FLAYBRICK CEMETERY
The Cemetery, now known as Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, is a Grade II* listed park on the national Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. The Conservation Area follows the boundary wall and no buildings outside the cemetery are included. The need for a municipal cemetery was a response to Birkenhead’s massive population growth in the first half of the 19th century. As existing burial grounds became increasingly overcrowded, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1843, granting local Improvement Commissioners powers to build a cemetery on the side of Bidston Hill. Due to the recession of the 1840s, the project was shelved until the 1860s. A competition to choose the design was won by the landscape gardener and Birkenhead’s park superintendent, Edward Kemp, formerly an assistant to Joseph Paxton at Chatsworth and later responsible for laying out Birkenhead Park. Flaybrick opened on 30th May 1864, with separate areas for Anglican, Non-Conformist and Roman Catholic burials.
Flaybrick is an outstanding example of a C19th public cemetery, preserving all the key features of the original Kemp lay-out, design and planting. Its centrepiece is a pair of linked cemetery chapels, designed by the Liverpool architects Lucy and Littler and approached by a wide tree-lined avenue, which formed a processional route up Bidston Avenue from the town. Although now in a ruinous condition, their grand scale and impressive Gothic Revival style, reflect the commercial prosperity of Birkenhead at that time.
The landscape design ranges from the formal largely symmetrical treatment of the Anglican and Non-Conformist areas to the naturalistic and picturesque Roman Catholic section. The cliff faces of an old quarry, incorporated into the cemetery in the 1890s, form dramatic features.
There are 7 listed buildings and structures within the Cemetery, including the boundary wall, gates and two lodges. All were designed by the architects Lucy and Littler.
The chapels, one for Anglicans and one for Non Conformists are joined by a central entrance beneath the originally imposing spire. Each had a nave, aisle, side chapel, outer porch and apsidal east end. The spire was partially taken down and the roof removed in the 1980s and the chapels are in very poor structural condition. However, recent works to consolidate the building fabric have revealed that many internal features, including carved stonework and decorated tiles do survive.
It is estimated that over 100,000 people are buried in Flaybrick and there are over 10,000 graves and monuments. Some are of artistic significance, but the majority are interesting simply because they represent changing fashions in the design of grave markers and their cultural significance.
Among the most important people buried or commemorated in Flaybrick are:
Edmund Kemp – one of the leading landscape designers of the mid C19th century, whose notable works included Flaybrick Cemetery, Anfield Cemetery and Grosvenor Park in Chester.
Isaac Roberts – a pioneer of astronomy. His monument is an outstanding Egyptian design, rich in symbolism relating to his life, work and belief. Lewis Hornblower – landscape designer responsible for the major structures in Birkenhead Park including the Grand Entrance Lodge.
Numerous members of the Laird family. The family crypt of William Laird, grandson of the shipbuilder, William Laird, features a Celtic cross with a carved dog and a boar guarding the now blocked entrance.
In contrast to the many impressive and imposing monuments, large unmarked pits for pauper burials can be seen in the Anglican section. There is a large memorial to casualties of the First World War and a number of individual war graves throughout the cemetery. Important events linked to Birkenhead include the graves of Joseph McLoughlin who drowned on the Lusitania and Charles Morgan a victim of the Titanic.
