Bloxwich is a town located in Walsall in the West Midlands of England with a rich heritage and history. Historically it was contained within the county of Staffordshire but in 1974 it was moved into the newly formed West Midlands county.1 Bloxwich Cemetery is located in the heart of Bloxwich and is full of history serving as the final destination for many families over the generations. Join me as we explore the rich history and stories that make Bloxwich Cemetery such an integral part of the heritage of the town.
History of Bloxwich Cemetery
Bloxwich Cemetery opened in 1875 with the first burial on the 7th of June of William Boncer (possibly Bonser), a 28-year-old man from Church Street, Bloxwich.2 It was created due to the overcrowding of church graveyards, specifically the local parish church of All Saints, and the urgent need for more burial spaces. Its establishment came at a time when there was a shift to the secularisation of burials, allowing people of all backgrounds and denominations to be buried here. It is located at 222 Field Road, Bloxwich, Walsall, UK covering approximately 30 acres.
Names of Bloxwich
Many of the surnames in the area show up in the Bloxwich Burial Registers including several of my family. You can see a list of surnames covered in the FreeReg Bloxwich parish birth, marriage, and burial registers. Here is a list of some of my family surnames of people buried at Bloxwich Cemetery:
Allsop
Appleby
Crutchley
Foster
Lloyd
Stokes
Taylor
Walker
Whitehouse
Sites to search for burial records
FreeReg is such a great resource to do searches to find family members. There are baptsim, marriage, and burial records from all around England that have been transcribed already. New records are being added constantly as busy volunteers transcribe registers so others can search for records. I am a current volunteer and am currently undertaking the Bloxwich Cemetery transcriptions – so far I have transcribed a total of 10,344 burial records from 1875 to 1922. If you have time to transcribe consider volunteering to increase the names on this valuable resource!
Head over to FreeReg today to search or volunteer!
Findagrave is another great resource to find ancestors as volunteers regularly upload images of gravestones in cemeteries around the world.
The original registers are at the Staffordshire Records Office but are unable to be accessed as they build the Staffordshire History Centre that will bring together the collections of Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service, the County Museum, and the William Salt Library. For more on this amazing project visit the Staffordshire History Centre website.
You can find many parish registers and much more at Findmypast.
Click on the below image to head over there today to start your genealogy journey!
Bibliography
- 1. Wikipedia contributors. “List of Staffordshire Boundary Changes.” Wikipedia, April 9, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Staffordshire_boundary_changes#:~:text=1974%3A%20Under%20The%20Local%20Government,newly%20formed%20West%20Midlands%20County, Accessed 24 July 2023.
- 2. “Bloxwich Cemetery Burial Register 1. 1875-1885. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSN3-3QC9-D?cat=480108. Accessed 24 July 2023.
Image Credits
- a. Bloxwich Cemetery Map’, https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bloxwich+Cemetery/@52.6195689,-2.0006552,649m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x48709f5dd153f039:0x4126a464e1534d40!8m2!3d52.6194973!4d-1.9982198!16s%2Fg%2F12hn4h29y?entry=ttu, Accessed 24 July 2023.
- b. John M. ‘Bloxwich Cemetery’, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Bloxwich_Cemetery_-_geograph.org.uk_-_263996.jpg, Accessed 24 July 2023.
