuel Chivers, a vinegar brewer in Cardiff who also made jams and marmalades.
Samuel had his leg amputated after an accident with a horse and cart when he was travelling home from Pontypridd.
Unsure what to do with the limb, he asked for it to be buried at the site but when he was died, the rest of his body was buried in a different area with his wife and child.
Roger, who writes poetry in his spare time, shared his poem about the tale: “A gentleman named Chivers was hit by horse and cart. His leg was badly injured so it had to part. He went to the new cemetery and there he had to ask, to have his dear leg buried until his time had past.
“He meant to join it later but by some want or whim, dear Chivers ended elsewhere and not here with his limb.”
In the Catholic section, the chapel was demolished in the early 1980s
after falling into disrepair. Some of its stonework was reused in the memorial to those who died in the Irish famine and was unveiled on St Patrick’s Day in 1999.
Other notable people buried in Cathays Cemetery include servicemen who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars, as well as politicians Robert Bird and John Emlyn-Jones, professional boxers Jim Driscoll and David (Dai) Lewis, the founder of the institute for the blind Frances Batty Shand and writer Thomas Rowland Hughes among others.
Roman Catholic Bishop John Cuthbert Hedley is buried at the site. He was an ordained priest, Bishop of Newport and a Benedictine monk.
He was an important figure for many Roman Catholics in Cardiff as he helped them to secure education at both Oxford and Cambridge universities, and established convents and schools. His memorial covers nine burial plots, one of the largest at the cemetery.
Roger said: “He was well known and well respected during that time. I imagine he wouldn’t have wanted a particularly large memorial but people wanted to show their appreciation for all he had done in his lifetime that the memorial was paid by public subscription.
“I don’t know if he would have approved or not but his legacy certainly lives on today.”
Also buried at the cemetery is 14-yearold Louisa Maud Evans, otherwise known as Mademoiselle Albertina, who died in a ballooning accident off the Welsh coast.
During a performance of the Cardiff Industrial and Maritime Exhibition in Cathays Park, the balloon was meant to ascend followed by a 5,000ft parachute descent. Louisa was supposed to have landed on the outskirts of the city and been returned to the crowds via horse and carriage.
It is said up to 100,000 people gathered to watch Louisa ascend, but they never saw her land.
Her body was found three days later near the village of Nash, a few miles east of the city.
The people of Cardiff were so moved by her death that they collected money for her funeral and headstone that reads: “Brave woman, yet in years a child, dark death closed here thy heavenward flight. God grant thee pure and undefiled, to reach at last the light of light.”
You can find out more about the next tour of Cathays Cemetery at cathayscemetery.coffeecup.com/ events.html