Gay envisioned a garden cemetery – akin to the likes of Abney Park Cemetery in London – the likes of which were very popular in the early nineteenth century. Englishman William Gay was appointed to design the new cemetery. Plans for a municipal cemetery for all religious denominations were made and in 1866, Belfast Corporation (now Belfast City Council) purchased land from a prominent family on Falls Road, with a view to turning it into a burial ground and a park. Up until this stage, the majority of burial grounds in Belfast were controlled by religious denominations. As the population rose, more burial space was needed for the increasing numbers of the dead. The Great Famine drove people out of rural areas and into the city in search of work. The cemetery was founded in the mid 19th century, at a time when Belfast saw a drastic rise in its population. Ivy chokes and cascades over everything, rendering the whole place immensely atmospheric. I was immediately taken by how big it was, and how overgrown the majority of the older graves were. I’ve lived in Belfast for about seven or eight years now and this was the first time I set foot in the place. I recently took a stroll through Belfast City Cemetery.
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