Three new, highly ornate graves have appeared around a 37-tonne marble monument to bare-knuckle boxer William "Big" Willy Collins at Shiregreen cemetery in Sheffield, creating what relatives and visitors describe as a growing family shrine.
The memorial to Collins — once described in media reports as a £200,000 marble mega-grave complete with flashing lights, life-size statues, a jukebox and a scannable QR code — was erected in 2022 and has since been surrounded by additional extravagant tributes, including cans of Guinness, bottles of Dior aftershave and giant floral hearts. The Daily Mail reported that the site has expanded in the five years since Collins's death, with new monuments for relatives placed beside the original structure.
Local and national attention followed the installation of Collins's memorial. Some visitors to the cemetery called the monument an "eyesore" and a "monstrosity," and Sheffield Council later ruled the structure had been built without planning permission. Rather than being scaled back, the plot has become a cluster of elaborate graves for members of the same traveller family.
Two of Collins's brothers, Terry and Michael Collins, are buried alongside him. Terry Collins, who died suddenly in September last year at the age of 52, was given what media accounts described as an extravagant send-off, featuring a platinum coffin, 15 horse-drawn carriages, a procession of Rolls-Royces and a plane. Those elements and others have been referenced in the new memorials that now sit beside the central monument.
Relatives and members of the traveller community have frequently staged large, highly visible funerals and memorials, and the Collins site has attracted attention because of its scale and decorative elements. Sheffield Council previously told reporters that the main structure had been erected without the necessary planning approvals; the authority has responsibility for cemetery regulation and enforcement of planning rules in the city.
The appearance of additional grave structures has renewed questions about how burial plots are regulated, how planning rules apply within cemeteries and how councils respond when memorials become focal points for continuing expansion. Cemetery managers typically permit decoration within defined rules intended to protect safety, access and the overall appearance of burial grounds, and councils can take enforcement action where memorials contravene regulations or planning conditions.
Supporters of the Collins family say the site commemorates loved ones and reflects cultural practices within their community. Opponents have argued that the scale and ornamentation of the memorials are out of keeping with other parts of the cemetery and have expressed concern about precedent if further additions proceed.
As of the latest reports, the clustered memorials remain in place at Shiregreen cemetery and continue to draw visitors and debate. Sheffield Council has previously confirmed it had identified planning breaches related to the original structure; any further enforcement or planning action in response to the newer graves has not been publicly detailed in the reports published to date.
The Collins memorials underscore a broader conversation about how public burial spaces balance individual and community expressions of mourning with regulatory frameworks intended to manage appearance, safety and shared use. The site is likely to remain under public scrutiny while questions about planning compliance and cemetery management persist.