Opened in 1849, Welford Road Cemetery is Leicester’s oldest municipal cemetery and one of the oldest in the country. Still in use today, the Cemetery is over 12 hectares in size with around 10,000 headstones and 35,000 graves, and is listed as a Grade 2 site in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens. More information about Historic Parks and Gardens can be found here.

 

The Cemetery contains many fine examples of headstones and memorials reflecting a range of styles and materials. There are also many notable Victorians and Edwardians buried at the Cemetery who have played a role in Leicester’s history and helped to shape it into the diverse and unique city it is today.

 

In 2004 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded Leicester City Council a grant of £759,000 to help fund a restoration project at the Cemetery. Work on site started in 2005 and culminated with the opening of a brand new Visitor Centre in the summer of 2006. In July 2007 it was announced that the Cemetery had won a prestigious Green Flag Award for parks and open spaces, along with 5 others in Leicester. More information regarding the Green Flag Award scheme can be found here.

 

The Cemetery is a unique place close to the heart of Leicester and offers peace and tranquillity to the public visiting graves or those simply enjoying the abundant and diverse wildlife.