Flaybrick Memorial Gardens

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Flaybrick Memorial Gardens
Flaybrick Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 1405238.jpg
The remains of the spire between the former Church of England and Nonconformist chapels
Flaybrick Memorial Gardens
Details
Established1864
Location
Birkenhead
Country England
Coordinates 53°24′00″N3°03′54″W / 53.400°N 3.065°W / 53.400; -3.065
Type Multi-denominational, Public
Style Gothic Revival
Owned by Wirral Council
Size26 acres (110,000 m2)
No. of intermentsOver 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.

Contents

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. [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

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 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

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References

  1. 1 2 Wirral History – Flaybrick Cemetery, wirralhistory.com, retrieved 15 January 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "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. 1 2 "Flaybrick Cemetery Conservation Area". Wirral Council. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
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