Balmoral Cemetery

Visitor information
Address: Stockman’s Lane, Belfast, BT9 (entry is via Stockman's Lane, just off Lisburn Road). Telephone: Call the Cemeteries and Crematorium Central Office on 028 9027 0296. It is open from 8.30am daily until 5pm (Monday to Thursday), 4.30pm (Friday) and 12.30pm (Saturday). Opening hours: From 7.30am to dusk daily.

Balmoral Cemetery, situated in south Belfast, opened to the public in 1855.

The graveyard, originally known as Belfast Cemetery, Malone, became public property in 1953.

Today, it is a recognised historical site and is open daily to visitors.

Photo gallery

Click on the thumbnails to see a larger version of each picture (images open in a new window).

You will need to have Javascript enabled to view these images which are available from Flickr

Access information
Bus routes: Metro 9 A-C, 90 or 92. Car parking: None available. Disabled access: Contains level ground throughout.

History

Balmoral Cemetery opened in 1855 as Belfast Cemetery, Malone.

It was established after Reverend Henry Cooke and Reverend Joseph Mackenzie of Malone were refused permission to carry out a ‘proper’ Presbyterian funeral in another churchyard.

The pair decided to set up their own burial ground on land belonging to Reverend Mackenzie,
beside Stockman’s Lane.

The new cemetery was controlled by a board of trustees which included three Presbyterian ministers.

Burials were mostly of subscribing and non-subscribing Presbyterians but the graveyard was also used by other denominations.

By the 1920s, the site had fallen into disrepair and, in 1953, it was taken over by Belfast Corporation (now the council).

Famous burials

Amongst those buried in Balmoral Cemetery are:

Reverend Joseph Mackenzie (1811-1883) - co-founder of the site
Reverend Henry Cooke (1788-1868) - co-founder of the site. Cooke was a prominent Presbyterian noted for his conservative views. His funeral was described as being ‘probably the largest ever to take place in Belfast’ at the time. A statue of Cooke, known locally as the Black Man, was erected in College Square East in 1876.
Dr Wilberforce Arnold (1838-1891) - founder of the Presbyterian Orphan Society
William Batt (1840-1910) - architect who designed the front gate lodge for Botanic Gardens

The cemetery also contains the graves of several Presbyterian ministers and missionaries to India.