5 famous people who are buried in Nottingham - and how to visit their graves

Over the centuries Nottingham has produced plenty of people who would go on to have a big say in the history of the city and in some instances the wider country. 

The influence of many of these people can still be seen today, perhaps none more so than architect Watson Fothergill. 

Fothergill built hundreds of buildings across the city centre between 1870 and 1906, many of which are still standing today. 

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Another Nottingham native to have gone on to big things was bare-knuckle boxing champion Bendigo. 

Born in 1811, Bendigo would go on to claim the heavyweight championship for bare-knuckle boxing in 1839. 

Bendigo was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991 and his legacy in Nottingham lives on through building and business names. 

Fothergill and Bendigo are just two examples of people who wanted to be buried in their home city, close to the places that influenced their lives so heavily. 

We’ve taken a look at five famous people who are buried in and around Nottingham. 

1. Watson Fothergill (1841-1928)

Famed for his Gothic Revival and Old English vernacular architecture styles, Fothergill designed some of the most iconic buildings in Nottingham. 

From the Express Building in Upper Parliament Street to the Queen’s Chambers in Market Square, Fothergill’s unique designs are easily recognisable.

He died in 1928 at the age of 86 and is buried in Church (Rock) Cemetery, just off Mansfield Road. 

2. Bendigo (1811-1880)

Born William Abednego Thompson, Bendigo was one of 21 children and grew up in poverty. 

He became a professional boxer at the age of 21 and only lost one fight during his career. 

Bendigo died on August 23, 1880, after falling down the stairs of his Beeston home. 

He was buried four days later in St Mary’s Rest Garden. 

The memorial over his grave features a crouching lion, close to the Bath Street end of the burial ground. 

3. Lord Byron (1788-1824) 

Lord Byron was one of the most famous poets of the 18th century and is recognised as one of the major figures in the Romantic movement. 

Byron died on April 19, 1824 in Greece at the age of just 36. 

Huge crowds viewed Byron’s coffin as he lay in state for two days at 25 Great George Street in Westminster, London. 

Byron was refused burial in Westminster and was instead laid to rest in his family’s crypt at St Mary Magdalene Church in Hucknall.

4. John Player (1839-1884)

Born in Saffron Waldon, Essex, in 1839, John Player came to Nottingham in 1862 and worked as a draper’s clerk. 

A few years later, he set himself up in a shop on Beastmarket Hill, where he acted as an agent for Prentice and Co's agricultural manures and seeds.

In 1877, Player bought William Wright's tobacco factory in the Broad Marsh. 

In 1901 John Player and Sons would become part of Imperial Tobacco. 

Player died in 1884 and was buried in Nottingham General Cemetery. 

5. Sir Frank Bowden (1848-1921)

Sir Frank Bowden, the founder of Raleigh Bicycle Company, moved to Nottingham after becoming seriously ill in Hong Kong in the early 1880s. 

Upon his doctor’s advice, Sir Frank took up cycling, which prompted him to found Raleigh Bicycles in 1887. 

By 1896, Raleigh was the biggest bicycle manufacturer in the world. 

Sir Frank died in April 1921 and was buried in Church (Rock) Cemetery.