Kirkby Woodhouse St John

Churchyard

The churchyard around
the site of the first St
John's church

When the first St John’s Church was built in 1860, it stood in the centre of a large site to be used as a churchyard. Although the church was demolished, the churchyard continues in use to the present day as a separate cemetery to the north-west of the present church, and there is space for many more burials. All of the headstones marking burials are still standing and the oldest dates to 1861. Many of the older headstones are sandstone, which has eroded badly and consequently they are difficult to read.

The Diocesan Registers show that an Order in Council was obtained dated 21 Oct 1890 closing the churchyard of St John’s. However, the petition for the demolition of the old church (1911) says the burial ground is still in use, although further accommodation is required.

The site is a rectangle of approximately 1.5 acres surrounded by a stone wall and accessed via iron gates set between brick pillars.