Allerton Cemetery, of 150 acres and located between Woolton Road and Hillfoot Avenue, is Grade II listed and is the newest of the six cemeteries administered by Liverpool City Council and one of two in the city which have been listed by English Heritage. It is believed to be the third largest cemetery in Europe. At the beginning of the 20th Century it was clear that more cemetery space in the south of the city was needed as there had already been over 100,000 internments at Toxteth Cemetery since it opened in 1856 and the city’s suburbs were expanding southwards. With this in mind the city council purchased a large part of the Allerton Hall estate from the Clarke family in 1906 for £50,000, equivalent to over £5 million today. The following year members of the Burials Committee visited the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography in Berlin where they noted that cemeteries there had a wide central avenue and graves were set back from the walks. They also observed that to please the eye and give the impression of a park, there were planted borders and a large proportion of the trees were evergreen. Martin Doherty, who looks after Allerton Cemetery for Liverpool City Council, explains that the layout was European influenced, "A lot of cemeteries for that period were based on the design of a French cemetery Père Lachaise, which is close to Paris. Allerton cemetery is designed around a central axis, you can turn it round and it’s almost symmetrical. It was almost designed like a park. Victorian and Edwardian attitudes to cemeteries were very different to what they are today. People would almost pay social visits to cemeteries and they’d treat it like a park." Visitors to the cemetery can explore the varied landscape, including the beautiful gardens and pathways, making it a perfect place to take a peaceful stroll and admire the beauty of the area. City Engineer John A. Brodie was instructed to submit plans for a new cemetery taking the committee’s report from Berlin into account. Four options were submitted in 1908 and, after approval was given for one of them, work began with the Church of England section being consecrated on the 24th of September 1909 by the Bishop of Liverpool. The first burial, that of Thomas Walsh, took place on 29th of December that year.
It is home to a number of notable figures, including Cilla Black, laid to rest next to her parents in 2015, (more on her life here - http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2017/02/mersey-beat-cilla-black.html ), as well Sir Ken Dodd's remains which were also buried there in 2018, ( more on Ken Dodd's life can be found here - http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2019/06/merseyside-mirth-makers-sir-ken-dodd.html ), and John Lennon's mother Julia Lennon who was tragically knocked down by a car in Menlove Avenue in 1957. For decades the exact location of her grave was unknown and after it was discovered it was then marked by a wooden cross. In 2010 the unusually shaped gravestone pictured was added, simply containing the names of her four children and the word 'Mummy'. Also buried here is Archibald Inglis Crawford of Crawford Biscuits who established the Liverpool factory 1897, as are husband Richard John Blackler, who opened Blacklers store with his business partner A B Wallis in 1908, and wife Margaret, who took over her husband’s share of the store after his death in 1919. The cemetery is also home to a number of monuments, including the impressive Liverpool Cenotaph, a memorial dedicated to the fallen of World War I and there are 415 graves of Commonwealth services personnel from both World Wars. These include George Edward Nurse VC, decorated in the second Boar War, who died in 1945 and Private William Ratcliffe VC, who died in 1963 and was decorated in World War I, a Victoria Cross Recipient. Born in Liverpool, William served as a Private in the 2nd Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment, British Army. During the Battle of Messines, France, on the 14th of June, 1917, after a German trench had been captured, Private Ratcliffe located an enemy machine gun which was firing on his comrades from the rear. He single-handed, on his own initiative, rushed the machine gun position and bayoneted the crew. He then brought the gun back into action in the front line against the advancing enemy. For most prestigious gallantry, he was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on the 26th of September, 1917. After being discharged in 1919, he worked on the the Liverpool docks until he retired in 1956. He died at the age of 79.
With the main entrance on Woolton Road, to the north the cemetery adjoins Springwood Avenue with the boundary marked by railings with Springwood Cremetorium situated opposite on Springwood Avenue. The cemetery has three mortuary chapels, all constructed in red sandstone. The Anglican chapel is situated on a circular site on the main drive, which divides around it. To the west the chapel has a spire rising from a square buttressed tower and, to the north and south, gabled side aisles with entrance porches flanking a tall nave with clerestory, the whole with simple tracery windows below blue slate roofs with red terracotta ridge tiles. Two smaller Nonconformist and Roman Catholic chapels are sited 120m to the north-north-west and west-south-west respectively of the Anglican chapel, each in similar materials and style, with a tower and spire but of varying design.
In August 2003 the total number of burials was 74,109 - Church of England 35,596, General Nonconformist 18,024, Roman Catholic 15,072, Jewish 5,397 and Muslim 20. It also has Liverpool’s only natural burial area located in woodland amongst mature trees where burials take place in biodegradable coffins with graves marked by inscribed markers. So families can be assured remains won’t be disturbed, graves in this area aren’t intended to be reused.
As a result of investigations into the unauthorised retention of organs starting on the 5th of 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 7 of the unnamed while the rest came from other hospitals.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/01/liverpools-dead-interesting-everton.html
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