Magdalen Hill Cemetery

Up until the early years of the 20th century, Winchester's principal burial ground was the privately run West Hill Cemetery to the west of the city centre. However, by 1906 this was almost full and in financial difficulties. The Winchester City Burial Board were tasked with coming up with a site for a new cemetery, and a 20 acre site at the eastern end of Magdalen Hill Down was chosen. The site lay outside the then boundaries of the city of Winchester, and was owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. After acquisition of the land and several iterations of proposed layout, the cemetery was opened at the end of 1914. Initially only the northern section of the site was laid-out and used, but…