Welcome to Penny Pocket Park

Welcome to Penny Pocket Park. . This green space is part of the old graveyard for the Parish Church (opposite). There has been a church on this site since Saxon times, although this church dates from around 1840., By the 1830's the graveyard was full and in order for bodies to be placed in family plots the gravediggers would remove previous burials, smash the remains and re-bury them alongside the new coffin. When it rained heavily it would wash away earth and expose pieces of shattered human bones! This upset the sensibilities of the newly rich middle classes and led to the formation of the Leeds General Cemetery Company in 1833 and the establishment of a new burial ground, St Georges Field off Clarendon Road., When construction began on New Station in 1866 it became evident that the route to Selby would cut through this burial ground. An act of parliament passed that stipulated that the railway should pass through the graveyard on a solid embankment so as not to interfere with the graves. The gravestones were to be placed in corresponding positions on its slopes and are still in place. In 1868/69 the completion of the railway viaduct separated the church from the old north graveyard.