Wolvercote Cemetery is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

in the parish of

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village in the Oxford district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. H ...

and district of

Cutteslowe Cutteslowe is a suburb in the north of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England, between Sunnymead and Water Eaton. Archaeology and toponym The toponym "Cutteslowe" is derived from Old English. The earliest known record of it is from AD 1004 as ''Cuð ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England. Its main entrance is on Banbury Road and it has a side entrance in Five Mile Drive. It has a funeral

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, public toilets and a small amount of car parking. It was awarded plaques as a category winner of 'Cemetery of the Year' in 1999 and 2001. The cemetery was opened in 1889 and now contains more than 15,000 burials. Along with the other Oxford public cemeteries it was expected to be full before 2021.

Sections

The cemetery has a number of sections for individual religions or ethnicities, including Baháʼí,

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

(first section dedicated 1894; extension 2000),

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

, Polish Roman Catholic, other

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(the section in which the Tolkiens are buried) and

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

. There is an area for the burial of

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

remains, one for green burials and another for the burial of

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...

s and infants.

Notable interments

Many notable people are buried in Wolvercote Cemetery, including many former academics of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. * Charles Umpherston Aitchison (1832–1896), Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab * Michael Argyle (1925–2002), social psychologist, and his wife Sonia * Sir

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub- 4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

(1929–2018), middle-distance runner and neurologist who ran the first sub-4-minute mile * Sir Ernest Bennett (1865–1947), Oxford fellow, politician, explorer and writer * Sir

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

(1909–1997), Latvian-born

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and his wife Aline *

Benjamin Henry Blackwell Benjamin Henry Blackwell (10 January 1849 – 26 October 1924) was an English bookseller and politician who founded the Blackwell UK, Blackwell's chain of bookshops in Oxford. Blackwell was born at 46 High Street, St Clement's, Oxford, the son ...

(1849–1924), bookseller * E. J. Bowen (1898–1980), chemist * Włodzimierz Brus (1921–2007), economist, with his wife Lieutenant-Colonel Helena Wolińska-Brus (1919–2008), communist military prosecutor. * John Burdon-Sanderson (1828–1905), physiologist * Edwin Cannan (1861–1935), economist * Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005), biographer and writer * Jaroslav Černý (1898–1970), Czech Egyptologist *

Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th Baronet Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman, 7th Baronet (6 November 1846 – 8 April 1919) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish landowner, the last of the Chapman baronets of Killua Castle in County Westmeath, Ireland. For many years he lived under th ...

(1846–1919) and Sarah Junner (1861–1959), with inscriptions to the memory of their sons Frank, Will and T. E. Lawrence *

Robert Bellamy Clifton Robert Bellamy Clifton FRS (13 March 1836 – 21 February 1921) was a British scientist. Academic career Clifton was educated at University College, London and St John's College, Cambridge where he studied under Sir George Stokes. In 1860 he ...

(1836–1921), physicist * L. Jonathan Cohen (1923–2006), philosopher * Frank Cooper (1844–1927) and his wife Sarah Cooper (1848–1932), marmalade manufacturers * T. Lawrence Dale (1884–1959), architect and Oxford Diocesan Surveyor * Helena Deneke (1878–1973), Germanist, librarian and bursar * Margaret Deneke (1882–1969), pianist, musicologist, choirmaster and benefactor (sister of Helena) * John Louis Emil Dreyer (1852–1926), Danish-born astronomer * Edward Gordon Duff (1861–1924), bibliographer * Sir

Michael Dummett Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...

(1925–2011), philosopher * Elizabeth Edmondson (1948–2016), author * Bill Ferrar (1893–1990), mathematician * Grace Eleanor Hadow (1875–1940), promoter of women's higher education *

H. L. A. Hart Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart (; 18 July 190719 December 1992) was a British legal philosopher. One of the most influential legal theorists of the 20th century, he was instrumental in the development of the theory of legal positivism, which wa ...

(1907–1992),

legal philosopher Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

and professor of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

, with his wife Jenifer Hart (1914–2005), historian * Sir Thomas Erskine Holland (1835–1926), professor of international law * Walter Hooper (1931–2020), secretary to C. S. Lewis and Lewis's literary executor, in which role he wrote Lewis's authorized biography and edited his 3-volume collection of letters as well as many other posthumously published works by Lewis * Albert Hourani (1915–1993), scholar of Middle Eastern history * Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001), poet * Sir Francis Knowles, 5th Baronet (1886–1953), anthropologist * Adam Koc (1891–1969), politician, colonel and journalist of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

Peter Laslett Thomas Peter Ruffell Laslett (18 December 1915 – 8 November 2001) was an English historian. Biography Laslett was the son of a Baptist minister and was born in Bedford on 18 December 1915. Although he spent much of his childhood in Oxford, h ...

(1915–2001), social historian *

James Legge James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the Lond ...

(1815–1897), Scottish

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

and first Professor of Chinese at the University of Oxford * Eleanor Constance Lodge (1869–1936), historian and promoter of women's higher education * Paul Maas (1880–1964), Classical and Byzantine scholar * Michael Francis Madelin (1931–2007),

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

* James McCann (1897–1983),

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

* Sir Henry Christopher Mance (1840–1926), electrical engineer, developer of the

heliograph A heliograph () is a solar telegraph system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code from the 1840s) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a s ...

* Bruce Mitchell (1920–2010), Australian scholar of Old English * James Murray (1837–1915), Scottish

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, primary editor of the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' *

Dimitri Obolensky Sir Dimitri Dimitrievich Obolensky (; – 23 December 2001) was a Russian-British historian who was Professor of Russian and Balkan History at the University of Oxford and the author of various historical works. Biography Prince Dimitri Dim ...

(1918–2001), Russian prince and professor of

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and Balkan history * Daphne Park (1921–2010), spy * William Henry Perkin Jr. (1860–1929), organic chemist * Sir William Schlich (1840–1925), forester * James Allen Shuffrey(1858–1939), Victorian and Edwardian watercolour artist * Franz Baermann Steiner (1909–1952),

ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...

* Sir P. F. Strawson (1919–2006), philosopher *

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

("Beren", 1892–1973), author and academic, with his wife

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...

("Lúthien", 1889–1971) and eldest son John Francis Reuel Tolkien (1917–2003) * Dino Toso (1969–2008), automotive engineer * Brian Tovey (1926–2015), head of

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primar ...

* Francis Fortescue Urquhart (1868–1934), first Roman Catholic fellow of

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

in modern times *

Mike Woodin Michael Edward Woodin (6 November 1965 – 9 July 2004) was the Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales and a city councillor for Oxford from 1994 to 2004. He was Principal Speaker for six of the eight years between 1998 and 2 ...

(1965–2004),

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

politician *

E. M. Wright Sir Edward Maitland Wright (13 February 1906 – 2 February 2005) was an English mathematician, best known for co-authoring ''An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers'' with G. H. Hardy. He served as the Principal of the University of ...

(1906–2005), mathematician

War graves

The cemetery includes the war graves of 44

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

service personnel: 21 from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 23 from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Breakdown of figures obtained from casualties record. Date accessed 22 August 2012.

References

External links

* {{Cemeteries in England 1889 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1889 Cemeteries in Oxford Christianity in Oxford Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England * J. R. R. Tolkien

Sections

Notable interments

War graves

See also

References

External links