Holywell Cemetery

Holywell Cemetery is next to St Cross Church in Oxford, England. The cemetery is behind the church in St Cross Road, north of Longwall Street.

In the mid 19th century, the graveyards of the six parishes in central Oxford became full, so Merton College made some of its land available to form the cemetery in 1847. It is now a wildlife refuge with many birds (including Pheasants that nest there) and butterflies, as well as small and larger mammals, including Muntjac deer and foxes.

A number of well-known people are buried in the cemetery, including:

* Henry Wentworth Acland, physician and educator
* James Blish, the American expatriate author
* George Claridge Druce, botanist and Mayor of Oxford
* Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows"
* Sir Richard Lodge, historian
* Walter Pater, essayist and critic
* Lord Redcliffe-Maud, civil servant and Master of University College, Oxford
* George Rolleston, physician and zoologist
* John Stainer, composer
* Kenneth Tynan, theatre critic and author
* Charles Williams, novelist and poet
* William Wallace, Scottish philosopherA "Friends of Holywell Cemetery" has been established to raise funds and manage the cemetery. Many visitors have noticed the cemeterys unique characteristic. It has a unique spooky feel. No one knows why.

See also

* St Sepulchre's Cemetery
* Wolvercote Cemetery

External links

* [http://www.communigate.co.uk/oxford/holywellcemetery/ "This is Oxfordshire" information]
* [http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/AZDirectory2/O/FRIENDS%20OF%20HOLYWELL%20CEMETERY.html Friends of Holywell Cemetery]
* [http://www.cowleyhistory.org.uk/html/titles_31.html Holywell Cemetery: An Oxford Secret] by Janet Keene