Flaybrick Hill Cemetery

Opened in 1864, Flaybrick Hill Cemetery was originally set within a rural location, designed as the last resting place for
the people of Birkenhead, but now been encircled by gradual suburban development. Although regrettably much vandalised by local dimwits in recent years (of which there are many), traces of its essential splendour still remain, so that it can readily be likened as a sort of ‘Highgate Cemetery’ of the north — being rich in Gothic ornament, and containing the graves of many notables of the day. Much has gone however. The beautiful church is now a complete ruin, and the charming lodge at the main gate looks as if the local council has given up on its maintenance altogether. This is a shame, as in the hands of local administrators with more imagination and vision, the cemetery could actually operate as a tourist attraction — indeed plans have been underway for some time to open a National Bat Centre here. In its heyday, and you need only go back 30 or so years before the rot really set in, the cemetery was an extremely pleasant place to stroll around — having a number of walks arranged to give maximum value to the views. You can still see the memorials to Sir William Jackson (founder of Birkenhead Park — the first municipal park in the world); the delightful headstone of George Lance, the
Victorian still-​life painter, and that of Lock Ah Tam — the tragic murderer of his family during the 1920s, while many others may be identified just by taking a look at the website. Use as a base for visiting the nearby Tam O’Shanter city farm or Bidston Windmill.