Victoria Park Cemetery: Meath Gardens

Headstones.

Victoria Park Cemetery opened in 1845 and was the last of the eight private garden cemeteries to open.

The cemetery was unconsecrated and, when it opened, had two chapels, designed by the architect Arthur Ashpitel, 

The great Gothic archway.

The great Gothic archway, restored in 2017, still stands at one of the entrances emblazoned with 'VPC 1845'.

During its short existence over 300,000 bodies were interred here, with three-quarters of them being children.

Although well-managed initially, it was a poor financial venture and became insolvent in 1853, leading to its closure in 1876.

Headstones.

Following its closure the monuments were cleared... But, the bodies were never removed.

Duke of York Column

The Unfinished City's lost viewing platform.

I have walked by this memorial, to the Duke of York, countless times and assumed that it was a simple memorial atop a column. However, I was always intrigued by the doorway at the foot of the column, wondering why it was there and where it led. Was it to access an underground tunnel or was it simply a later addition, to act as a kind of cupboard? I needed to find out.