Church of St. Edmund, monument to cholera victims

A 14ft high sandstone obelisk dating to around 1832. The inscriptions read "Here lie buried two hundred and twenty two persons who died of cholera in Gateshead from Dec. 26 MDCCCXXI [1831] to Nov. 5 MDCCCXXXII [1832]" and "In the midst of life we are in death" and "Watch therefore for ye know not what for your Lord doth come". This was the first outbreak of cholera in Gateshead, and it led to the founding of the Gateshead Dispensary on 2nd November 1832. Manders notes that there were 234 victims of the epidemic. 42 of these lived in Pipewellgate, 22 in Oakwellgate and 29 in Hillgate. The very first victim was a Mary Hymers or Hindmarsh "a rag-gatherer of depraved habits".