Anfield Cemetery

By the middle of the 19th century, the burial grounds in town centres had become dangerously overcrowded, and a series of Burial Acts were passed to regulate their further use. In 1854 Liverpool Corporation prohibited any further burials in the city centre graveyards. The first cemetery to be built as a result of this was Toxteth Park Cemetery in 1855–56, but this was to serve a district of Liverpool rather than its centre. In 1860 a competition was held to design a cemetery in Anfield. Although this was won by Thomas D. Barry, the commission was awarded to William Gay. However, he resigned the following year and the layout of cemetery was designed by Edward Kemp. Building started in 1861.…

The site is roughly diamond-shaped, lying on a northwest–southeast axis, and occupying an area of about 140 acres, 57 hectares. It is bounded mainly by a sandstone wall, and by a short length of fencing. There are four entrances, the main entrance being at the corner of Walton Lane and Priory Road. There are other separate entrances on Walton Lane and on Priory Road, and a fourth entrance at the northeast corner, which is known as the Cherry Lane entrance, and is entered by a bridge under the railway line. A further, separate, entrance, leads to the crematorium. Within the cemetery, an east–west axial path runs between the main entrance and the Cherry Lane entrance, which is crossed by a…