| Birmingham Crematorium | |
|---|---|
 The main building in December 2013 | |
 Interactive map of the Birmingham Crematorium area | |
| Alternative names | Perry Barr Crematorium |
| General information | |
| Type | Crematorium |
| Location | Walsall Road,Perry Barr,Birmingham,England |
| Coordinates | 52°31′47″N1°54′32″W / 52.52975°N 1.90880°W /52.52975; -1.90880 |
| Opened | 1903 (1903) |
| Cost | £7,000 |
| Owner | Dignity plc |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Frank Osborne |
Birmingham Crematorium is acrematorium in thePerry Barr district ofBirmingham, England, designed byFrank Osborne and opened in 1903. Acolumbarium was added in 1928. The crematorium is now owned and operated byDignity plc.
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Cremation was not declared legal in Great Britain until 1885, by precedent from the trial ofWilliam Price.[1] Despite the opening ofWoking Crematorium in 1878[1] and the passing of theCremation Act 1902, which came into effect on 1 April 1903,[2] it remained controversial, on religious grounds,[3] in the first decade of the twentieth century.[3] However, proposals to build a crematorium for the city of Birmingham, the ninth such facility in the United Kingdom,[4] received support from SirOliver Lodge, Principal of theUniversity of Birmingham, and were given the approval of the three local bishops:Edmund Knox (Coventry),Augustus Legge (Lichfield) andCharles Gore (Worcester)[1] (Birmingham did not haveits own bishop until 1905).[5]
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In a letter read at the opening ceremony, Bishop Gore wrote:[3]
What I should desire when I myself die is that my body should be reduced rapidly to ashes, so that it may do no harm to the living, and then in accordance with Christian feeling be laid in the earth.
Similarly, Bishop Knox wrote that:[3]
In spite of strong sentimental objections very naturally entertained, we shall come to see that under the conditions of modern life cremation is not only preferable from the sanitary point of view, but that it is also the most reverent and decent treatment of the bodies of the dead.
The ceremony was conducted bySir Henry Thompson, first president of theCremation Society of Great Britain. His address, wroteThe Lancet:[3]
dealt with the history of the cremation movement from its origin in 1874. He referred to the passing of the general Act last session and to the certain increase of cremation in the future. The proceedings at the opening of the Birmingham Crematorium should go far to impress the minds of any who study them with a sense of the desirability of cremation whether viewed from a religious or from a scientific and sanitary standpoint.
It was his last public duty as the society's president; he died the following year, and was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium.[1]
Built on a site previously known as Sheldon Coppice,[6] alongside theA34 (Walsall Road), the Birmingham facility cost £7,000,[4] and had furnaces designed by Messrs. Wilcox & Raikes.[7] The architect wasFrank Osborne.[8][9]
The current porch replaces a smaller original.
Acolumbarium, detached from the main building, was completed in January 1928.[10]
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The crematorium has been remodelled internally at least twice, the most recent occasion being in 2003. Pews were replaced by chairs, the wooden ceiling was painted, and a gallery over the area where the coffin rests (not present when the crematorium was opened) was removed. Following this, a rededication service as led by the Bishop for Birmingham,John Sentamu.[11]
The gardens host aCommonwealth War Graves Commission memorial commemorating threeWorld War I and 64World War II servicemen who were cremated at Perry Barr. Headstones mark the sites of the ashes of one of the 64, and a Czech soldier.[12]
By the time of the centenary commemorations in October 2003, 136,000 funerals had been held.[13]
The crematorium is now operated by Dignity plc and is still in active use.[14] It can accommodate coffins up to 30 inches (76 cm) wide, 1 inch (2.5 cm) less than other crematoria in the vicinity.[15]
A number of notable people have been cremated at Perry Barr. They include:
This / Plaque Commemorates / The Rededication Of / Birmingham Crematorium / On The 13th day Of July 2003 / Conducted By / The Revd. Dr. John Sentamu / Bishop For Birmingham/ 1903 2003
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