A Garden Built on Bones | St. James Cemetery, Liverpool
Season 2 Episode
Descend into the haunting history of St. James Cemetery Liverpool, a Victorian burial ground where 57,000 souls lie beneath what is now called a public park. In this episode of The Grim podcast, host Kristin explores one of England's most controversial cemeteries—a place meant to solve Liverpool's burial crisis that instead became a symbol of neglect and desecration.
Opened in 1829 and closed in 1936, St. James Gardens Liverpool tells the story of Victorian cemetery reform gone wrong. Built in a former stone quarry with towering walls and underground catacombs, this haunted cemetery became notorious for shallow graves, mass burials, and overcrowding—the very problems it was designed to prevent.
Featured Stories:
Sarah Biffin - The extraordinary artist born without arms who painted miniature portraits for royalty using only her mouth, now buried in an unmarked grave at St. James
Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson - The forgotten Victoria Cross recipient who saved a fellow soldier during the Boer War, only to fade into obscurity working as a Liverpool tramway track layer
William Huskisson - The world's first railway fatality victim, a powerful politician killed by Stephenson's Rocket locomotive at the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway opening
Lucy Walker - The pioneering female mountaineer who became the first woman to summit the Matterhorn in 1871, dressed in a white printed dress
Haunted Liverpool Cemetery
St. James Cemetery is considered one of the most haunted places in Liverpool. Paranormal reports include:
William Huskisson's ghost - A limping figure in a top hat near his neoclassical tomb
The Christmas Vampire - A grey, smoke-like figure from 1970s folklore
The Woman in Black - An unidentified floating apparition
EVP recordings and shadowy figures throughout the grounds
Key Topics:
Victorian cemetery history
Liverpool historical sites
Garden cemeteries vs burial grounds
Père Lachaise Paris influence on British cemeteries
John Foster Jr architect Greek Revival design
Cemetery preservation and heritage
Haunted cemeteries UK
True Victorian ghost stories
Liverpool gothic history
Perfect for fans of cemetery history podcasts, Victorian true crime, paranormal investigations, and dark history.
