Guided cemetery tour led by Jenifer Hawkins, highlighting graves of Yorkshire sporting pioneers including cricket, football, rugby, boxing, horse racing, golf and bowls figures.
Cemetery Sports People is a guided tour of York Cemetery on Sunday 26 July, starting at 2pm from the Harriet Centre. It's led by Jenifer Hawkins, who'll take you around the graves of people who helped shape York's sporting legacy. The tour covers a wide range of sports — cricket, football, rugby, boxing, horse racing, golf and bowls — so it works whether you're into one particular game or just curious about the city's history.
Among the names you'll come across are Richard Letby and the parents of Joseph Hulme. You'll also hear about the first captain of Yorkshire cricket, an England green-bowls captain and some champion boxers. It's a good way to see how different sports took root here, and the tour is run by the Friends of York Cemetery, who organise regular walks across the site.
There's a bit of a story to how this one came together. Jenifer Hawkins is a volunteer with the Friends, and she started the sports theme after her husband, a sports enthusiast, suggested it and genealogist David Poole pointed her towards several graves of sporting figures. Since then, she's been looking for more. She's put out a call for information about women buried in the cemetery, noting the historical barriers they faced — like the Football Association's ban on women's football, which lasted from 1921 until 1971.
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The tour is part of the cemetery's wider events programme, and it's held in the working burial ground close to the heart of York City Centre. One practical thing to keep in mind: some of the paths are grassed and uneven, so you'll want to wear suitable footwear. Tickets are £5.00, and the tour kicks off at 2pm on Sunday 26 July from the Harriet Centre.
