Location/Direction

Almost directly opposite the impressive Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene on Leeds Road can be found the entrance gates to the cemetery. The busy main road which runs alongside the cemetery gives adequate access from nearby Wakefield. The location of the cemetery is marked for the stranger by a row of tall well established trees, which stand behind a high wall of red brick.  

Situated on land at the lower end of the cemetery is Rooks Nest Road School, whose playing fields abut the cemetery boundary. Surrounded as it is by housing development, the cemetery offers a piece of local heritage and provides a tranquil haven in which to reflect the foresight of our ancestors in laying out such establishments so many years ago.

Statistics  

First Burial 
Name:- Thomas Arundel
Address:-  Outwood
Date of Burial:- 16 January 1873
Aged:-  9 Weeks
Size of Cemetery  Approximately 4 Acres  

Information 

Standing in prominent isolation at the entrance to the cemetery as if to remind us of the passage of time is the original curator’s lodge which was once the boardroom and administrative centre of the Outwood Burial Board. Unfortunately, the original wrought iron entrance gates to the cemetery are no longer insitu and have been replaced with less ornate modern gates of metal construction.

Inside the cemetery and to the right of the entrance is an early attempt to regulate and standardise the size of memorials on a lawn type system of burial. The style of memorial chosen, whilst being of a particularly attractive design, became progressively more expensive and was eventually discontinued. Some 50 metres in from the entrance, the ground in the cemetery falls away to create a slight incline down which the visitor must walk in order to gain access to the older parts of the cemetery.

A number of old and interesting memorials are dotted throughout the site and, together with many mature ash, sycamore, beech and lime trees, the cemetery presents the visitor with a feeling that such places should be maintained as peaceful sanctuaries devoid of outside intrusion.

Also provided is a facility for the interment of cremated remains in a small memorial garden.