Many years ago I posted an article to the site recalling a terrible disaster that occurred in Sheffield in August 1886
It was titled "APPALLING DISASTER AT SHEFFIELD - Eight children killed Matthew Street, Sheffield - 25th August 1886"
The Friends of Wardsend Cemetery have organised a series of events on Sunday 28th September 2025 in the Cemetery to commemorate this tragic episode in Sheffield's history,
'In August 1886, a wall on the grounds of Messrs, Daniel Doncaster and Sons, supporting 200 tonnes of steel, collapsed on a number of children playing below on Matthews Street. Eight children lost their lives. Despite the failure to consider the impact of the weight and the insufficiency of the wall to carry it, no one was held responsible, and the story of the children and their families has been lost.
Of the eight children, four are buried in unmarked graves in Wardsend Cemetery, with the remaining children buried across our city, in Burngreave and Sheffield General Cemetery.
On Sunday 28th September, between 12pm - 3:30pm, Wardsend Cemetery will be hosting a memorial event, to honour the lives of the children, their families, and the often forgotten deaths of working-class people in our area during a celebrated period of industrial progress.
• Tour the graves of four children buried in Wardsend.
• Learn about the disaster, the aftermath and lives of the children lost.
The event will also feature a performance of ‘The Children of Furnace Park’, a piece dedicated to the Matthews Street Disaster, written by Alice Collins, at 2:30pm on the Chapel Ground.
We hope to see as many of you there as possible. For any enquiries, please contact us by email (wardsendcem@gmail.com)'
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