York Cemetery was opened in 1837 as a private company. After many years of successful trading and expansion it paid good dividends to the its shareholders.  However, by the 1960s, with the cemetery almost full, it became clear the cemetery was no longer financially viable and the high returns previously enjoyed by the shareholders could not be sustained.  In the 1940s the company continued its steady decline.  With the prospect of very little income to pay wages and cover the high maintenance costs of the site and the buildings the Cemetery Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1966.

The liquidators immediately began to sell off the assets and by 1979 nothing of any commercial value was left. With no interested parties willing to take on the responsibility of maintaining the site the cemetery devolved to the Crown. All rights of burial and access to the site were lost.  The grounds, containing 28,000 graves, 17,000 memorials, and two listed buildings in an advanced state of decay became the target of vandals.

Over the liquidation period, the Cemetery became a derelict wilderness and the collapse of the roof of the Grade II* listed  mortuary chapel in August 1984 was a turning point.  This single event stimulated a group of local people to take action, which led to the formation of York Cemetery Trust, who became the owners of the new freehold of the whole site in February 1987. Restoration began with the aid of grants and donations from many sources. The chapel came to new life when, after being left derelict for many years in the last century, it was restored once the Trustees took over the site in the late 1980s.

The full and fascinating history of York Cemetery, with a good overview of the restoration of the site and Chapel, can be found in from This Garden of Death: The History of York Cemetery 1837 – 2007 (2008) by Hugh Murray, published by The Friends of York Cemetery.

Copies can be ordered from:

The Friends of York Cemetery,
The Gatehouse, Cemetery
Road, York,
YO10 5AJ

or by emailing reception@yorkcemetery.org.uk

Price: £7.00 (£6.00 to members of the Friends of York Cemetery) plus £3.50 postage and packing