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

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 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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 John Foster may refer to: 15th/16th/17th-century politicians * John Foster (MP for Bristol), 15th-century MP for Bristol * John Foster (died 1576), Member of Parliament for Winchester, Plympton Erle and Hindon * John Foster (by 1508-47/51), ...

, 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, borough 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. 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 burials

Hugh Stowell Brown Hugh Stowell Brown (10 August 1823 – 24 February 1886) was a Manx Christian minister and renowned preacher. Hugh Stowell Brown was a preacher, pastor and social reformer in Liverpool in the nineteenth century. His public lectures and work a ...

Daniel James (businessman) Daniel James (17 April 1801 – 2 November 1876) was one of the three founder partners of Phelps Dodge, Phelps, Dodge & Co., a New York trading organisation established in 1833/4, exporting cotton to England and importing manufactured goods in r ...

Thomas Raffles Thomas Raffles (17 May 1788 – 18 August 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 ...

abolitionist and minister. * Nelly Weeton diarist and traveller, 1776-1849

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