Friar's Bush Graveyard is Belfast's oldest Christian burial site,[1] located on the Stranmillis Road in South Belfast.
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Friar's Bush Graveyard - Belfast's Oldest Graveyard
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Friar's Bush Cemetery Stranmillis Belfast
Transcription
History
The mysterious Friar's stone in the cemetery bears the inscription AD 485.[1] The oldest headstone in the cemetery was erected to the memory of Thomas Gibson who died in 1717. During the 1800s, the cemetery was repeatedly raided by body-snatchers, including in 1823 when the bodies of a woman and a child were stolen from the graveyard, although they were later returned.[1]
The cemetery is the resting place of thousands of victims of the Cholera epidemic of the 1830s and the Great Irish famine of the 1840s.[1] These people were buried in a mound dubbed 'Plaguey Hill', which is located just inside the cemetery's main gates.[2] Also located inside the graveyard's main gates is the "Pauper's Pit", which is the resting place of those too poor to afford a headstone. By the mid 19th-century, the cemetery was becoming overcrowded, and only families with burial rights were allowed to be interred,[2] and in 1869 it was replaced by Milltown Cemetery as the city's main Catholic burial site.[1]
The graveyard is the resting place of the famed baker and philanthropist Bernard (Barney) Hughes who died in 1878.[3]
Friar's Bush has been maintained by the Belfast City Council since 2000, having previously been owned by the Catholic Church.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Friar's Bush Graveyard | Culture Northern Ireland". Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ a b c "Friar's Bush". Belfastcity.gov.uk.
- ^ "The Dictionary of Ulster Biography". Newulsterbiography.co.uk.
External links
54°34′54″N 5°56′06″W / 54.5818°N 5.9350°W
This page was last edited on 20 August 2023, at 07:51