Altrincham Crematorium

 All burial and cremation records from Trafford Council can now be searched on Deceased Online

This week we completed the digitization of the burial and cremation records for Trafford Council in Greater Manchester. The final set of records to be uploaded to the database is for Altrincham Crematorium in Whitehouse Lane, Dunham Massey, Cheshire.

Altrincham Crematorium

Altrincham Crematorium opened in 1959, during a time of increased building of municipal crematoria. At first, Altrincham served those who lived locally in areas like Hale, Timperley and Knutsford, as well as those who had moved further afield. Records show that some committals took place of those who lived in North Wales. In this way, Altrincham is similar to Overdale Crematorium in Bolton, which holds records for many former residents who remained loyal to their hometown.

One of the notable people commemorated here is John Mansfield Maxted (1914-1990), who served as Mayor of Stretford from 1955 to 1956. The son of coal merchant, Thomas Maxted of Old Trafford, John worked as a coal merchant and furniture remover, as well as taking an interest in local politics. A member of the Conservative Party, Maxted became councillor of Stretford Council and a local Rotarian.

More recently, the crematorium was in the news when the musician, comedian and Frank Sidebottom creator, Chris Sievey (b. 1955) died penniless in June 2010, and his former collaborators and friends sought to raise funds to save him from a pauper’s funeral. Eventually, £21,631.55 was raised and Sievey’s funeral took place on 2 July 2010 at Altrincham Crematorium, not far from his home in Hale. Sievey continues to be remembered in the area and a bronze statue of his most famous creation, Frank Sidebottom, is due to be unveiled in nearby Timperley village on 23 June 2013.

As well as scans of the cremation registers, the site provides maps showing the locations where ashes were scattered. These maps are available for around half of the records.

Map showing the Rose Garden, one of several different gardens in the Crematorium's grounds

If you find an ancestor in the database and wish to visit the Crematorium, full details on opening hours can be found at the Trafford Council website: http://www.trafford.gov.uk/communityandliving/burialsandcremations/cemeteriesandcrematoria/

Thousands more records will be uploaded to the database in the coming weeks. Keep checking our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates!

Sources:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2197351&GRid=28823558&

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10392981

www.franksidebottom.org.uk