Allerton Cemetery is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

in Allerton,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The cemetery, of , is one of the main burial sites for the Metropolitan Borough of Liverpool and is Grade II listed. Springwood

Crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

is situated opposite the cemetery on Springwood Avenue. Purchase of the land for the cemetery was completed in October 1906, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

section was consecrated by the Bishop of Liverpool on 24 September 1909, and the first burial in the cemetery took place on 29 December 1909. It is still in operation.

Burials

In August 2003 the total number of burials was 74,109. Burials by religion: *

35,596 *General Nonconformist 18,024 *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

15,072 *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

5,397 *

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

20 The cemetery contains graves of 415 Commonwealth services personnel from both World Wars.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Notable individuals buried here include: * Cilla Black (died 2015), singer and television presenter. * Julia Lennon (died 1958), mother of Beatle

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. * George Nurse (died 1945), decorated with the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. *Private William Ratcliffe (died 1963), decorated with the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. * Sir Ken Dodd (died 2018), comedian. As a result of investigations into the unauthorised retention of organs, starting on 5 August 2004 the bodies of 50 nameless babies stored for medical research at Liverpool hospitals were buried at Allerton Cemetery. Alder Hey Children's Hospital accounted for seven of the unnamed while the rest came from other hospitals. Further burials took place until 2013.

Full Earth Woodland Burials

Allerton Cemetery has a natural woodland burial area. This provides an alternative to the traditional type of burial area as it offers an area with mature trees and a variety of natural plants and grasses. Graves are excavated to accommodate one full earth burial, so as not to damage tree roots. An adjacent grave may be purchased in reserve where family members wish to be buried together. Burials in this area can only take place in biodegradable coffins. The grave is marked with an inscribed marker with an inscription being chosen by family members. This is as opposed to traditional headstones, which are not permitted in the woodland area. The principle behind the natural burial option, is to provide an environmentally friendly alternative. It is not intended to reuse the graves in future. Families can therefore be assured that at no point will the remains be disturbed.

References

{{Authority control Cemeteries in Liverpool Anglican cemeteries in the United Kingdom Grade II listed parks and gardens in Merseyside Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England 1909 establishments in England