Flaybrick Memorial Gardens is a memorial garden, formerly a municipal

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

called Flaybrick Hill Cemetery, in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, on the

Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to ...

, England. The cemetery has been designated a conservation area by

Wirral Borough Council Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, or simply Wirral Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Merseyside and one of 36 in the metropolit ...

, which owns the site.

History

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. 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, a pupil of Paxton's and Curator of

Birkenhead Park Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world. Th ...

. Kemp was assisted by Edward Mills, a prominent Birkenhead surveyor from

Hamilton Square Hamilton Square is a town square in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. This Georgian square, which was designed by Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham, has the most Grade I listed buildings outside London (after Trafalgar Square). It is named ...

, and Messrs Lucy and Littler, architects of

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 ...

. The general contractor was William Rimmer of Bidston Hall, with John Middlehurst of St. Helens the contractor for buildings. The site chosen was Flaybrick Hill, a prominent location overlooked by

Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...

. Originally were purchased, but by the 1890s the site was extended to . The cemetery was officially opened 30 May 1864 and named Birkenhead Cemetery, and the site originally had three separate denominational chapels. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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 The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, were last used in 1975. Most of the buildings are now in a considerable state of dereliction. The Registrar's office and Sexton's Lodge are now privately owned. The cemetery contains the

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of 222 Commonwealth service personnel of both World Wars, as well as one of a Russian Navy officer of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Other interments include James Taylor Cochran, who built the ''

Resurgam ''Resurgam'' (Latin: ''"I shall rise again"'') is the name given to an early Victorian submarine and its prototype, designed and built in Britain by Reverend George Garrett. She was intended as a weapon to penetrate the chain netting placed ...

''; Sir William Jackson;

Arthur Thomas Doodson Arthur Thomas Doodson (31 March 1890 – 10 January 1968) was a British oceanographer. Early life He was born at Boothstown, Salford, the son of cotton-mill manager Thomas Doodson. He was educated at Rochdale secondary school and then in 1908 en ...

;

Mary Ann Mercer Mary Ann Mercer (1883 – 26 September 1945) was a British politician, who served as the first woman and first Labour Party Mayor of Birkenhead. Personal life Born in Newport, Shropshire, her father died when she was three. Despite her limited ...

;

Isaac Roberts Isaac Roberts FRS (27 January 1829 – 17 July 1904) was a Welsh people, Welsh engineer and businessman best known for his work as an amateur astronomer, pioneering the field of astrophotography of nebulae. He was a member of the Liverpool A ...

; and

Edmund Knight Edmund Knight (27 August 1827 – 9 June 1905) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1882 to 1895. Born in Sheffield on 27 August 1827, he was ordained to the priesthood on 19 December 1 ...

and

Hugh Singleton Hugh Singleton (30 July 1851 – 17 December 1934) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1908 to 1934. Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, on 30 July 1851, he was ordained to the priesthood on ...

, both in turn

Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury The Bishop of Shrewsbury is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury in the Province of Birmingham, England. The diocese covers an area of of the counties and unitary authorities of Cheshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin ...

Conservation area

The cemetery was designated as a conservation area in 1990. 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 London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

and Monkey Puzzle. A wildlife-friendly approach to the management of the Memorial Gardens is carried out by a designated ranger.

References

* *

External links

* * {{Cemeteries in England Birkenhead Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Parks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England

History

Conservation area

See also

References

External links