Flaybrick Memorial Gardens

Cemetery in Birkenhead, England

Flaybrick Memorial Gardens

The remains of the spire between the former Church of England and Nonconformist chapels

Details
Established| 1864
Location|

Birkenhead

Country| England
Coordinates| 53°24′00″N 3°03′54″W﻿ / ﻿53.400°N 3.065°W﻿ / 53.400; -3.065
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

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.

## History[edit]

In 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[edit]

The 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 Pendent 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[edit]

* Listed buildings in Birkenhead

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Wirral History – Flaybrick Cemetery, wirralhistory.com, retrieved 15 January 2012
2. ^ a b c d e f g "Flaybrick Memorial Gardens – History". gavinrymill.com. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
3. ^ Historic England. "Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, non Civil Parish (1001564)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
4. ^ "Cemetery Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
5. ^ "Lieutenant E Paul". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
6. ^ "Bishop Hugh Singleton". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
7. ^ 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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flaybrick Memorial Gardens.

* "Flaybrick Cemetery". Wirral History. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017.
* "Wirral Archives".

* v
* t
* e

Parks and commons in Wirral Borough

* Arrowe Country Park
* Ashton Park
* Barnston Dale
* Bidston Hill
* Bidston Moss
* Birkenhead Park
* Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve
* Caldy Hill
* Central Park
* Coronation Gardens
* Eastham Country Park
* Flaybrick Memorial Gardens
* Heswall Dales
* Hilbre Island
* Marfords Park
* Meols Park
* Mersey Park
* North Wirral Coastal Park
* Port Sunlight River Park
* Royden Park
* Thurstaston Common
* Upton Meadow
* Upton Park
* Vale Park
* Victoria Park
* Warwick Park
* Wirral Country Park

* v
* t
* e

Cemeteries in England

East Midlands|

* Boston (Marian Road)
* Eckington Cemetery
* Louth
* Leicester (Welford Road)

East of England|

* Baldock
* Biggleswade
* Cambridge American Cemetery
* Cambridge Ascension Parish
* Cambridge (City)
* Cambridge (Histon Road)
* Cambridge (Mill Road)
* Hitchin
* Hoddesdon
* Lowestoft Cemetery
* Lowestoft (Kirkley)
* Letchworth
* Norwich (Earlham Road)
* Norwich (Gildencroft Quaker)
* Norwich (Rosary)

North East|

* Bishopwearmouth
* Middlesbrough (Linthorpe)
* Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Jesmond)
* Marske-by-the-Sea (St Germain's)

North West|

* Barrow-in-Furness (Thorncliffe)
* Birkenhead (Flaybrick Hill)
* Blackpool (Carleton)
* Blackpool (Layton)
* Chester (Overleigh)
* Darwen
* Liverpool (Allerton)
* Liverpool (Anfield)
* Liverpool (Everton)
* Liverpool (St James)
* Liverpool (Toxteth Park)
* Liverpool (West Derby)
* Macclesfield
* Manchester (Blackley)
* Manchester (Southern)
* Burials
* Rochdale (Middleton)
* Salford (Agecroft)
* Salford (Weaste)

South East|

* Aldershot Cemetery
* Aldershot Crematorium
* Aldershot Military Cemetery
* Ash, Surrey
* Brookwood Cemetery
* Brookwood American Cemetery
* Deal (Hamilton Road)
* Farnham (Green Lane)
* Farnham (Upper Hale)
* Farnham (West Street)
* Guildford (Mount)
* Hastings
* Kent & Sussex
* Oxford (Holywell)
* Margate Cemetery
* Oxford (Osney)
* Oxford (St Sepulchre's)
* Oxford (Wolvercote)
* Reading Old
* Royal Burial Ground (Frogmore)
* Southampton Hollybrook
* Southampton Old
* Southampton (South Stoneham)
* Westmill Woodland Burial Ground
* Winchester (Magdalen Hill)
* Winchester (West Hill)

South West|

* Barnstaple
* Bath Abbey
* Bath (Locksbrook)
* Bideford (East-the-Water)
* Bideford (Higher Cemetery)
* Bournemouth (East)
* Bournemouth (Kinson)
* Bournemouth (North)
* Bournemouth (Wimborne Road)
* Bristol (Arnos Vale)
* Ilfracombe
* Plymouth (Ford Park)
* Smallcombe (Bath)
* Tiverton
* Torquay

West Midlands|

* Birmingham (Brandwood End)
* Birmingham (Key Hill)
* Birmingham (Lodge Hill)
* Birmingham (Warstone Lane)
* Birmingham (Witton)
* Cannock Chase
* Coventry (London Road)
* Dudley (Lye and Wollescote)
* Greenhaven Woodland

Yorkshire and the Humber|

* Bradford (Undercliffe)
* Halifax (Stoney Royd)
* Harrogate (Stonefall)
* Hull (General)
* Leeds (Beckett Street)
* Sheffield (Abbey Lane)
* Sheffield (City Road)
* Sheffield (Crookes)
* Sheffield (General)
* Sheffield (Intake)
* Sheffield (Norton)
* Sheffield (St. Michael's)
* Sheffield (Tinsley Park)
* Sheffield (Wardsend)
* York

By city|

* Brighton and Hove
* London

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template