Southern Cemetery
Map, opening times, transport information, and other detailed information about Southern Cemetery
Southern Cemetery is accessible to vehicles seven days a week. Please use the parking bays provided on the main drive and walk.
At other times, you can park on the main drive through the Cemetery. Public toilets are next to the Cemetery Office inside the main cemetery gates from Barlow Moor Road (under the clock spire).
The cemetery is open from dawn to dusk every day, and is bordered by Nell Lane, Princess Road and Barlow Moor Road - all of which are served by local bus routes.
Opened in 1879, Southern Cemetery is situated on Barlow Moor Road, South Manchester. It is the largest municipal cemetery in the UK and the second largest in Europe, with stunning gardens and pathways, and six grade 2 listed buildings, four of which are chapels. The cemetery is also the final resting place for many great Mancunians including philanthropist John Rylands, British aviator John Alcock (who made history with the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919) and former Manchester United Manager, Sir Matt Busby.
In 2008 we created the Remembrance Lodge, allowing friends and relatives to pay their respects and remember loved ones. The Lodge contains the Book of Remembrance in which you can commission a memorial inscription: skilled craftsmen create the entry by hand, and an emblem of your choice can be added for an individual touch.
On the walls of the Remembrance Lodge are the wall Plaques for dedication: these remain in place for 5 years, then they are placed on an external Remembrance Wall for a further five years, with an option to renew at the end of that period. You can add ceramic photographs, a badge, or regimental emblems to the plaque.
The Lodge, which provides a peaceful and dignified place for people to spend time with their thoughts, is open 7 days a week during Cemetery opening hours for viewing memorials or to visit the Remembrance Book.
We can now offer a more natural setting for burials within The Meadow, an area of Southern Cemetery that is being managed to encourage native wildlife, plants and wild flowers.
If you wish to enquire further about a memorial or entry in the Remembrance Book, please contact our Customer Service Team at:
Southern Cemetery
The Lodge
212 Barlow Moor Road
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Manchester M21 7GL
Telephone: 0161 227 3205
Crematorium enquiries to Manchester Crematorium on 0161 881 5269
Email: ops.cemeteries@manchester.gov.uk (if emailing us, please include a phone number)