St. Woolos Cemetery

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the graveyard immediately outside St Woolos Cathedral had become full, but burials continued to take place there in the shallow soil covering the existing graves. This became a public health hazard, and "represented a ghoulish aspect with coffins protruding from the ground, many broken open with the grisly contents spilling out." In 1842, a new cemetery was opened near to the cathedral on Clifton Road, however, this too quickly became full, and new arrangements had to be made. Land was obtained from the Tredegar Estate The first interment in the new cemetery was that of a sailor named Cooper, and took place on 1 July 1854. The cathedral graveyard…

The cemetery was used as a filming location for the 2007 Doctor Who episode "Blink" and the 2008 Christmas special, in which the Cybermen attack mourners. Both episodes starred David Tennant. The cemetery also appears as a location in the crime thriller novel We Go Down Slowly Rising by the Newport author John Gimblett. Joe Strummer, of the Clash, worked as a gravedigger in the cemetery until his return to London in 1973.