FLAYBRICK CEMETERY CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL AND MANAGEMENT PLAN
PART 1 – CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL
Prepared for Wirral Council by Donald Insall Associates Ltd 2007 – Wirral Council 2009
DONALD INSALL ASSOCIATES LTD , Bridgegate House, 5 Bridge Place, Chester, CH1 1SA Tel: 01244 350063 email: [email protected] web: www.insall-lon.co.uk
FLAYBRICK CEMETERY CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL & MANAGEMENT PLAN
CONTENTS
PREFACE
Background to the Study Scope and Structure of the Study Existing Designations, Legal Framework for Conservation Areas and the Powers of the Local Authority
PART 1 – CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL
1.0 LOCATION 1.1 Geographic Location and Brief Description 1.2 Topography and Geology 1.3 General Usage 1.4 Conservation Area Boundary and Statutory Designations
2.0 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONTEXT 2.1 Early History and Origins of the Surrounding Area 2.2 19th Century Development of Flaybrick Cemetery 2.3 20th Century Changes 2.4 The Evolution of Cemetery Design and Changing Attitudes to Death 2.5 Archaeology
3.0 LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND VISTAS 3.1 Setting and Relationship with the Surrounding Area 3.2 Character Zones and Relationship of Spaces 3.3 Views and Vistas 3.4 Planting 3.5 Biodiversity
4.0 PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS , STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS 4.1 Principal Buildings and Structures 4.2 Monuments 4.3 Other Structures and Surfaces
5.0 ARCHITECTURAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY 5.1 Known Architects and Designers 5.2 Significant Burials and Tombs
6.0 NEUTRAL AND NEGATIVE FACTORS 6.1 Overview 6.2 Loss and Redundancy 6.3 Management of Planting and Building Maintenance 6.4 Vandalism and Rubbish 6.5 New Features 6.6 Development Outside the Conservation Area
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7.0 SUMMARY OF SPECIAL CHARACTER
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PREFACE
Background to the Study
This report has been prepared by Donald Insall Associates Ltd on behalf of Wirral Council. Its purpose is to clarify the designation of the Conservation Area, which will protect and enhance the character of the Victorian cemetery Flaybrick Memorial Gardens.
Scope and Structure of the Study
The scope of this Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan is based on the guidelines published by English Heritage (‘Guidance on Conservation Area Appraisals’ and ‘Guidance on the Management of Conservation Areas’, both dated February 2006) and represents a factual and objective analysis. In accordance with the guidelines, the following framework has been used as the basis for this analysis:-
Location and population Origins and development of the settlement Prevailing or former uses and their influence on plan form or building type Archaeological significance Architectural and historic qualities of buildings Contribution made by key unlisted buildings Character and relationship of spaces Prevalent and traditional building materials Local details Contribution made by green spaces, trees, hedges, etc Setting of the Conservation Area and its relationship with the surrounding landscape Extent of loss, intrusion or damage Existence of any neutral areas
The document has been structured to encompass these areas of study and concludes with recommendations for the Conservation Area boundary and other matters such as provision of Article 4 Directions.
Existing Designations, Legal Framework for Conservation Areas and the Powers of the Local Authority
Since the 1967 Civic Amenities Act local authorities have been empowered to designate as Conservation Areas those areas within their districts which were considered 'special'. The subsequent Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act of 1990 consolidated those powers and defined Conservation Areas as:-
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"areas of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance".
Such areas are diverse. They may be large or small; residential or commercial; civic or industrial; old or relatively modern. They may represent social ideals or civic pride. They may be specifically designed or speculatively produced; modest or grand. They may contain Listed Buildings of architectural or historic interest or may simply have local historic association. However, common to all will be an identifiable environmental quality which should be protected from unsympathetic redevelopment or alteration.
Wirral Council has declared 25 Conservation Areas throughout the Borough reflecting the variety of building styles and environments exhibited within its borders.
The content of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 is clarified by national Planning Policy Guidance (PPG15): Planning and the Historic Environment and is supported by more recent Regional Planning Guidance for the North West (RPG13), which identifies as a key objective the need to ensure active management of the regions environmental and cultural assets.
The principles of these documents are further supported by Wirral Council’s local Heritage Conservation policies contained within its Unitary Development Plan.
This legislation and policy framework enables the authority to exercise greater control over development within Conservation Areas and, where appropriate, this may be supplemented by the use of 'Article 4 Directions' to remove permitted development rights. In this way, minor changes, such as window replacement or loft conversions, which may be cumulatively detrimental, can be controlled.
National policy stipulates that local authorities have a duty to review, from time to time, their regions to ensure that places of special architectural or historic interest are being protected. The boundaries of existing Conservation Areas may be revised, new areas may be designated and those areas which have been eroded to the extent that their special character has been lost may be de-designated.
Whilst the Council recognises that, for Conservation Areas to remain 'live' and responsive to a changing society, changes must and will occur, it nevertheless undertakes to ensure that all changes make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of its Conservation Areas and do not result in any serious loss of character or features.
Planning legislation supports the authority in this by increasing its control over development. It does this in the following ways:
Buildings and structures may not be demolished without formal consent from the Council (Conservation Area Consent). Trees are protected and all work to them requires consent from the Council.
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New development is expected to reflect the quality of design and construction of the surrounding area and should make a positive contribution to the area's character. Local planning authorities may, if necessary, exercise even greater control by removing the basic permitted development rights of householders. Under section 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, the Council has a legal obligation to ensure that "special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance" of the area when formulating decisions on planning applications.
The first step to protecting the inherent qualities of a Conservation Area is having a thorough understanding of its character and Planning Policy Guidance PPG15 advises that "the definition of an area's special interest should derive from an assessment of the elements that contribute to (and detract from) it".
This should then underpin local policies for the areas protection. Such a definition requires a thorough appraisal of the area to assess the contribution of each element (e.g. buildings, boundaries, trees, surfaces, etc.) to the areas overall character. PPG15 notes that "the more clearly the special architectural or historic interest that justifies designation is defined and recorded; the sounder will be the basis for local plan policies and development control decisions".
Whilst an appraisal aims to identify the essential elements which give an area its character, it is not intended as a detailed evaluation of each building and feature. Therefore any buildings, features and details may still have importance even though not specifically referred to in the document and any omissions do not indicate lack of merit or interest.
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1.0 LOCATION
1.1 GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION
1.1.1 Flaybrick Cemetery, now known as Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, is situated in the north west of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula. It links the suburb of Claughton to the open spaces and woodland of Bidston Hill.
1.1.2 The cemetery is a well preserved and atmospheric 19 th century public cemetery, combining a mature designed landscape, areas of semi natural landscape, structures and several historic buildings.
1.2 TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
1.2.1 Bidston Hill rises steeply above Birkenhead’s inland dock area, known as the Float, and the marshy area of Bidston Moss. Flaybrick cemetery occupies an east facing slope overlooking the main part of Birkenhead. Bidston Hill is part of a prominent ridge of Keuper sandstone running along the east side of the Wirral Peninsula.
1.2.2 This sandstone ridge is the location of a number of historically important but now redundant quarries as well as extensive areas of woodland and open space. High quality building stone was taken from Storeton Quarry, a few miles to the south, and used extensively throughout Merseyside and beyond. Part of the cemetery occupies the site of the former Flaybrick Quarry.
1.3 GENERAL USAGE
1.3.1 The cemetery is no longer used for burials or the interment of ashes (it ceased use as an active cemetery in 1975), except for burials within existing family plots. There are typically less than ten burials each year. However, memorial trees continue to be planted and many graves are still visited and tended, with flowers and mementos placed on them.
1.3.2 The cemetery’s main function today is as a public open space, much frequented by dog walkers. Use is made of the site by schools and the general public as a local history and wildlife resource. Recent projects have resulted in the production of leaflets and art projects including a highly acclaimed youth theatre performance.
1.3.3 The chapels are redundant but the former sexton’s lodge and registrar’s office are now in private residential use. The majority of the site is owned by Wirral Council.
1.3.4 The cemetery has been the focus of some antisocial behaviour such as under age drinking and vandalism.
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1.4 CONSERVATION AREA BOUNDARY AND STATUTORY DESIGNATIONS
1.4.1 Flaybrick Cemetery was designated as a Conservation Area in 1990. The boundary is closely drawn around the perimeter of the cemetery, following the boundary wall and fence. No buildings outside the cemetery are included. Conservation Area designation brings additional planning control over the demolition of structures and buildings through the need for Conservation Area Consent and additional requirements for Local Authorities to formulate proposals for the preservation and enhancement of the Conservation Area. Of particular note is the requirement for Conservation Area consent to remove or lay down any monument pre-dating 1925.
1.4.2 There are seven listed buildings / structures within the cemetery: Cemetery Chapels (grade II); Tollemache Road Lodge, the former registrar’s office (grade II); Northern Lodge, the former sexton’s lodge (grade II); Tollemache Road Main Gate (grade II); Boundary Road North Gate (grade II); Boundary Road South Gate (grade II); Lower Flaybrick Road Gate (Grade II). Listing brings with it the need for Listed Building Consent for any alteration to a listed building or structure, including buildings or structures within their curtilage, that would affect its special interest.
1.4.3 The Cemetery is also included in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest at Grade II ( upgraded to Grade II* - 27/11/09 ). Inclusion on the Register does not bring any additional planning control but is a material consideration in determining planning applications affecting the designed landscape.
1.4.4 Much of the cemetery is covered by a Tree Preservation Order. This brings a wide range of operations, such as lopping or felling trees, under planning control.
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2.0 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONTEXT
2.1 EARLY HISTORY AND ORIGINS OF SURROUNDING AREA
2.1.1 Before the 19 th century Birkenhead was a small settlement, with a population of around 100. The name Birkenhead is of Viking origin, describing a headland wooded with birch trees. Prior to the 19 th century the area’s main importance derived from Birkenhead Priory, founded in 1150 by Baron Hamo de Massey, and the river ferry crossing to Liverpool.
2.1.2 During the 1820s, 1830s and early 1840s, Birkenhead grew from a small village to a burgeoning town. Its rise in fortunes was given impetus by its location on the River Mersey and its proximity to the expanding seaport and mercantile centre of Liverpool. Between 1800 and 1830 the population rose from 109 to 2,500.
2.1.3 In 1824, William Laird, an industrialist who had established an engineering works and shipyard in the growing town, commissioned architect Gillespie Graham to set out grand plans for the expansion of Birkenhead. Roadways were constructed to a gridiron plan with the intention that new development should be to a grand scale and buildings faced in stone. This vision began to be realised in the building of Hamilton Square which commenced in 1825 and eventually completed around the end of the 1830s. A Town and Market Hall was constructed in 1833-5 (later to be replaced by the present Town Hall in 1883). Much of the wealth of the town came from industries connected with the river. In 1824 Lairds established a boiler works and shipbuilding yard and the main dock complex opened in 1847.
2.1.4 In the 1830s competition between opposing ferry companies brought down the cost of crossing the Mersey and the introduction of steam ferries increased the speed and frequency of the service. Also at this time, work began on the railway line connecting Birkenhead with Chester which was opened in 1840. These improvements to transport links made Birkenhead an attractive place to live for many merchants and businessmen working in Liverpool or connected with the newly established businesses in the town.
2.1.5 To supervise the growth and expansion an Act of Parliament was passed in 1833 to establish the Birkenhead Improvement Commission. Many of the commissioners were local merchants and businessmen. A further act was passed in 1841 to supply Birkenhead with gas and water. The following year, in 1842, the intention of the commissioners to purchase land for the construction of a public park and cemetery was announced. In 1843 a further act was passed giving the commissioners of Birkenhead the jurisdiction over the township of Claughton-cum-Grange and part of Oxton. Claughton was a small agricultural settlement of little historic interest. One of the principal
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drivers behind the development and improvement of Birkenhead was Sir William Jackson, chairman of the Improvement Committee.
A plan showing the extent of 19 th century Birkenhead, including the planned town, the docks and the edge of Birkenhead Park
2.1.6 Bidston village is of medieval origins and its parish extended into the low- lying areas of north Wirral. It remained a small agricultural community until the development of the surrounding area for housing in the mid and late 20 th century. The hill itself has been used by people since prehistoric times. The upper areas of the hill had formerly been an enclosed park. Bidston Hill is the site of a windmill, the original mill dating to around 1790, and a signal station and lighthouse of 1763 and 1771 respectively. While the signal and lighthouse were important to the development of the Mersey for shipping they did not result in any urbanisation of Bidston Hill and it remained until the late 19 th century a rural area of farms, small quarries, woods and heath owned by the Vyner family. The hill was acquired as public open space in two main portions, the bulk in 1897 and the area known as Taylor’s Wood in 1907.
2.2 19 TH CENTURY DEVELOPMENT OF FLAYBRICK CEMETERY
2.2.1 The Birkenhead Improvement Commissioners were granted powers to establish a cemetery in 1843, in response to the rapid population growth the town was experiencing. Joseph Paxton was approached to put forward a design. A recession in the 1840s and a subsequent decrease in Birkenhead’s population meant that the original plans were shelved. By the 1860s economic growth had returned and population pressure once more demanded the provision of a large cemetery.
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2.2.2 A 16.5 acre site on Flaybrick Hill was purchased and a competition was held to choose the design. Edward Kemp, Paxton’s former assistant and curator of Birkenhead Park who had set up a private landscape design practice in 1845, won the competition. The Liverpool architects Lucy and Littler were appointed for the design of the buildings and the local surveyor Edward Mills also assisted. Work began in 1862. The general contractor was William Rimmer of Bidston Hall and John Miller of St Helen’s was the contractor for the buildings. The cemetery opened in 1864 and from the outset included areas for Anglican, Non Conformist and Roman Catholic burials. The Anglican and Non Conformist Chapels were combined in a symmetrical design as a stop to the vista from Bailey Street (now called Bidston Avenue) whilst the Roman Catholic Chapel was located close to a northern corner of the cemetery.
The original layout of Flaybrick Cemetery. The contrast in landscape design between the southern (Protestant) and northern (Roman Catholic) areas is very distinct . New roads to the north and northeast were never constructed.
2.2.3 The Birkenhead Improvement Commission acquired additional land to the north along with the former Flaybrick Quarry to allow room for expansion. The cemetery was expanded into these areas in the 1890s giving a total area of 26 acres.
2.3 20 TH CENTURY CHANGES
2.3.1 The Roman Catholic chapel was demolished in 1971 and a small memorial was built to mark the site of the chapel. The majority of monuments in the Roman Catholic area have been lost to a combination of vandalism and clearance intended to ease grass mowing.
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2.3.2 The central Anglican and Non Conformist chapels closed in 1975. The redundant chapels fell into increasing disrepair and the central spire and roof were demolished around the 1980s. Increasing fears about safety have lead to the erection of a security fence around the chapels to reduce the risks of vandalism and ensure public safety. A security fence was also put up around some rocky outcrops in the north of the cemetery for similar reasons.
2.3.3 The former sexton’s lodge and registrar’s offices have been privately owned and in residential use since the mid 1990s.
2.3.4 The cemetery is no longer used for new burials although interment does take place within family graves, at a rate of 5 to 10 each year.
2.3.5 New planting has occurred, mainly in the former quarry area, as part of an arboretum concept for the cemetery, with some trees being funded by memorial donations. Different management approaches have been tested in the northern parts of the site to increase the range of wildlife habitats, with mixed results.
2.3.6 Maintenance has become increasingly difficult to achieve within the resources of Wirral Council although increased resources have been allocated recently, resulting in improved management of previously overgrown areas. The Friends of Flaybrick was formed in 1993 and the volunteers have carried out research, recording and promotion of the cemetery. Their work has achieved recognition of its importance by the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe and greatly assisted in the use of the cemetery as a local leisure and educational resource.
2.3.7 It is estimated that 100,000 people have been buried at Flaybrick since it opened and that there are in the order of 10,000 memorials.
2.4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CEMETERY DESIGN AND CHANGING ATTITUDES TO DEATH
2.4.1 Until around 1650 all burials in England took place in churchyards or, for the wealthy, within churches themselves (intramural burial). These churches were primarily Roman Catholic in origin but after the Reformation this function was carried out exclusively by the Church of England. A small number of burial grounds opened in the mid 17 th century for Non Conformist burials and for other faiths, such as Jewish burial, but these were very much the exception. These burial grounds were usually simple walled enclosures.
2.4.2 As the Industrial Revolution gathered pace and towns and cities grew parish churches and churchyards came under increasing pressure. The ancient practice of disinterring old burials to make more space depended on the passage of time, so that the disinterred remains were dry skeletons which could be placed in a charnel house. As the rate of burials increased this slow
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process of decay could not occur, with grisly results. Burials were crammed in, often in shallow graves. The crypts of urban churches, especially in London, were piled high with coffins.
2.4.3 Concerns about the health risks of these fetid sites grew. Although there was no accurate understanding of the causes and spread of disease, it was believed that foul smells were to blame. Epidemics such as cholera outbreaks of the 1830s, affected rich and poor alike, and demands for the closure of overcrowded graveyards grew.
2.4.4 Changing sensibilities regarding death and the treatment of human remains were also occurring at this time. A raft of social, artistic and spiritual trends was responsible for this. The middle classes were growing in confidence and self esteem and many of them aspired to a commemoration of their departed in the style of the aristocracy. This sense of the importance and inherent worth of the individual was reflected in changing emphasis in religious belief such as the sense of personal sin and salvation. Romantic writing such as the Graveyard School of poetry, most famously Thomas Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard, encouraged the association of a particular place with reminiscences of the lost loved one and exalted the physical remains as being merely asleep. Awareness was also growing among the wider population of the Picturesque landscapes of the 18 th century, where monuments and mausoleums were introduced into landscaped parks and gardens, not just for their visual qualities but as aids to contemplation.
2.4.3 The growing middle classes of the 18 th and 19 th centuries increasingly sought an alternative to repugnant overcrowded urban churchyards. Urban cemeteries opened in Belfast and Edinburgh in the late 18 th century, based on Continental models such as the Elysian Pere Lachaise near Paris and inspired by the Classical tradition of cemeteries on the edge of towns. The first non denominational English cemetery was the Rosary, Norwich, opened in 1819 by Thomas Drummond, a dissenting clergyman. It was open to Anglican and Non Conformist alike. However the first truly public cemeteries, as opposed to dissenters’ burial grounds, did not open in England until the 1820s.
2.4.4 These early public or general cemeteries were mainly financed through joint stock companies and were very much commercial enterprises, although often promoted by members of the Non Conformist denominations. Examples include Chorlton Row in Manchester (1821), Low Hill in Liverpool (1825) and Westgate Hill Cemetery, Newcastle on Tyne (1825). St James’ Cemetery, also in Liverpool (1829), was another early example although in this case built by the Church of England. In London the first joint stock company general cemetery was Kensall Green, opened in 1837. The relatively late emergence of these cemeteries in London was the result of numerous obstacles, not least the vested financial interests of the established church.
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2.4.5 Both the Liverpool examples illustrated the architectural identity adopted for cemeteries of the 1830s. Low Hill, now lost, had a pair of Greek Revival Lodges joined by a Doric screen bearing the word “Necropolis”. St James’, set dramatically in a disused quarry, featured a Greek Revival chapel perched on a cliff above winding paths, informal planting and rock cut catacombs. Sloping sites were generally preferred and offered the greatest potential for varied landscaping. Throughout this early period of cemetery building Neo Classical architecture, the established style of civic improvement and respectability, with its links to the Picturesque landscape movement, was universally employed.
2.4.6 The first use of Gothic architecture in cemetery design occurred at Norwood, South London, opened in 1837. The Gothic Revival emerged gradually in the late 18 th and early 19 th century but achieved prominence and respectability with the choice of Gothic for the new Palace of Westminster in 1835. Its growing association with religious sentiment was fuelled in the early 19 th century by the publication of drawings of medieval cathedrals and tombs, its use by the Church Commisioners for new urban churches and the work of Pugin and the Cambridge Ecclesiologists. The introduction of Gothic design for buildings did not however change the overall approach to landscaping.
2.4.7 The privately funded cemeteries provided opportunities for the better off to bury their dead in dignity but did little to resolve the problems of the urban poor. A small number of provincial towns and cities opened cemeteries using public money. St Bartholomew’s Cemetery in Exteter (1837) was built by the town’s Improvement Commission and the Leeds Burial Act of 1842 allowed the corporation to levy rates for the construction of three cemeteries. Public health campaigning continued through the 1830s and 40s with little impact, although reports such as G A Walker’s Gatherings from Graveyards (1837), Edwin Chadwick’s Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Classes of Britain (1842) and subsequent Interment in Towns raised public consciousness. A major cholera outbreak in 1848 finally provided the impetus.
2.4.8 In 1852 the Metropolitan Burial Act was passed and the State addressed the problem of urban burial. In 1853 the Act was extended to cover all of England and Wales, with later revisions and a consolidation Act in 1857. This legislation empowered parishes to establish Burial Boards. The boards could commission new burial grounds funded out of the local Poor Rate and borrow money for the purpose. The Burial Act also allowed the Secretary of State to order the closure of churchyards and ban intramural burials anywhere in the country, effectively forcing a parish to establish a Burial Board. Burial Act cemeteries were to include consecrated ground for Anglican burials as well as un-consecrated ground for Non Conformists and by removing the commercial aspect of cemetery funding the cost of decent burial came within the reach of the poor. Once the Burial Acts came into
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force the need for privately funded cemeteries ceased, so that nearly all the cemeteries of the 1850s onwards were founded by Burial Boards.
2.4.9 The other key influence on later 19 th century cemeteries was the development of landscape design and fashions in planting. Designers such as Humphrey Repton and Joseph Paxton developed the picturesque tradition of landscape design with the introduction of formal and more “domestic” elements such as a terrace, or ornamental shrubbery near the house. In a cemetery the main chapel or chapels would take the place of a house as the focal point in a country park or garden, but the same principals were applied.
2.4.10 The eminent horticulturalist John Claudius Loudon published On the Laying Out, Planting and Management of Cemeteries in 1843. He was an advocate of introducing trees and shrubs for their botanical and educational interest but most of all promoted a rational, as opposed to romantic, approach to cemetery layout. He criticised cemeteries for not looking like cemeteries but like pleasure grounds. He favoured a gridiron plan, and while this had not been popular in the early privately funded schemes which had to appeal to their client’s aesthetic sensibilities, his approach became more influential as the century progressed.
2.4.11 The symbolism of plants and the introduction of new species were highly influential. Evergreen plants were suggestive of eternal life and some, such as yew had associations with ancient rural churchyards. Weeping and upright forms were especially popular. Introductions of American redwoods and other conifers during the 19 th century allowed botanical interest to be combined with this aesthetic. The use of evergreens also had the practical benefit of avoiding the maintenance required for clearing autumn leaf fall.
2.4.12 By the 1870s however there was a reaction against the sombre monochrome of evergreen planting and elements of High Victorian gardening became common, with flowering trees, ornamental carpet bedding, ferneries and spring bulbs increasingly introduced.
2.4.13 The 1870s also saw a campaign for legalisation of cremation, which is now the most common form of burial. Cremation tends to break the link between commemoration and the physical remains of the dead and represents a dramatic change in attitudes. The massive scale of death seen in two world wars and the common experience of there being no mortal remains also influenced public thinking on death. Military cemeteries brought in a very simple, orderly approach which has influenced contemporary cemetery design. 19 th century practices such as conspicuous demonstrations of mourning, as popularised by Queen Victoria and universal religious adherence are no longer part of our culture. All these factors together with the rising cost of labour for maintenance have meant that cemeteries today tend towards simple grassed areas and modest memorial gardens often associated with crematoria.
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2.5 ARCHAEOLOGY
2.5.1 The Merseyside Historic Environment Record has few entries for the Flaybrick Cemetery area and none relating to features within the site that predates the existing designed landscape.
2.5.2 Four houses dating from between 1751 and 1835 are noted in the HER. All of these are outside the boundary of the conservation area. They reflect the agricultural landscape that predated the expansion of Birkenhead.
2.5.3 A feature that relates to the 19 th century history of the site is the route of a tramway, constructed to form a link with the growing town of Birkenhead.
3.0 LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND VISTAS
3.1 SETTING AND RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SURROUNDING AREA
3.1.1 When the cemetery opened in 1864 it was situated in open countryside outside the expanding town of Birkenhead. The cemetery handbook of 1871 describes the setting of the cemetery as,
“surrounded by scenery at once the most picturesque and varying: on one side rises the rude, yet imposing outline of Bidston Hill covered with furze and heather as in primeval days, scattered here and there with masses of dark Scotch fir trees, forming a sombre and striking background; while on the other, are the signs of the highest civilization”.
Adjacent to the cemetery site was Flaybrick Quarry, later the site of an isolation hospital. A new road, Bailey Street (now called Bidston Avenue), was constructed aligned with the central axis of the cemetery, linking it visually and physically to Laird Street and Birkenhead Park. The view up the tree lined Bidston Avenue is particularly striking.
Bidston Avenue and the main central drive form a single grand axis
3.1.2 The rising ground of Bidston Hill offers commanding views over Birkenhead and across the Mersey to Liverpool. The Float and dock areas are clearly visible although the now mature trees and larger buildings close to the
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cemetery such as the school on Tollemache Road partially screen views to the east.
3.1.3 The land below the cemetery to the east is now completely developed. South of Bidston Avenue is terraced housing from the turn of the 19 th /20 th century and north of the avenue there are semi detached speculative houses of the inter war years. North of the cemetery there is mid 20 th century semi detached council housing. More recent late 20 th and early 21 st century housing has been developed to the south of the cemetery and on the site of the former hospital to the north east. Interwar semidetached houses outside the cemetery to the north. In summer the deciduous trees provide a denser screen to the boundaries. The mature trees along Boundary Road are visible beyond the boundaries of the cemetery.
3.1.4 The cemetery’s boundaries to the west, south and east are along roads, allowing clear views into and out of the cemetery from the public realm. Much of the northern boundary borders gardens and woodland areas, blurring and obscuring the cemetery’s distinct entity.
3.1.5 West of the cemetery Bidston Hill continues to climb. This extensively wooded area, which also incorporates an urban farm and allotments, provides a backdrop to the cemetery and includes prominent local landmarks such as Bidston windmill, Bidston signal station and lighthouse and Bidston Observatory. The cemetery gates on Boundary Road allow easy movement for walkers between Bidston Hill and the cemetery.
3.2 CHARACTER ZONES AND RELATIONSHIP OF SPACES
3.2.1 Flaybrick Cemetery exhibits many features typical of a mid 19 th century cemetery, combined with particular skill to create a landscape of great quality. The original 1864 scheme and the later extension can be broadly divided into four main character zones. These are illustrated in Appendix B.
3.2.2 The Formal Anglican and Non Conformist zone.
3.2.2.1 With its imposing central avenue terminating on the spire of the central chapels this area of the cemetery is a grand civic statement. Axial, formal, and largely symmetrical it is surrounded by a backdrop of informal perimeter planting and wooded areas outside of its boundaries. The chapels are rooted
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into the landscape by a terrace and clumps of medium sized, mainly evergreen trees at the top of the drive. The imposing gateways to Tollemache Road and Boundary Road announce the importance of the cemetery and at the same time invite visitors either to look within or to enter.
The formal part of the cemetery is organised around the main axial drive, which is continued outside the site along the tree lined Bidston Avenue
3.2.2.2 The framework of the landscape is a grid of avenues and paths forming a hierarchy of routes, some elevated on embankments. The avenues are lined with holly, originally cut into a rounded conical form but now in lollipop form. Path intersections or nodes are designed as ronds-points , usually with a holly or other specimen tree at the centre. Other landmarks are provided by specimen cut leaf beach trees. Some holly trees have been lost and there has been some modern planting of flowering cherries out of keeping with the original scheme.
Holly avenues line the main paths. Contrast in scale, colour and texture is provided by specimen trees, such as this cut leaf beech in the Non-Conformist section.
3.2.2.3 The perimeter planting is mixed, with larger evergreens including monkey puzzle trees and a variety of other pines and firs predominating at the upper (west) end of the site and mainly deciduous trees at the lower end. The formal area combines enclosure, (provided by the avenues, clumps and perimeter belts), with expansive open views towards Birkenhead and Liverpool and glimpsed views through the boundary wall and railings. There are also glimpsed views into the cemetery through the boundary wall and railings from the surrounding roads.
3.2.2.4 The areas between the paths are grassed and now filled with monuments which reinforce the overall geometry. However the wide variety of monument designs provides ever changing visual interest and form sub
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zones. In some areas grand monuments predominate, or a cluster of monuments of similar design is found, in other areas the graves are marked with more simple headstones.
Mature trees in the perimeter and clump planting enclose much of the landscape
3.2.2.5 The north east boundary of this zone is occupied by the former registrar’s office and maintenance yard. The Yard is well screened by trees and sits on lower ground adjacent to the former quarry.
3.2.2.6 The formal zone is generally well maintained and work has recently been carried out to remove shrubs and other self seeded from steps and paths, improve edging of the main paths and raise the crowns of the hollies making up the avenues. These were originally conical in form but had become overgrown; there were also concerns about personal safety and sight lines within the cemetery.
3.2.2.7 The formal Anglican and Non-Conformist zone covers all the Non- Conformist burial areas (NC1 to NC7 inclusive) and around half of the Anglican (Church of England) burial areas (CE1 to CE5 inclusive, CE6B, CE6C, CE7B, CE7C, CE8, CE9 and CE10 inclusive. A map showing the burial areas is included in Appendix E.
3.2.3 The Picturesque Roman Catholic zone
3.2.3.1 Originally this part of the cemetery combined an informal naturalistic area to the south with an axially planned area to the north around the chapel. The chapel has been demolished and the semi circular and rectilinear paths completely obscured by uncontrolled scrub growth in the north western part of the zone.
3.2.3.2 The Roman Catholic zone is now a flowing, naturalistic area with the atmosphere of woodland glades in the English Landscape tradition. It too benefits from mature woodland outside the boundaries of the cemetery, to the west across Boundary Road and to the east on the former hospital site. There are clumps and belts of mature planting. The sinuous spine path, running north-south, originally linked the north lodge with the chapel and its imposing arched gateway. Tree clumps along the spine pathway feature evergreen oak with an under planting of rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs.
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The loose structure and sparse monuments of the Roman Catholic section create and informal atmosphere. A wide variety of trees and shrubs are used, with evergreens predominant.
3.2.3.3 The Roman Catholic area is secluded, hidden from other parts of cemetery and now inaccessible from outside world. The northern edge of the area is largely derelict and much vandalised. There are however views out of the cemetery from the northern boundary.
3.2.3.4.1 Compared with the formal zone relatively few gravestones or monuments survive in this area. It is probable that they were generally more modest in their numbers and design than the Anglican and Non Conformist areas, reflecting the generally lower social and economic status of the Roman Catholic population. The major monuments and structures that do survive gain importance within the landscape and provide an element of surprise and discovery quite different to the profusion of monuments and prominently located buildings in the more formal areas.
This large Celtic cross memorial is initially hidden from view within a tree clump. Its scale contrasts with the modest gravestones around it and provides an important interlude within the landscape.
3.2.3.5 An area along the north east boundary of the cemetery has been fenced off with palisade railings for security reasons. The area includes rocky outcrops, locally known as Nanny Goat’s Mountain, left over from the quarrying activity. These were used as vantage points for vandals to throw missiles and posed a health and safety risk.
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3.2.3.6 The picturesque Roman Catholic zone includes all the Roman Catholic burial areas (RC1 to RC6 inclusive) and merges into the peripheral Anglican burial areas (CE16) .
3.2.4 Upper Quarry zone
3.2.4.1 This broad ledge was incorporated into the cemetery in the 1890s and forms an extension to the Anglican burial area. Its southern edge is formed by a steep cliff and rough stone retaining walls dropping down from the original cemetery. The line of the cliff is irregular with projections and recessed areas. The cliff is topped by mature trees and partially clad in ivy. The northern boundary is a steep bank down to the lower quarry area, also clothed in trees.
The upper quarry has a secluded, melancholy atmosphere
3.2.4.2 The tree cover and orientation make this area gloomy and shaded. Its atmosphere is romantic, slightly unnerving and stygian. This character is further reinforced by its relatively inaccessible location, with steps at the west end, a minor path to the east and a ramp and steps leading to the lower area. These lower steps may once have lead to a path, but now descend into an area of gravestones. The only formal elements within its design are two nodes marked by specimen lime trees at the top of the ramp and steps.
A specimen lime tree marks the axis of the ramped access path
3.2.3.3 Most of the monuments in this area are modest in scale. Some memorial stones are fixed to the cliff face and stone retaining walls. The area is subject to some vandalism.
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3.2.3.4 The upper quarry zone incorporates the Anglican burial areas CE6A and CE7A.
3.2.4 Lower Quarry zone
3.2.4.1 The lowest level of the cemetery was also incorporated in the 1890s. It combines elements seen elsewhere in the cemetery but is less coherent in its design.
3.2.4.2 At its western end the lower quarry area merges into the Roman Catholic area but is distinguished by a greater density of monuments. The middle part is formally planned with a holly avenue and a rectangle of paths with ronde pointes , marked by specimen lime trees. It is linked to the upper quarry area with a single ramped path. The holly trees here retain their original conical form but the remainder of the shrub planting has become overgrown and much of the formal layout is not immediately clear. To the east is a very open and rather barren area with few trees or monuments.
3.2.4.3 The lower quarry zone includes the Anglican burial areas CE11 to CE17 inclusive. Area CE16 represents the blurred boundary with the picturesque character of the Roman Catholic area.
The eastern side of the lower quarry zone (left) has little discernable structure. The majority of the area incorporates formal features similar to the main formal zone, with holly avenues and specimen trees (above). Here the hollies retain their original conical form.
3.3 KEY VIEWS AND VISTAS
3.3.1 The most significant view into Flaybrick from outside is that of the central avenue as approached from the east. The planned processional route up Bidston Avenue from the town, through the main gates and up the central drive with the spire of the central chapels as its focal point is a grand civic design gesture. Although the impact of the central chapels has been reduced through the loss of the upper parts of the spire this axial view retains much of
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its power. The subtle asymmetry introduced by the Tollemache Road lodge is an important part of this view.
The central chapels’ spire (now truncated), the ornamental fleche on the lodge and the gateposts all share the same Gothic outline.
3.3.2 From all the upper parts of the cemetery the views back over Birkenhead and across the Mersey are important. They provide a wide panorama and the opportunity to identify key landmarks, such as the tower at Twelve Quays and the now changing city skyline of Liverpool.
The central spire is visible from many positions around the cemetery.
3.3.3 Within the Formal zone and Lower Quarry Zone each avenue is a composed view in its own right. The central chapels remain visible as an orientation point and focal element throughout the Formal zone. The Jackson memorial is the only one to be located at a rond-point and is the focus of views along three paths in this northern part of the zone.
The Jackson memorial is given pride of place, the only memorial to be located with such prominence at a junction of paths. Most of these ronds-points are marked by specimen trees.
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3.3.4 Within the Picturesque zone the original focal point of the Roman Catholic chapel has been lost. The landscape in this zone gradually unfolds with the differing planting and occasional grander monuments providing incidents along the way. The location of the Canon Salopiensis monument with its iron cross finial among the trees silhouetted against the sky provides a single formal element within the zone.
This monument to Canon Salopiensis sits in a highly visible location on the axis of the spine path at the extreme northern end of the cemetery. With the loss of the Roman Catholic chapel and so many other built features of this zone, this solitary cross gains a significance it would not originally have had.
3.3.5 Glimpsed views into the cemetery from the surrounding roads are also an important feature of the conservation area. The most important of these are the views of the central chapels from Boundary Road.
3.3.6 A map showing these key views and vistas can be found in Appendix C.
3.4 PLANTING
3.4.1 As described in Section 3.2 (character zones) the designed planting at Flaybrick falls into two categories: formal/geometric and naturalistic. To this can be added self seeded vegetation, mainly in the form of birch scrub, sycamore, wych elm, brambles and gorse.
Naturalistic planting in the Picturesque zone with self seeded scrub growth contrasts with the extreme symmetry and geometry of the Formal zone as originally conceived.
3.4.2 The original planting, both formal and naturalistic, is structural planting and as such is fundamental to the character and appearance of the cemetery. It
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reflects trends in both cemetery design and botanical planting of the mid 19 th century and represents the work of the one of the key figures in landscape design of the period.
3.4.3 Flaybrick Cemetery has over 100 varieties of trees and shrubs, many of them relatively rare and some of which are significant examples of their type. Twelve trees are recorded on the Tree Register of the British Isles. These include cut leaf beech, small leafed lime, weeping or pendant lime, silver pendant lime, elm and sorbus crocecarpa ( a member of the rowan/ white beam family with no common name).
3.4.4 The single most visually dominant tree variety is the holly which lines the avenues in the formal areas. A number of species are used in different areas. The need for uniformity within these avenues makes evergreen holly, which is easily clipped, an ideal choice. The use of evergreen is also important symbolically for its unchanging qualities and the associations of holly with Christ’s Passion. Its very name is thought to derive from the same source as the word holy.
3.4.5 While other species may be individually less important to the overall design the grouping of trees in clumps and belts of differing character and the use of specimen trees is also highly significant. The main specimen trees used at nodes are cut leaf beech and limes of various types. These punctuate the landscape and provide a change of scale from the relatively uniform avenues.
3.4.6 Clumps and screens of mixed trees and shrubs provide the backdrop to the formal zones and the flowing naturalistic structure to the picturesque zone. Evergreen trees and shrubs dominate, including holly, yew, rhododendrons, laurel, holm oak (evergreen oak), monkey puzzle, cedar and other exotic pines and firs. Deciduous trees include a wide variety of limes, elm, hornbeam, white beam, horse chestnut, sweet chestnut and walnut. These clumps and belts commonly take the form of large trees with an under storey of smaller trees and shrubs, making a dense screen essential to the gradual unfolding of the landscape and the blurring of the cemetery boundaries when viewed from within.
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Although the majority of the planting is evergreen the different forms, colours and textures provide immense variety. Seasonal change is introduced through careful use of large deciduous trees.
3.4.7 The role of woodland outside the site has previously been mentioned. The mature trees and native woodland of Bidston Hill and the former hospital site form an important part of the setting of the cemetery.
3.4.8 Declining maintenance in the later 20 th century allowed self seeded vegetation to emerge in several areas, particularly in the north of the picturesque zone and the embankments around the upper and lower quarry zones. Within these naturalistic areas some “accidental” planting does not damage the overall character, if kept within limits. However invasion of both native and ornamental species has also occurred in the formal zone, causing damage to structures and intruding on the original design.
Self seeded ornamental and native plants can cause damage to structures, such as this capping stone dislodged by an overgrown, self seeded shrub.
3.4.9 Some new tree planting has occurred in an attempt to increase both the botanical interest and habitat potential of the site. As yet the planting is immature and has little impact on the appearance of the cemetery. Where ornamental cherries have been interspersed with holly avenues the character has however been altered to its detriment. The beech hedge around the former registrar’s office also introduces an incongruous feature in the landscape.
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3.4.10 The main ground cover within the cemetery is grass. Originally this would always have been closely mown lawn. It acts as a neutral foil to the monuments and is simple to maintain. A more relaxed mowing regime has been tested in part of the picturesque area in recent years.
3.5 Biodiversity
3.5.1 Flaybrick Cemetery is an important habitat for a range of native flora and fauna. Its location adjacent to Bidston Hill contributes to its wildlife potential and it forms part of a wildlife corridor between the Hill and Birkenhead Park.
3.5.2 Many small mammals use the cemetery, including bats roosting in the redundant chapels, mice, voles, grey squirrels, hedgehogs, foxes and weasels. Bird species include small birds such as finches and tits, common garden birds and others such as green and greater spotted woodpeckers, nuthatch and sparrow hawk.
3.5.3 Many invertebrates can also be found at Flaybrick with the wide variety of butterflies being of particular note. These are attracted both by wildflowers and nectar from the flowering lime trees.
3.5.4 The range of trees has already been described above. Annual and perennial wildflowers are less well represented since the mown grass, scrub and tree cover provide relatively few areas suitable for them. Lower plants such as mosses and lichens are numerous; there are many trees and monuments providing a range of suitable environments.
4.0 BUILDINGS , STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS
4.1 PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES
4.1.1 The following buildings or structures have status either architecturally or are of particular importance as being landmarks:
Anglican and Non Conformist Chapels (Grade II) Lodge, former offices on Tollemache Road (Grade II) Northern Lodge, former sexton’s lodge (Grade II) Main Gate (Grade II) North Gate (Grade II) South Gate (Grade II) Lower Flaybrick Road Gate (Grade II) Boundary Wall
4.1.2 All of these structures were designed as an ensemble by the architects Lucy and Littler and form a set piece composition. All use the same buff
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sandstone, from the adjacent quarry, and consistent mid Victorian Gothic details.
4.1.3 The Chapels
4.1.3.1 The focal point of the cemetery remains the conjoined Gothic Revival Anglican and Non-Conformist Chapels. Prior to the 1850’s cemetery chapels for different denominations had always been separate buildings, sometimes of contrasting design or a pair with only subtle design differences to distinguish between them. From the mid 19 th century onwards a new building type emerged with two chapels joined into a single building, frequently using a linking porte-cochere surmounted by a spire.
4.1.3.2 The Protestant chapels at Flaybrick are an imposing example of this type. The central spire sits over the arched entrance. Elaborately gabled cloisters connect the central entrance to the two chapels, the Anglican to the north and Dissenters or Non-Conformist to the south. Each chapel has a nave and aisle, side chapel, an outer porch and apsidal east end.
The Central Chapel as illustrated in Sanderson’s cemetery handbook of 1871.
4.1.3.3 The chapels became redundant in 1975 when the cemetery closed and soon fell into dereliction. The imposing central spire was partially taken down, apparently for structural reasons, during the 1980s and the roof was largely removed. The profusion of gables and the scale of the spire originally gave the chapels a dramatic and lively outline against the sky. The surviving external decoration is relatively sparse and simple, using elements mainly derived from the Early English and Geometric Decorated phases of Gothic architecture. Windows are devoid of external mouldings and the tracery is simple. The apse windows feature more elaborate but still mainly geometric tracery.
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Although it is now a roofless shell the central chapel remains an imposing and attractive building. The roof and upper spire are thought to have been removed in the 1980s.
4.1.3.4 Richer detailing was reserved for the central archway, spire, chimneys and individual side entrances to the two chapels. In these key locations hoodmoulds, shafts, carved relief panels, end-stops and gargoyles are seen. The original spire had elaborate crocketted corner pinnacles and other roof details such as the pierced parapet have been largely lost. The chapels are executed entirely in local buff sandstone and the prominent, steeply pitched roof was of Welsh slate.
Decoration is generally sparse and simple, based on Geometric Decorated and Early English Gothic features, but the form of the building is highly complex and inventive.
4.1.3.5 The interiors have been substantially lost since the removal of the roofs. Photographs suggest that the principal feature of the interior was the dramatic proportions of the two chapels, in particular the lofty apsidal east end. This contrasted sharply with the intimate cloisters leading from the central archway. Carved stonework included hoodmoulds, shafts with elaborate capitals and bases and projecting carvings of human or angelic heads. At lower level polychromatic and encaustic tiles were used.
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4.1.4 Tollemache Road Lodge
4.1.4.1 A key element in the approach to the cemetery up Bidston Avenue and the composition formed by the central chapels and entrance gates is the main entrance lodge, originally the registrar’s office. This, like the chapels, is Gothic Revival with a complex roof form of steeply pitched gables, multiple chimneys and a turret. It is domestic in character and asymmetrical in design. The building is partly two storeys and partly one and a half storeys. The walls are of the same local stone and the roof was originally in Welsh slate, now mainly replaced in dark grey interlocking concrete tiles.
4.1.4.2 The key feature in its design is the bell turret or fleche, over the arched entrance porch adjacent to the gates. The porch is supported on a corner shaft with a carved base and capital and the arches have hoodmoulds. The lower part of the turret is of stone and has a shield motif surrounded by gables, shafts and decorative carving. The upper part of this fanciful feature is executed in timber and lead.
The bell turret or fleche of the former office is richly ornamented. The rest of the building, like the chapels, is plainly decorated but rich and complex in form.
4.1.4.3 Like the chapels the windows to the lodge are relatively simple, in this case grouped lancets with some plate tracery. Apart from the elaborate detail to the turret and entrance, the only projecting mouldings are to the gable parapets. Some gables feature a recessed quatrefoil panel.
4.1.5 The Northern Lodge , adjacent to the north gate on Boundary Road is smaller and plainer in design than the Tollemache Road lodge. It was originally the sexton’s lodge. It is L shaped in plan and one and a half storeys. It has a simple entrance door under an asymmetrical catslide roof. The main decorative feature is a generous stone oriel window. The same local stone and Welsh slate are used.
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The north lodge is a modest Gothic Revival cottage.
4.1.6 Main Gate on Tollemache Road
4.1.6.1 Together with the central chapels’ spire and main entrance lodge these gates are a key element in the grand civic design statement of the approach up Bidston Avenue.
4.1.6.2 Set back from the road with flanking walls there is a central gateway and two narrower side gates. The buff sandstone gate piers are square at the base tapering to a stepped octagonal spire. Carved panels incorporate the initials of the Birkenhead Improvement Commission. The gates themselves are cast and wrought iron with twisted shafts, arrow heads, trefoils and quatrefoils. The splayed entrance is paved with setts.
Some gate piers have lost their finials, otherwise the main gateway is fully intact. The gothic detail is consistently used in every element, from the quatrefoils at the bottom of the gates to the broached spire form of the piers themselves.
4.1.6.3 The flanking wall has a chamfered plinth and raked copings. To the south it is stepped, like most of the boundary wall, and the lower parts were originally capped by railings, now missing. Immediately north from the main entrance is a small arched entrance gate to the lodge. This has a heavy low pitched gable and a central quatrefoil decorative recess. The northern flank wall is uniform in height and includes a gabled niche with some decorative carving, which houses the remains of a drinking fountain. The upper part of the gable is missing.
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The small gateway to the main Tollemache Road lodge and the niche for a public drinking fountain.
4.1.7 The North Gate on Boundary Road is similar in design to the main entrance gate. It features the same triple opening, sandstone gate piers and iron gates. The flanking boundary wall here is splayed to allow the gates to face south along Boundary Road. Adjacent to the gates is the Northern Lodge.
The North Gate features the same components as the Main Gate. Here the finials survive. This gate is no longer in use.
4.1.8 The South Gate on Boundary Road repeats the same design as the main and north gates. In this case the gates face west, and are aligned with the axis of the central chapels. These gates form an important compositional group with the chapels. The South Gate remains in use as the main access to the cemetery from the Bidston Hill area.
4.1.9 Lower Flaybrick Road Gate
4.1.9.1 This entrance is distinctly different to the other entrances to the cemetery. This was the main entrance to the Roman Catholic area and originally formed a group with the Roman Catholic chapel demolished in 1971.
4.1.9.2 The gateway is in the form of a stepped gable over an arched carriage entrance with a lower steep gable to the east over a smaller arched pedestrian gate. The gables are simply decorated with a foiled recess. Between the gates
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is a gabled niche, similar to that at the main entrance, originally containing a granite basin and drinking fountain.
4.1.9.3 The main gateway is now blocked with a new stone wall and the side gate has a modern steel gate. Lower Flaybrick Road no longer exists but has become in part a strip of derelict land, the remainder forms turning heads to a number of cul-de-sacs.
The Lower Flaybrick Road Gate is quite different in design to the others. It features two gabled archways, one for the funeral cortege and one for pedestrians. The pier between the two arches houses a water fountain similar to that at the main gate. This entrance is no longer in use.
4.1.10 The Boundary Wall forms the perimeter to the east, south, most of the west and part of north of the cemetery where it fronts onto public highways. Throughout these sections the design is of alternating high and low sections of local buff sandstone with a chamfered base and steeply raked copings. The lower sections are topped with railings. The original railings used the same trefoil motif as the gates but have been replaced with simple vertical bars. The stepped form allows views in and out of the cemetery and the consistent design is a key component in the identity of the cemetery. A short section of boundary wall to the former nursery yard/ maintenance depot is of uniform height. Most of the boundary with the former isolation hospital is a simple stone wall with no plinth or coping and of uniform height.
The boundary wall to Tollemache Road. The same design is seen along Upper and Lower Flaybrick Roads and Boundary Lane.
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4.2 MONUMENTS
4.2.1 Monuments of individual importance within the landscape are: The Jackson Memorial. Memorial to Canon Salopiensis War Memorial adjacent to central chapel (the Sword of Sacrifice)
4.2.2 Sir William Jackson was chairman of the Birkenhead Improvement Commision and a major figure in 19 th century Birkenhead. Although he was a Liberal and might have been expected to have his family grave in the Non Conformist section, the imposing granite canopied chest tomb sits at an intersection of paths in the Anglican section. This is the only tomb to be located within a rond-point and as such has particular visual importance.
William Jackson’s standing as a civic leader is reflected in the design and location of his tomb.
4.2.3 The Roman Catholic section of the cemetery has suffered most severely from the loss of major buildings, landscape degredation and vandalism. The large monument to Roberti Chapman, Canon Salopiensis of St Werberg’s Church, sitting over a vault, is hard against the north boundary of the cemetery and aligned with the main path through this part of the cemetery. The iron cross at the top of the memorial acts as an eyecatcher among the trees, silhouetted against the sky and the distant hill occupied by Wallasey.
4.2.4 Located on the central axis of the cemetery on the terrace of the conjoined protestant chapels is a war memorial . This granite cross with a bronze sword reinforces the axial design of this part of the cemetery. It is known as The Sword of Sacrifice and commemorates service men of the First World War.
4.2.5 Many other monuments are of considerable cultural, social and historical significance and are discussed in section 5.0 below.
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4.3 OTHER STRUCTURES AND SURFACES
4.3.1 Other structures of importance to the landscape as a whole are: Terraces, steps and ramps Cliff faces and retaining walls Memorial on site of RC Chapel Surfacing to paths and drives
4.3.2 Terraces, steps and ramps are an essential component of the design of Flaybrick Cemetery. They help to unify built structure and landscape into a single entity.
4.3.3 The considerable natural changes in level within the site are used to great effect, for instance the central chapels are located close to the highest point of the site and raised onto a level terrace with approach steps emphasising the building’s dominance and providing a viewing platform. The lower former quarry was used to dramatic effect to create secluded areas and naturalistic cliffs of a Romantic character. Additional changes in level were introduced in the form of embankments topped by tree lined paths flanking the central Anglican and Non Conformist burial areas.
4.3.4 These level changes are negotiated via ramps and steps with flanking low parapet walls and retaining walls, constructed of local buff sandstone smooth faced ashlar. These have steeply raked coping stones that reflect the design of the boundary wall and principal buildings.
4.3.5 The cliff faces of the former quarry were stabilised and made more regular by retaining walls built of roughly coursed sandstone rubble. These dramatic stone features are an important element in the enclosure of the former quarry areas and contribute to their character. Other cliff faces and rocky outcrops in the north east corner of the cemetery are now fenced off and inaccessible for security reasons
Natural rock outcrops within the cemetery are remnants of former quarrying activity. Clad in ivy they impart a romantic and naturalistic element into the landscape.
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4.3.7 Although modest in scale and now severely eroded, the small monument on the site of the Roman Catholic chapel is an important reminder of the imposing building that once occupied the site. It is believed that stonework from the chapel was used to construct the monument.
This modest monument marks the site of the former Roman Catholic chapel and uses stone salvaged from the building.
4.3.8 The main paths and drives are surface in black tarmac which varies considerably in its quality from the well maintained central drive to rather crumbling paths, especially in the northern parts of the cemetery. Perimeter paths are of closely mown grass. Forming a significant part of the surface of the cemetery and the foreground to the main chapels makes the ground surface a highly visible component in the overall appearance of the cemetery.
5.0 ARCHITECTURAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY
5.1 KNOWN ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS
5.1.1 Edward Kemp was among the leading landscape designers of the mid 19 th century. He trained under Paxton at the Chatsworth estate and was his assistant on the design of Birkenhead Park. He became the superintendant at Birkenhead Park and later set up his own practice. As well as his work as a designer he was a prolific writer and promoted the Mixed Style of garden and landscape design, influenced by the work of both Humphrey Repton and Joseph Paxton. Kemp was one of the judges in the competition to design Central Park in New York, where the influence of Birkenhead Park can be clearly seen.
5.1.2 In Liverpool Kemp was responsible for the implementation of Liverpool Cemetery, Walton Lane (now known as Anfield Cemetery). Anfield Cemetery was the subject of a design competition won by T D Barry, but it was Kemp who actually carried out the scheme. The buildings are by Lucy and Littler (see below).
5.1.3 Anfield Cemetery is 130 acres and opened in 1863. The layout includes straight drives leading to each of three chapels and dividing the site into large compartments. Within each of these areas the path layout varies, including
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rectilinear, circular and sinuous patterns. The site is generally flat but changes of level and raised and sunken terraces were used to further increase visual interest and variety.
5.1.4 Not all the buildings at Anfield Cemetery survive. The Anglican chapel, gate lodges, magnificent gates and clock tower, and two catacomb ranges, all Gothic Revival in design, remain standing. The catacombs are semi-derelict and the Non-Conformist and Roman Catholic chapels have been lost. The cemetery is on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest at Grade II (upgraded to GII * - date June 2009) .
5.1.5 Other work by Kemp includes Stanley Park, adjacent to and overlooking Anfield Cemetery. This is one of the best Mid Victorian parks in Northern England and was opened in 1870. The park occupies sloping ground and at the top there is formal terracing and numerous Gothic Revival structures including several gazebos, a screen wall, a bandstand and a large conservatory. This area featured formal bedding. The lower part of the park is designed around a serpentine lake, featuring a bridge and boathouse (partially lost to fire). This lower area was planted with clumps and belts of trees. Stanley Park too is on the Register at Grade II. Grosvenor Park in Chester was another of his park designs.
5.1.6 Lucy and Littler were the architects for all the main buildings and structures at Flaybrick Cemetery. As well as their work at Flaybrick and Anfield (see above) these Liverpool based architects were responsible for the design of another significant cemetery, Stapenhill Cemetery in Burton upon Trent (1865-66).
5.1.7 This 12 acre site was commissioned in 1864 by the Burial Board of Burton upon Trent and opened in 1866. It was later extended. Stapenhill is included on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Historic Interest at Grade II. It sits on a sloping site above the river Trent and includes a dramatic entrance of three gates within a gabled and pinnacled screen wall, an asymmetrical lodge and two chapels. As at Flaybrick the Gothic Revival designs are vigorous and dramatic in outline. The cemetery layout includes a central avenue, circular drive and terraces, with more informal areas away from the centre.
5.1.8 Lucy and Littler’s most important surviving building in Liverpool is the former Midland Bank on the corner of Derby Place and Castle Street, now Trials Hotel.
5.2 SIGNIFICANT BURIALS AND TOMBS
5.2.1 A number of individuals of local, national and international significance are buried at Flaybrick. Some of these graves are also of architectural or artistic significance. There are also a number of monuments that are not of
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themselves particularly fine or unusual, but are highly representative of changing fashions in the design of grave markers and their cultural significance.
5.2.2 Significant individuals include; Edward Kemp , the designer of Flaybrick Cemetery and one of the most important landscape designers of the mid 19 th century. See Section 5.1 above. Isaac Roberts , pioneer of astronomy. Roberts was the first astronomer to take a clear photograph of the Andromeda galaxy which clearly showed its spiral nature. His wife, Dorothea Klumpke was also a astronomer of international standing in her own right and she is also commemorated on the same monument. The monument itself is an outstanding design in the Egyptian style, unusual for its date and rich in symbolism relating to the Roberts’ lives, works and beliefs.
Kemp’s grave is marked by a conventional Gothic headstone, footstone and kerbs in contrast to the highly distinctive Egyptian imagery used on Roberts’ tomb.
James Taylor Cochran , who built the first powered submarine at Birkenhead. Arthur Doodson , inventor of the first machine that could predict both the time and the height of the tide simultaneously. He also calculated the tide tables for the D Day invasion. Charles Thompson , a minister who founded a mission for the relief of poverty in Birkenhead, still operating today. John Williamson , director of the Cunard shipping company and philanthropist. His family tomb is marked by an extravagant Gothic Revival spire. Lucy and Littler , architects for the main buildings and structures of Flaybrick Cemetery have modest memorial stones in the Anglican section. Lewis Hornblower , landscape designer who was responsible for the design of the major structures in Birkenhead Park. He additionally worked with Eduard Andre on the design of Sefton Park, Liverpool,
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which is also among the major public parks of the mid to late 19 th century. Numerous members of the Laird family, founders of Cammell Laird ship builders are buried in the Anglican section. The family crypt of William Laird features a Celtic cross and a carved dog and boar guarding the now blocked entrance. Other family members are buried nearby. Mary Mercer , Birkenhead’s first female Mayor and Alderman
The wealth generated by the shipping industry is displayed in the Williamson and Laird family tombs. Like all the underground vaults access to the Laird family burial chamber has been filled in.
5.2.3 Significant tombs or types of monuments include: The War Grave in lower quarry area is a large tomb to casualties of the First World War. Its extreme simplicity echoes the design of Military Cemeteries established in the work of Edwin Lutyens after the First World War. The large number of names is a striking reminder of the scale of casualties suffered. There are also a number of individual war grave burials throughout the cemetery.
Highly elaborate canopied chest tombs display a typically Victorian love of ornament. The bleak and dignified simplicity of this large First World War monument is a stark contrast.
The Gothic Revival canopied chest tombs reflect the revival in the 1860s of a medieval form frequently seen in the family tombs of the nobility. They also exhibit the use of polychromatic stonework. Gothic
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monuments had been used even in the earliest cemeteries of the 1820s when Classicism was the dominant architectural form.
The collection of Angelic statuary mainly in the Anglican section reflects a vogue, particularly among High Church Anglicans, from the 1880s. Many of these statues were executed in marble and imported from Italy. People of Low Church sentiments may have chosen the figure of a grieving woman, often also imported Italian marble. A number of these figures can be seen at Flaybrick.
Many of the angels and weeping female figures at Flaybrick are attractive and emotive pieces of sculpture. Some are less well executed or, to modern minds, overly sentimental. All of them speak eloquently about the beliefs and attitudes of their time.
Important events linked to Birkenhead are commemorated. Joseph McLoughlin, drowned on the Lusitania , and Charles Morgan, a victim of the sinking of the Titanic , are buried in Flaybrick.
William Coltart’s monument by the sculptor Thomas Armstrong. Coltart was a merchant from Liverpool who became a major art collector and significant figure in late 19 th century Birkenhead. The Neo-Classical tomb based on ancient Roman examples sits adjacent to the steep drop into the lower quarry area and was surrounded by mature trees. Until recently the combination of its design and location evoked notions of the 18 th century contemplative landscape. Sadly the large beech tree behind it recently fell and its location is now bare and vandalised. Neo Classical designs such as shrouded urns and broken columns continued to be popular even after the Gothic Revival came to dominate architecture, for their rich symbolism. The large Celtic cross in the Roman Catholic section is just one of a number of Celtic cross monuments. These came into fashion during the 1890s inspired by John Ruskin’s grave in Coniston churchyard.
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5.2.4 The monuments as a group incorporate many different rocks and stones, both local and imported. The geological interest of these is another aspect of their importance as a collection, in addition to the value of individual monuments.
6.0 NEUTRAL AND NEGATIVE FACTORS
6.1 OVERVIEW
6.1.1 A study of this nature cannot attempt to highlight every part of the environment that has a detrimental impact on the character or setting of the conservation area. Instead this report summarises the most apparent of examples and key problems within the conservation area as a way of encouraging an understanding and awareness of these issues.
6.2 LOSS AND REDUNDANCY
6.2.1 The greatest factors to date that have had a negative impact on the character and appearance of Flaybrick Cemetery are the derelict state of the redundant central chapels and the loss of the Roman Catholic chapel.
The Roman Catholic chapel as shown in the 1871 handbook looking west towards Bidston Hill. It shared many common design features with the Protestant central chapels.
The interior of the Roman catholic chapel, showing the vaulted ceiling, apsidal east end and carved stone ornamentation.
6.2.2 Flaybrick can be considered fortunate that the central chapels and other main structures were listed a year before the cemetery closed in 1975. Without this statutory protection it is probable that they too would have been lost. The central chapels form the focal point of the design and their loss would be a significant blow.
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6.2.3 Redundancy is the greatest threat to historic buildings. Efforts have been made to stabilise and secure the chapels but more needs to be done to prevent damage from exposure to the weather and encroaching vegetation growth. Small trees and shrubs are growing within the shell of the chapels and in some cases taking hold within the masonry walls. The modern security fence has served its purpose of preventing unauthorised access to the chapels quite effectively.
The unprotected stonework of the chapels is vulnerable to the elements and to the damage brought about by tree roots.
6.2.4 Proposals are being developed for the reuse of the chapels as a resource for the cemetery and as a study centre for bats.
6.2.5 The two lodges were saved from redundancy by conversion to residential use. The former registrar’s office at the Tollemache Road entrance however is only partially occupied. It has become the victim of vandalism and is in danger of falling into disrepair.
6.2.6 Many of the larger monuments were originally enclosed by low iron railings. Large numbers of these have been lost although some survive. The original perimeter railings have also been removed and replaced with a modern railing of simpler design.
6.3 MANAGEMENT OF PLANTING AND BUILDING MAINTENANCE
6.3.1 Flaybrick is unusual as a conservation area in that its character and appearance depend to such a great extent on planting. All landscapes are dynamic and living in a way which historic buildings are not. Trees mature and eventually die. Grassy areas quickly turn to scrub and shrubberies revert to thickets if not maintained.
6.3.2 The encroachment of scrub and thicket had become major problems at Flaybrick. Some burial areas had become inaccessible and paths were
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overgrown and unwelcoming. In the last year a major effort has been made to tackle these problems, perhaps prompted by the cachet of hosting the AGM of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe in September 2008 and linked to Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture. This action has pulled the cemetery back from a point where unrestrained vegetation growth may have led to whole areas being effectively abandoned. However there are still significant areas that have been overrun by scrub and many paths that are overgrown with grass.
Unchecked scrub growth such as these brambles makes areas inaccessible. If unchecked, colonisation by scrub will be followed by young trees and the eventual development of native woodland which would obscure the designed planting belt.
6.3.3 The unwanted growth of shrubs and climbers has also affected structures such as monuments, walls and steps. Copings have been dislodged, steps misaligned and monuments damaged. Plants have been cut back but many structures require repair.
Some areas are still heavily overgrown. In a few instances vegetation has been left deliberately, in order to conceal attractive monuments that may be targets for vandalism in more vulnerable parts of the cemetery. Striking the balance between resources, romance and conservation is difficult.
6.3.4 The original planting of the cemetery is now some 150 years old. Some of the trees are approaching maturity and old age. As yet significant losses have been few, but a managed approach to replanting will be required if the essential components of Kemp’s design are not to be lost to coming generations.
6.3.5 A major change to the appearance of the formal Anglican and Non- Conformist zones has occurred through the trimming of originally conical
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hollies into a lollypop form. Many of these hollies had been neglected and were encroaching onto paths. The conical form also restricted sight lines adding to a sense of vulnerability among some users. The raising of these holly tree crowns and the opening up of sight lines increased public confidence at a difficult time in the cemetery’s use and management but represented a significant departure from the original design intent.
6.3.6 With such a huge number of monuments, the long perimeter wall and four gateways, as well as the chapels and lodges, the cemetery requires considerable building maintenance as well as landscape management. The boundary wall has recently been repaired and railings painted. Monuments are inspected for their structural integrity as part of the Council’s responsibility to ensure the health and safety of users and staff. However repairs to monuments are carried out as a reaction to them failing. At present proactive and preventative maintenance has not been achieved for either monuments or major buildings and structures. This detracts from the appearance of the cemetery and may lead to irreversible damage in the longer term.
6.4 VANDALISM AND RUBBISH
6.4.1 Across the country cemeteries are the target for antisocial behaviour and vandalism. They are not alone in this; many public open spaces suffer the same unwanted attention. However the desecration of graves is a particularly emotive issue. It is estimated that around 2,000 graves at Flaybrick have been damaged by vandals. The attacks have included pushing over headstones, crosses and statues, graffiti on monuments, the boundary wall and gateways, hurling missiles and deliberate smashing of monuments.
In some areas nearly all the headstones have been pushed over. The main lodge adjacent to the Tollemache Road entrance is a target for vandalism. Many windows are boarded up or broken.
6.4.2 The cemetery provides a secluded location for underage drinking and other illicit activities. Sadly, a reputation for antisocial behaviour can discourage legitimate users who would otherwise provide a degree of informal policing and surveillance for other users.
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6.4.3 Major improvements have been made in preventing vandalism and antisocial behaviour after a particularly bad series of attacks in 2004. The gates are locked and the perimeter secured from dusk till dawn. Unsafe monuments are no longer prominently marked, since this can invite attack on them. Incidents are reported promptly and police or other security staff response is much improved in recent years.
6.4.4 The Lower Flaybrick Road gate, at the north of the cemetery, has been secured to prevent access. While this is damaging to the appearance of the listed structure it is reversible. The action has limited direct entry to the site from part of Bidston Rise, an area suffering from extreme social and economic disadvantage. The residential streets adjoining the cemetery here are blighted by vandalised, derelict houses and antisocial activity. In the long term the reopening of this entrance may be possible.
6.4.5 All the vaults and crypts within the cemetery have been in-filled. This is primarily a response to the threat of tombs being broken into by thieves and vandals.
6.4.6 Two main sources of rubbish are found within the cemetery. In the areas where underage drinking occurs there are bottles and cans littered among the memorials. The possibility of needles being found in these areas must also be considered, along with the very real health risks these would pose. Fly tipping also occurs, principally over the high boundary fence along the north east perimeter, adjacent to some recent housing. The rubbish is mainly tipped into an area in the northeast of the cemetery (RC7), fenced off for security purposes.
Graffiti and rubbish are significant problems within the Picturesque Roman Catholic zone.
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6.5 NEW FEATURES
6.5.1 The introduction of new planting has been mentioned above. Where this is carefully considered in the context of the original design and landscape character it may be appropriate. However some instances of unsympathetic planting have occurred.
6.5.2 The central avenue has lost some of its original holly trees and the gaps have been planted with ornamental flowering cherries. While these might be attractive trees they detract from the unity of the original avenues and introduce an alien element in the heart of this very formal area of the cemetery.
An avenue of rowan trees has been planted in the Lower Quarry zone. This particular area is not part of Kemp’s original scheme and lacked any structural planting. Some other modern planting, such as flowering cherries in the central drive, is less successful and undermines the essence of the designed landscape.
6.5.3 The boundaries of the two lodges introduce divisions into the landscape that were not originally intended. The change of use to residential demands the provision of a private garden area. However the form of the boundaries is visually intrusive. A beech hedge has been planted against high railing around the highly prominent main entrance lodge on Tollemache Road. The North Lodge has a close boarded garden fence.
6.5.4 Security fencing around the central chapels and rocky outcrops in the Roman Catholic area has been noted above. It is hoped that these are medium term measures that can be removed at some point in the foreseeable future.
6.6 DEVELOPMENT OUTSIDE THE CONSERVATION AREA
6.6.1 Flaybrick Cemetery was intended in its original design to incorporate enclosed, inward looking areas and views out over Birkenhead and Liverpool. When it was first built it was surrounded by open countryside. The protection of Bidston Hill as open space and woodland has ensured that the backdrop to the landscape as a whole when viewed from the main approach, and the backdrop to much of the Formal and Picturesque zones, is of mature trees. This forms an ideal setting to the designed landscape.
6.6.2 The expansion of Birkenhead into the suburb of Claughton has provided a foreground to the cemetery of pleasant housing and a school. It seems quite
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fitting that views out from the cemetery should be primarily of the town where its deceased originated.
6.6.3 Newer housing that has been developed on the former hospital site and to the south of the cemetery does not provide such an ideal backdrop to views out of the cemetery. In particular the proximity of houses to the boundary near the former Roman Catholic chapel and recent housing northeast of the lower quarry zone are visually intrusive. The modern brick boundary wall in the north east of the cemetery is visually unattractive and not of a quality commensurate with its setting. Fortunately these are not visible from the main original areas of the cemetery and are partially screened by trees and changes in level.
Modern housing has been located very close to the boundary of the cemetery. The building with its gable wall adjacent to the cemetery (left) suffers vandalism as a result. A planted buffer zone may have been beneficial.
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7.0 SUMMARY OF SPECIAL CHARACTER
7.1 The following is a list of features and information that are part of Conservation Area’s special character:
Flaybrick is a fine and substantially intact example of a mid 19 th century public cemetery. The cemetery is the work of one of the great landscape designers of the 19 th century, Edward Kemp. The cemetery incorporates the work of locally important architects Lucy and Littler Within the cemetery are memorials to people of international, national and local significance. The main buildings and structures are designed as a group using the same materials, (mainly local sandstone), and Gothic Revival architectural language. The majority of the buildings survive and their group value is intact. There are a variety of monuments within the cemetery, of wide social, cultural, artistic and geological interest. The planting is mature and substantially intact. It typifies many aspects of mid Victorian landscape design and botanical fashion. Extensive woodland and mature trees inside and outside the conservation area are important to its character and appearance. Several individual trees and the collection as a whole is of national interest. The cemetery is an area of local importance to wildlife. There are expansive views out of the conservation area, as well as areas of seclusion and enclosure. The cemetery provides a valuable local resource for leisure, education and local identity.
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