Flaybrick Memorial Gardens is a memorial garden, formerly a municipal cemetery called Flaybrick Hill Cemetery, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The cemetery has been designated a conservation area by Wirral Borough Council, which owns the site.
| Flaybrick Memorial Gardens | |
|---|---|
 The remains of the spire between the former Church of England and Nonconformist chapels | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1864 |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°24′00″N 3°03′54″W / 53.400°N 3.065°W |
| Type | Multi-denominational, Public |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Owned by | Wirral Council |
| Size | 26 acres (110,000 m2) |
| No. of interments | Over 100,000[1] |
| Website | Flaybrick Memorial Gardens official site |
| Find a Grave | Flaybrick Memorial Gardens |
History
editIn the 1840s, Joseph Paxton was approached to design a large municipal cemetery for the expanding township of Birkenhead, but because of a recession and a subsequent decrease in the population, the plan went no further.[2] By the 1860s, a boom made the provision of a new cemetery a priority. A competition was held for the design which was won by Edward Kemp,[2] a pupil of Paxton's and Curator of Birkenhead Park. Kemp was assisted by Edward Mills, a prominent Birkenhead surveyor from Hamilton Square, and Messrs Lucy and Littler, architects of Liverpool.[2] The general contractor was William Rimmer of Bidston Hall, with John Middlehurst of St. Helens the contractor for buildings.[3] The site chosen was Flaybrick Hill, a prominent location overlooked by Bidston Hill. Originally 16.5 acres (6.7 ha) were purchased, but by the 1890s the site was extended to 26 acres (11 ha).[2]
The cemetery was officially opened 30 May 1864 and named Birkenhead Cemetery, and the site originally had three separate denominational chapels.[2] The Roman Catholic chapel was demolished in 1971 and a memorial wall has been erected on its site. The remaining two chapels, for Nonconformists and the Church of England, were last used in 1975.[2] Most of the buildings are now in a considerable state of dereliction. The Registrar's office and Sexton's Lodge are now privately owned.[2]
The cemetery contains the war graves of 222 Commonwealth service personnel of both World Wars,[4] as well as one of a Russian Navy officer of World War I.[5] Other interments include James Taylor Cochran, who built the Resurgam; Sir William Jackson; Arthur Thomas Doodson; Mary Ann Mercer; Isaac Roberts;[1] and Edmund Knight and Hugh Singleton, both in turn Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury.[6]
Conservation area
editThe cemetery was designated as a conservation area in 1990.[7] In 1995, Flaybrick Cemetery was renamed Flaybrick Memorial Gardens and an arboretum was created. Mature specimen trees are prominent throughout the cemetery, including Cut-leaf Beech, Silver Lime, Caucasian Lime, London Plane and Monkey-puzzle.[7] A wildlife-friendly approach to the management of the Memorial Gardens is carried out by a designated ranger.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Wirral History – Flaybrick Cemetery, wirralhistory.com, retrieved 15 January 2012
- ^ a b c d e f g "Flaybrick Memorial Gardens – History". gavinrymill.com. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, non Civil Parish (1001564)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Cemetery Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Lieutenant E Paul". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "Bishop Hugh Singleton". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Flaybrick Cemetery Conservation Area". Wirral Council. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- Brocklebank, Ralph T. (2003). Birkenhead: An Illustrated History. ISBN 1859833500.
- Dutton, Roy (2018). Flaybrick Hill Cemetery. ISBN 978-0992826550.
External links
edit
- "Flaybrick Cemetery". Wirral History. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017.
- "Wirral Archives".