I am trying to find the grave of my Great Great Grandparents, who are buried in Shrewsbury Cemetery.
I have been given a plot reference of '34 7H'.
Can anyone tell me where I can find a map showing the location of the grave?
MikeH, Warrington
Hi Mike, if you follow the link Cemetery Plan it shows the outline shape of the site, but sadly isn't readable. But here should be a copy of the original photo I took, which may help.
Thank you both for the replies and information.
Since posting the request I've found another relative who is in the same section and was wondering if there is a family plot. I'll have to call in next week when I'm in Shrewsbury.
Hello Mike
Shropshire Archives (see near the bottom of the page) have microform copies of the Shrewsbury Cemetery records.
Item 4 'Register of Graves' is particularly useful when you have found a grave number because it will tell you who else (if anyone) is buried in the same grave. I think it will also tell you if there is a grave stone.
If you don't have any burial details then you should first of all find the person(s) in the 'Index to Register Burials' which will give the 'Burial Register' reference which in turn will give the Grave Reference so that it can be looked up in the 'Register of Graves'.
You need to know the approximate year of death otherwise it can be a long job searching the Index of Burials, particularly for surnames where there are lots of names beginning with the same letter. Names beginning with the letter 'B' are the most numerous.
Mike
Now, thanks to Mike Hulme, I have loaded a map of the old portion of Shrewsbury's Longden Road Cemetery at Map
I was looking for a WW1 grave of my great grandmothers first husband but didnt have the map! - so Thank you.
I have got the details for his grave from CWCG but was only given the number 51. Would this simple relate to the area 51 on the map, and Ill just have to have a search through them?
I assumed the war graves would be grouped together as they are in the new side of the cemetery for WW2. I was very wrong. I spent about 2 hours just wondering around and having now looked at the mpa, I was nowhere near...I was up the far end!
Hello penbex86
The Commonwealth War Graves Comission web site states that there are 222 Identified Casualties in the Shrewsbury General Cemetery and it adds the following information:-
"There were military hospitals in Shrewsbury and the surrounding area during both wars. The 125 burials from the First World War are scattered throughout the old part of Shrewsbury General Cemetery with a large group towards the eastern end but there is a war graves plot in the newer part which contains more than half of the 94 Second World War burials. The rest are scattered."
I am surprised if the CWGC records don't give a full reference to the grave position. I have just checked a few at random and they all have a full reference so is it possible you didn't read it correctly. In any case you could easily look it up in the records which are available (on microfiche) at Shropshire Archives.
If you wish to state the name here we can check the CWGC record for you.
Mike
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Hello Mike
The Shrewsbury Cemetery in Longden Road, Shrewsbury is in two distinct parts - the older part behind the Chapel where all the roads are laid out in circles and curves and the newer part adjacent to what used to be the Shrewsbury By-Pass where the roads are straight and laid out in rectangles.
Your burial is in the older part of the cemetery but adjacent to the hedge between the old and new part. The main complication with the layout is that all the grave plots are laid out on a rectangular grid but the roads are all curved and the roads cut indiscriminately across the rectangles. In your case there are actually two pieces of road running over Section 34, one across the bottom edge and the other cutting diagonally almost across the middle.
Each 'Section' is divided into 16 Divisions (numbered 1 - 16) and each Division is divided into 8 'Graves' lettered A - H. There is a copy of the cemetery plan at the gateway by the Chapel. If you have a digital camera I suggest you take it with you and take two photos of the plan, one of the main plan showing the Section numbers with their layout and another showing the detailed layout of the Sections and Graves. To help you find the exact grave you should be aware that every grave stone in the cemetery has to have the grave reference number engraved on it - sometimes on edge and sometimes on the back. Even if your relative doesn't have a grave stone it is often possible to work out where the grave plot is located by using nearby stones.
If all else fails, try to find one of the ground maintenance staff and ask for their help.
Mike