Not the most photographed of places but this image shows the chapel very well. It is now being changed into a house (a sign of the times no doubt). To the left of the photograph is the cemetery lodge once occupied by Mr Sanderson who looked after the cemetery. Ann Wilkinson told the Archive: “My mother, Elizabeth daughter of Edgar Sanderson who lived for a time at Cemetery Lodge told me that one night she woke to see a face looking down at her from the bottom of the bed. The face was surrounded by fog. She was very frightened and put her head under the covers and didn’t look again till morning. Thankfully it never happened again.”
Marjorie Magor tells the Archive: “I remember going to Loftus cemetery, with my mam Bessie Fawcett. William Sanderson was her uncle, my great uncle. I always called him uncle Bill Sanderson. He was a fantastic gardener, won prizes all over this area with his Dahlias and Chrysanthemums. He had an amazing grape vine in his greenhouse, they tasted delicious. One thing I remember vividly is taking his dog (a Border Collie) for a walk around the cemetery, his name was “Scot”, what a lovely dog he was too. The “Church” was later to become a mortuary (I think).”
Jeanne Simms has advised: “I now live in Cemetery Lodge. The chapel was a chapel and mortuary; council workers used it as a place to take a break. There were beautiful pews and a pulpit. Now it’s converted into a house. Looking around the cemetery I found the grave of Arthur Howard who was caretaker of the cemetery for 33 years. Sadly it was all overgrown but I’ve since cleared it. He is buried there with his wife Joanna, daughter Joanna and son in law. Now to look for William Sanderson’s grave.” Norman Patton has a request: “I would be well chuffed if you could discover the burial place of my Great Grandparents….Elizabeth Ann and William Hicks both of whom died in the first half of the 20th century and I believe were laid to rest in or close to the old cemetery. Both of these fine people played substantial parts in the history of Loftus during the East Cleveland equivalent of the ‘Gold Rush’!”
Image from a T. C. Booth postcard and thanks to Ann Wilkinson, Marjorie Magor, Jeanne Simms and Norman Patton for the updates.
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