Sefton Cemeteries

Sefton council, a metropolitan local authority covering north Merseyside, operates four cemeteries. Two of these are in Southport, and two in the south of the borough at Bootle and Thornton.

The oldest of the Sefton cemeteries is at Duke Street in Southport. Opened in 1866, this contains a number of imposing Victorian memorials and vehicle access is restricted in the older part. There are modern sections open to new burials however and there is also a dedicated baby memorial garden.

Sefton Cemeteries

Liverpool Road cemetery in Birkdale opened in 1903. Like Duke Street, this contains a number of elaborate memorials. The chapel, closed in the 1970s, remains an imposing feature of the cemetery which is still allows new burial plots to be purchased.

Bootle Cemetery on Linacre Lane opened in 1913. The site of the chapel, which fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2013, contains memorials to the victims of the Blitz in the Second World War. Many bodies from the churchyard of St Mary’s Chuch, which was bombed in the war, were exhumed and re-interred in Bootle Cemetery.

The opening of Thornton Garden of Rest was delayed by public inquiries, meaning that some of the earliest interments there on completion during wartime in 1940 were servicemen. The war meant that the chapel there was not completed until 1963.

Over 40,000 plots are available for purchase at the four Sefton cemeteries. These can accommodate up to four regular burials and six sets of cremated remains. Further details on purchasing a grave are available here.

Smaller plots solely for cremated remains are available at Liverpool Road and Thornton Garden of Rest. Thornton where one of Sefton’s two crematoria are situated. The other, Southport Crematorium, is on the A570 at Scarisbrick. Both crematoria have offices and a Book of Remembrance.

There are restrictions on memorial sizes at the Sefton cemeteries. However, unlike many other cemeteries, Thornton Garden of Rest continues to allow kerb sets.

Sarsfield Memorials works carries out work in all of the Sefton cemeteries. If you are interested in purchasing a memorial for a grave, or renovating an existing one, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your requirements.