Grave of Samuel Holberry
📍 294 Cemetery Rd, Sharrow, Sheffield S11 8FT, UK
About Grave of Samuel Holberry
The Grave of Samuel Holberry offers a significant historical landmark within the tranquil grounds of Sheffield General Cemetery. Samuel Holberry was a prominent local leader in the Chartist movement, a crucial working-class political reform movement in Britain during the 19th century. His final resting place, alongside his wife Mary Holberry, was notably funded by the Chartist Association itself, a testament to his impact and the collective spirit of the movement.
Visitors to this site can reflect on the profound struggles for democratic rights and social justice championed by Holberry and his contemporaries. The Chartist People’s Charter, published in 1838, advocated for fundamental changes like universal male suffrage and secret ballots, principles that laid foundations for modern democracy. With a superb Google rating of 5/5 stars, the grave is recognised for its historical importance and the insight it provides into Sheffield’s radical past and the broader fight for workers' rights.
Visiting Information
The Grave of Samuel Holberry is accessible at all times, being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as part of the public cemetery. No specific accessibility features or payment options are provided, as visits typically involve quiet contemplation within the cemetery environment.
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📍 294 Cemetery Rd, Sharrow, Sheffield S11 8FT, UK
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The grave of the Chartist movement's prominent figures Samuel Holberry and Mary Holberry. The grave, G 55 Nonconformist, was paid for by the Chartist Association. The People’s Charter was published in 1838. It which stated that: ‘The working classes produced the rich man’s wealth, while being oppressed by unjust and unequal laws’. The text became the foundation of a mass movement, calling for huge political reform, including for the right of every man to have the vote, secret ballots, payment for MPs so that ordinary men could afford to stand for election and annual parliaments. Hundreds of thousands of people signed the Charter, which was presented to Parliament. About a third of these signatories were women. Samuel Holberry was betrayed and arrested alongside his wife Mary as one of the leaders of the Chartist movement in Sheffield. Mary, also a Chartist, was was pregnant at the time of her arrest. She was locked up for two days and interrogated. She refused to talk and was released without charge. Mary continued to petition for Samuel’s release. The Holberry’s baby, Samuel John was born in May 1840. He died at the age of 18 weeks. At the trial, Samuel was not allowed to offer any defence. He was found guilty and sentenced to four years in Northallerton House of Correction. Samuel was illegally made to work a treadmill and his health deteriorated. In 1842, he was transferred to York Castle, where he died aged 27. Thousands of people lined the streets for his funeral procession and shops were shut. The cortege was led by a band of musicians playing hymns and the coffin was festooned with a large black banner, on one side of which read ��Thou shalt do no murder’ and on the other ‘Vengeance is mine, and I will repay it, saith the Lord.’ Mary remained active in the Chartist movement. In 1844, she joined the Chartists on a picket line in support of a miners’ strike. She remarried and had more children, the first of which she named Holberry. Mary died at the age of 67 in 1883 and was buried in the same grave as Samuel Holberry. Read more: https://gencem.org/significantsights/samuel-holberry/