Bristol Burials

John Latimer¹ suggests that by the 1830's the population of Bristol was about twelve times greater than it had been in the mediaeval times. However, the land available for burial had not increased significantly. The parish churchyards together with a few small private and denominational burial grounds were insufficient and many of them were no longer fit for purpose and clearly a health hazard. In 1848 the Public Health Act required the closure of most of the inner city churchyards by 1854 and alternative provision became necessary.

Quaker's Friars burial ground	only one body in each grave
Quaker's burial ground, Redcliffe	only one body in each grave
Quakers burial ground, near workhouse	only one body in each grave
Jews burial ground, St Philips Marsh	(Known as Barton Road, St Philips (see below*) only one body in each grave
Jews burial ground, Temple Parish	(Known as Great Garden, Rose Street (see below*) only one body in each grave
St Georges, Brandon Hill	only one body in each grave and no burials within five yards of a building
Zion Chapel, Bedminster	only one body in each grave and no burials within five yards of a building
Cathedral	only one body in each grave, and no burials within five yards of a building plus restrictions in certain areas
Portland Street Weslyan Chapel	no burials within five yards of a building
St Pauls	Burials discontinued except of member of the families of those already interred there
Redcross Street Baptist burial ground	Burials discontinued except to members of the congregation and only one body in each grave
Redcross Street Wesleyan Chapel yard	Burials discontinued except to members of the congregation and only one body in each grave
Bunhill Fields, Redcross Street	Burials discontinued except to members of the tabernacle congregation and only one body in each grave and no burials with five yards of a building

Howland's Burial Ground: was founded by Thomas Howland, a house painter, in the early 1800's on land in Newfoundland Road which he had owned since 1786. At the time of it's closure in 1854 (see above), John Howland of 10 Wilson Street was the manager. The Bristol Records Office has the burial register 1804 - 1854.

Arnos Vale Cemetery: was set up in 1836 when the Bristol General Cemetery Company bought 28 acres of land adjacent to the Bath Road and employed Charles Underwood as architect to lay out a cemetery using about half of the land initially. The first burial took place in July 1839 but business was slow at first and only about 100 burials took place each year in its early years. The 1848 act changed all that and from about 1860 the rest of the 28 acres were brought into use. Further expansions took place in the 1890's and in the early 20th century so that the cemetery extended to 45 acres. The first crematorium in the South West of England was opened at Arnos Vale in 1928 - it was the only facility in the South west until a crematorium was opened in Plymouth in the mid 30's and the only facility in Bristol until 1956 when the Crematorium at Canford opened. Arnos Vale was the subject of a compulsory purchase order in 2002 and is now owned by Bristol City Council who delegate day-to-day management to The Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust. More information is available about Arnos Vale Cemetery here. You will find a plan of the areas in this cemetery on the Friends of Arnos Vale Cemetery website.

In due course local burial boards opened a number of cemeteries which were eventually acquired by the Bristol City council:-

Greenbank Cemetery: was originally set up for the out-parish of St. Philips in 1871, it was extended on 1880 and again in 1899. You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

Avonview Cemetery: was opened in 1883. You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

Ridgeway Park Cemetery: at Fishponds was set up by a private company in 1888. This company was wound up in 1949 and the corporation was obliged to take it over in 1954 due to its deterioration; from that time burials only took place in existing graves. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a plan of the areas in this cemetery.

Shirehampton Cemetery: was opened in 1898. We have a monumental listing for Shirehampton cemetery burials up to 1980, on this website. You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

Canford Cemetery: was opened in 1903 and the crematorium was opened in 1956. You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

Brislington Cemetery: was opened in 1905. You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

South Bristol Crematorium: at Bedminster Down was opened by the council in 1971 and a Cemetery was also laid out with the first interments taking place in 1974. You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

Henbury Cemetery: You can download a plan of this cemetery from the Bristol Council website.

Jewish Cemeteries:* - all the information below comes from the following website where you can look up burial details including, in many cases, pictures of the tomb stones:-

Barton Road, St Philips: was established in the 1740's and the earliest identified tombstone is dated 1762. It continued in use (subject to the restrictions indicated above) until the 1900's and the last burial took place there in 1944.

Great Gardens Rose Street: was established in 1811 when a Jewish businessman set aside part of his land for use as a burial ground. The land was purchased by the Great Western Railway in 1913. In 1924 27 remaining tombstones were removed and erected in the Jewish Ridgeway cemetery (see below).

Ridgeway, Eastville: was established in the 1890's and the first burial there was in 1898. The cemetery continues in use today.

Holy Souls: adjacent to Arnos Vale Cemetery was established in about 1860 when it was acquired by the Catholic church due to generosity of a Liverpudlian businessman. Within the last few years, a decision was made to limit burials at the cemetery to existing graves only. The earliest burial record appear to have been destroyed.