1829

The new Cemetery at Low Hill was opened when the first burial took place, on February 1st 1825, later its name was altered to "Necropolis". Figures quoted at the time stated that it occupied 24,000 square yards cost nearly £8,000.  It was run by Trustees known as the Committee of Proprietors of Low Hill General Cemetery, the Trusts being defined in a deed of 9th March 1825. The cemetery was designed by John Foster Junior (1787-1846), Liverpool Corporation architect and surveyor and the grounds were laid out by Mr. Shepherd, then Curator of the Botanic Gardens.  The cemetery was apparently largely used by nonconformists.

By 1896 the numbers of burials in the Necropolis were causing serious problems in the surrounding area and it was said to be impossible to perform a burial without exhuming previous graves. The corporation negotiated the purchase and closure of the site. Owners of unfilled graves were given gifts of land for new graves in Everton Cemetery.  Closure was in 1912 and the site, at the junction of Everton Road, Brunswick Road, Low Hill and West Derby Road was to be landscaped. Public gardens were completed in 1914 on the site and on 22 April 1914 the Corporation re-opened the site as an ornamental garden, using a small portion for street widening. A photograph taken at this time by the City Engineers department shows wide pathways around the gardens with formal flower beds in between. There was a fountain and several gazeboes and shelters for the visitors. The main entrance to the new park was from West Derby Road.

Liverpool records office holds extensive records under 352 CEM/1 and CEM/2 and several photographs taken by the City Engineers department around the time of closure records date from opening in 1825 to closure in 1912 and consist of Burial registers, order books, registers of graves, day books, cash books and items relating to the closure of the cemetery.

1c