Anfield Cemetery

Anfield Cemetery, also known as the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is one of the largest and most historic burial grounds in Liverpool. It lies in the district of Anfield, to the northeast of Stanley Park, and is a place where Victorian landscape design, local history and wartime remembrance meet.

Where is Anfield Cemetery?

The cemetery is in Anfield, Merseyside, England. Walton Lane runs along its western edge and Priory Road along the south. A railway line marks the northern boundary, while the gardens of houses on Ince Avenue border it to the east. Its position next to Stanley Park makes it easy to combine with a walk through the neighbourhood.

Why was it created?

By the middle of the 19th century Liverpool's central graveyards were badly overcrowded. Burials in them were banned in 1854, and the city needed a large new site. The land was acquired and the grounds laid out at a total cost of more than £150,000. The first interment took place in 1863, on 5 May, and the cemetery has remained in use ever since.

Who designed it?

The landscape was designed by Edward Kemp, a well-known Victorian garden designer. The buildings were the work of the architects Lucy & Littler. Today the grounds are included in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade II*, a high level of protection that recognises their national importance.

What can you see?

The site covers roughly 110 acres, so there is plenty of ground to explore. It originally had three chapels, one each for the different denominations. Two of them have been demolished. The surviving chapel was built for Nonconformists; it is no longer in use and appears on the Heritage at Risk Register.

In 1896 a crematorium opened here. It was the first in Liverpool and only the fourth in the United Kingdom, which makes it a landmark in the history of cremation in Britain.

Memorials and remembrance

The cemetery holds a number of poignant memorials. A mass grave contains more than 500 Liverpool residents killed during the May Blitz of 1941. Over 900 British servicemen from the two world wars are also buried here. Four recipients of the Victoria Cross lie in the cemetery, among them John Kirk, who won the medal for gallantry during the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and died in 1865.

Frequently asked questions

Is Anfield Cemetery still in use? Yes. It is a working cemetery and is run by Liverpool City Council, so visitors should be respectful of funerals and mourners.

Is the cemetery protected? Yes. The grounds are listed Grade II* on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

How big is it? Roughly 110 acres.

Can I visit the chapel? The surviving chapel is unused and on the Heritage at Risk Register, so it is best admired from the outside.

Is it connected to the football stadium? The cemetery is in the same district as the famous football ground, but it is a separate site and an entirely different kind of visit: quiet, historic and reflective.