Location/Direction

Situated some distance from the town centre off the main Ferrybridge Road, the cemetery occupies a large area of ground on both sides of Healdfield Road. The top cemetery, which abuts the Queens Park, has been developed on one of the steepest hillsides in the area and from the top there are panoramic views of Castleford and beyond. 

Statistics

First Burial 
Name:- George Kelly
Address:-  Castleford
Date of Burial:- 18 October 1857
Aged:-  10 weeks
Size of Cemetery  Approximately 16 acres  

Information 

Developed as a successor to the Castleford Parish Churchyard, the cemetery was originally administered by the Castleford and Glasshoughton Joint Burial Board. Rapid expansion of the population in the growing town of Castleford soon placed demands upon the ground available for burial and it soon became necessary to extend the cemetery to a new site across Healdfield Road. In all the cemetery has been extended three times since it opened in 1857.  

The original lodge built in the old cemetery entrance has long been demolished but the new one built in the "Upper Cemetery" in 1885 has been modernised and is still in use. The twin chapels constructed in the old cemetery were used for services until the early 1970’s when infrequency of use necessitated their closure. Sadly subsidence caused structural damage to one of the chapels and this had to be demolished during the 1990’s. Winding walks meandering serpent-like in perfect symmetry make the burial ground a delight to wander around and the large ornate memorials are monolithic reminders of the ostentatiousness which was evident by our forebears in their attempts to immortalise the memory of their loved ones.  

The cemetery has suffered extensively from Dutch Elm Disease, which decimated the tree population and left large areas lacking their previous leafy splendour. Vandalism too has taken its toll on many irreplaceable and historic memorials. A large and interesting cemetery containing every aspect of burial and its changing trends spanning over a century.