Bedford
Bedford Cemetery

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By the 1850s the problem of congested graveyards in Bedford was becoming acute. It was said that in 1852 there were not 30 spaces left in St. Marys graveyard. A burial board was set up and in 1853 a site was chosen on land known as Fosters Hill and the cemetery was opened on the 5th June 1855 with all existing graveyards in the town being closed by order of the Privy Council. The entrance lodge to the cemetery was designed by local architect T.J.Jackson.

The cemetery was known as Bedford Cemetery until the new cemetery at Norse Road opened in 1987 when the name was changed to Foster Hill Road Cemetery.

Sources:

• GODBER, J. The Story of Bedford. 1978
• HAMSON, J. Bedford Town and Townsmen. 1896
• Newspaper Cuttings Collection, Local Studies Library, Bedford Central Library

Bedford Cemetery, by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2009

Page last updated: 21st January 2014