Spion Kop Cemetery, originally known as Hartlepool Cemetery, is a disused cemetery on the coast in

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

in England. It was opened in 1856 to replace

St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool St Hildas Church is the parish church of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The church is located in Old Hartlepool on the Headland. It is on ...

churchyard and designed by John Dobson. The area took its name from the

Battle of Spion Kop The Battle of Spion Kop (; ) was a military engagement between British forces and two Boer Republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, during the campaign by the British to relieve the besieged city Ladysmith during the ...

in 1900 during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. The cemetery was formed from a combination of sand dune and ship's ballast. It is closed to new burials and is now managed as a local nature reserve. Species found there include thrift, the

pyramidal orchid ''Anacamptis pyramidalis'', the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus '' Anacamptis'' of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name ''Anacamptis'' derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning ' ...

, and the lesser meadow-rue.

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External links

* * {{coord, 54, 42, 25, N, 1, 12, 32, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Cemeteries in England Hartlepool 1856 establishments in England Nature reserves in County Durham