Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham - A History and Guide Arranged Alphabetically by Thomas T. Harman;Walter Showell
page 73 of 741 (09%)
page 73 of 741 (09%)
|
the extension of the same line.--During the year 1883 the time-honoured
old Meeting-house yard, where Poet Freeth, and many another local worthy, were laid to rest, has been carted off--dust and ashes, tombs and tombstones--to the great graveyard at Witton, where Christian and Infidel, Jew and Gentile, it is to be hoped, will be left at peace till the end of the world. In 1860, the Corporation purchased 105 acres of land at Witton for the Borough Cemetery. The foundation stones of two chapels were laid August 12, 1861, and the Cemetery was opened May 27, 1863, the total cost being nearly £40,000. Of the 105 acres, 53 are consecrated to the use of the Church of England, 35 laid out for Dissenters, and 14 set aside for Catholics and Jews. ~Census.~--The numbering of the people by a regular and systematic plan once in every ten years, only came into operation in 1801, and the most interesting returns, as connected with this town and its immediate neighbourhood, will be found under the heading of "_Population_." ~Centre of Birmingham.~--As defined by the authorities for the settlement of any question of distance, Attwood's statue at the top of Stephenson Place, in New Street, is reckoned as the central spot of the borough. In olden days, Nelson's monument, and prior to that, the Old Cross, in the Bull Ring, was taken as the centre. As an absolute matter of fact, so far as the irregular shape of the borough area will allow of such a measurement being made, the central spot is covered by Messrs. Harris and Norton's warehouse in Corporation Street. ~Centenarians.~--John Harman, better known as Bishop Vesey, died in 1555, in his 103rd year. James Sands, who died at Harborne in 1625, was |
|