Clifton Street Graveyard

Visitor information
Address: Henry Place, off Clifton Street, Belfast, BT13 (entry is via Henry Place).

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: By appointment only.
Clifton Street Graveyard opened in 1797 and was managed by the Belfast Charitable Society.

It contains the graves of many notable families, including the Dunvilles, the Sinclairs and the McCrackens, and its history provides an important insight into the social development of the city.

The cemetery, now a recognised historical site, has been managed by the council since 1984.

Photo gallery

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Access information
Bus routes: Metro 10 A-H, 12 A-B or 57.

Car parking: None available.

Disabled access: Contains a good network of paths and level ground throughout.

Key features

Clifton Street Graveyard contains many famous graves and memorials.

Among them is a mausoleum belonging to the Dunville family, which once contained ceramic ‘photographs’ of the family.

The Dunvilles, who produced whiskey from their distillery on Grosvenor Road, presented a
large portion of land on Falls Road to Belfast in 1891. The land later became Dunville Park

There is also a memorial to George C Hyndman, a member of the Belfast Botanical and
Horticultural Society which helped establish Botanic Gardens in 1828.

It is easy to spot thanks to the statue of Hyndman’s pet dog which sits on top of the memorial.
Useful websites
Belfast History Project: www.belfasthistoryproject.com

New Lodge: www.thenewlodge.com

Clifton House: www.cliftonbelfast.org.uk

Clifton Street Graveyard: www.cliftonstreetcemetery.com


Another unusual grave belongs to Thomas Ash - its corners are marked by three ash trees
(the fourth has been removed).

History

During the late 18th century, most burials in Belfast took place in the Parish Church of Saint George, located on High Street, Belfast.

However, due to overcrowding and the threat of flooding during high tide, a replacement was needed.

The Marquis of Donegall suggested using the land directly behind the Poor House (now Clifton House) in North Queen Street.

It had been founded in 1774 to help the sick, poor and destitute of the city.

His suggestion was accepted by the building’s owners, the Belfast Charitable Society, and the site was formally established in 1790, following a resolution from the Society.

New Burying Ground

Burial plots in the New Burying Ground, as it became known, were put up for sale in March 1797.

To combat the risk from bodysnatchers (people who sold newly buried bodies to anatomists for profit), a wall was built around the graveyard.

It failed to stop the practice however and it became common for relatives to stand guard beside new graves every night until the risk of snatching had decreased.

Families also built cages of stout iron (known as coffin guards) around coffins to deter the snatchers and the Society was eventually forced to employ watchmen to guard the cemetery.

Poor Grave

In 1799, the Society agreed to set aside a portion of land for those who could not pay for burials. The area became known as the ‘poor grave’.

The cemetery also contains a large unmarked plot which served as a mass grave for the victims of the 1832 cholera epidemic. And, in 1847, 1,049 burials from infectious diseases such as typhus, dysentery and smallpox were recorded on the site.

The original Clifton Street Graveyard was full by 1819 and a second area, known as the lower ground, was opened. By 1854, all the plots in this area had been sold.

Disrepair and restoration

Although the Belfast Charitable Society was responsible for the maintenance of the cemetery, a report from 1884 shows that headstones and monuments had become dilapidated, railings were covered in rust and gates were unhinged and damaged.

More than £400 was raised following an appeal to families whose relatives were buried in the graveyard and the money was used to fund improvements and maintenance work.

A second appeal in 1930 attracted little response but it did lead to the appointment of a full-time groundsman.

In 1969, the last groundsman left the cemetery and the keys were handed over to the military, who were posted next to the site, in Glenravel Street, until 1973.

The council eventually took ownership of Clifton Street Graveyard in 1984. The last burial on the site took place in June 1984.

Famous burials

Amongst those buried in Clifton Street Graveyard are: