Flaybrick Chapel

Originally planned in the 1840s, Joseph Paxton was approached to design a large municipal cemetery for the expanding township of Birkenhead, but due to a recession and a subsequent decrease in the population, the plan went no further.[2] By the 1860s, a boom made the provision of a new cemetery a priority. A competition was held for the design which was won by Edward Kemp,[2] a pupil of Paxton's and Curator of Birkenhead Park. Kemp was assisted by Edward Mills, a prominent Birkenhead surveyor from Hamilton Square, and Messrs Lucy and Littler, architects of Liverpool.[2] The general contractor was William Rimmer of Bidston Hall, with John Miller of St. Helens the contractor for buildings.[2] The site chosen was Flaybrick Hill, a prominent location overlooked by Bidston Hill. Originally 16.5 acres (6.7 ha) were purchased, but by the 1890s the site was extended to 26 acres (11 ha).[2]

The cemetery was officially opened 30 May 1864 and named Birkenhead Cemetery, and the site originally had three separate denominational chapels.[2] The Roman Catholic chapel was demolished in 1971 and a memorial wall has been erected on its site. The remaining two chapels, for Nonconformists and the Church of England, were last used in 1975.[2] Most of the buildings are now in a considerable state of dereliction. The Registrar's office and Sexton's Lodge are now privately owned.[2]

The cemetery contains the war graves of 219 Commonwealth service personnel of both World Wars.[3] Other interments include James Taylor Cochran, who built the Resurgam, Sir William Jackson, Arthur Thomas Doodson, Mary Ann Mercer and Isaac Roberts.