Grant Gardens, previously Liverpool Necropolis, is a park and former cemetery in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is named after Alderman J. R. Grant, J.P, chairman of the Corporation Parks and Gardens Committee. The Necropolis opened in 1825, with buildings by John Foster Jr, it closed in 1898 and was transferred to the council who reopened it as a park in 1914.While the memorials and structures above ground have been removed, the graves themselves are intact.

Closure and location of memorials

On 31 August 1898, Liverpool's Necropolis Cemetery (Low Hill/Everton), was closed, due to an edict of the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, citing the unsanitary conditions spreading to surrounding neighbourhoods, plus the fact that the Cemetery was nearing its full capacity of 80,000 burials. The old headstones were 'dropped' over the graves, and subsequently landscaped in the early 1910s, to make Grant Gardens a public park, which was opened by City Alderman J.R.Grant in 1914. Headstones from 'active' private plots at the Necropolis were relocated to

Everton Cemetery Everton Cemetery, is in Long Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool which opened in July 1880. History The site for the cemetery was bought in 1876/7, and John Houlding's building company was contracted to develop the site with its three mortuary chapel ...

. The majority of standing Necropolis Headstones at Everton Cemetery are in the centre of Section GEN6; however, there are a few of these headstones placed in other religious denomination sections of the Cemetery.

Notable residents

* Hugh Stowell Brown *

Daniel James (businessman) Daniel James (1801–1876) was one of the three founder partners of Phelps, Dodge & Co., a New York trading organisation established in 1833/4, exporting cotton to England and importing manufactured goods in return such as tin, tin plate, iron a ...

Thomas Raffles Thomas Raffles (1788–1863) was an English Congregational minister, known as a dominant nonconformist figure at the Great George Street Congregational Church in Liverpool, and as an abolitionist and historian. Early life The only son of Willi ...

abolitionist and minister.

References

External links

Necropolis

{{Coord, 53.4155, -2.9623, dim:200_region:GB_type:landmark_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Parks and commons in Liverpool Urban public parks 1825 establishments in England Tourist attractions in Liverpool Cemeteries in Liverpool