Limited Edition Daytime Saturday Cemetery Tours in Summer.

Shiverpool Daytime Shivers this Summer with family-friendly tours

of Liverpool’s ‘City of the Dead’

Article with thanks to The Guide Liverpool

The company, which is known for its spooky Street Theatre Storytelling performances around the city centre, is launching a limited edition daytime exploration of St James’ Cemetery Garden.

The ‘Saturday in the Cemetery Summer Holiday Specials’ will provide all ages with the chance to learn and understand more about some of the Gory Stories, History and Haunted Heritage connected to St James’ Garden.

They’ll also be able to discover the myths associated with legendary secret springs and hear hidden histories, imparted in an eerily magical green space. The tour will also reference the former chapel of St. James' cemetery; The Oratory, all situated within the shadow of the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.

And, because they’re held in the afternoon, the tours are perfect for anyone who prefers their ghostly tales to be delivered by day!

The Cemetery tours will be conducted every Saturday in August, setting off from outside the Philharmonic Pub at 2pm.

Lucy Carew, Artistic Director of Shiverpool, says they’re an opportunity for people to experience a unique, historic place that they may not even realise exists.

She explains: “St James’ Cemetery opened in 1829 and closed in 1936 so for over 100 years, this is where Liverpool’s great and good were buried.”

“There are just under 60,000 separate interments, from American sea captains, pioneering female mountaineers, illustrious merchants including William Brown to young children- victims of the infamous cholera outbreaks of the 19th Century.

We find that when we explore St James’ with children and young people, they are instantly drawn to the enchantment of our city’s “secret garden” they love the mythical stories of the Spring, and are bewitched by tales & legends such as the time slip in the tunnel or the sombre story of Little Grace...

One story that always piques the interest of our audiences is the true and bizarre tale of Eliza Clements, who was just nine years old when she died. Her family were from Liverpool, but they lived in San Francisco. When Eliza sadly died, she had requested her mortal remains be buried in her home town of Liverpool. The arduous journey to transport her body to Liverpool lasted 11 months and her memorial can still be found in St James’ Garden.

“People are fascinated by the old Chalybeate spring, and the urban myth of Wicked Ginny Greenteeth, the river hag with razor sharp teeth who would lurk around pools of water. How myths and legends are formed and passed on through the generations is inextricably entwined it seems with the human experience.

Lucy says this will be the first time Shiverpool has offered daytime tours of St James’ Cemetery to the public.

“We receive lots of requests to deliver private tours in the Cemetery space, at all times of the day and night, just get in touch with us and we can start plotting your urban adventure!

“Exploring in the daytime gives a totally different perspective because when you descend at night, it can be pitch black and we can struggle to see the finer detail on the headstones.

“Some of the old graffiti left there by the quarrymen who occupied the site before St James’ was the Necropolis is upward of 300 years old, and in the light, as opposed to our night time tours we can really see the detail of these intriguing cultural residues.”

“You are 40ft beneath street level, immersed within this natural world of leafy trees, snow drops, blue bells and wild garlic, surrounded though by headstones and mausoleums, a wonderful mixture of both the magical and macabre!

“We begin the adventure outside the Philharmonic Pub, where we are surrounded by the   legacies of our forefathers who are now buried in St James’; people like Edward Rushton who founded the Blind School and Robert Cain, the famous brewer. It’s a lovely way to investigate the context of these pioneering people before we indeed visit their final resting place; the Gorgeous Great Green Lung of the City .”

Lucy says the tours are suitable for families, with a recommended age of nine and over.

“We tend to find that’s around the best age to understand the Street Theatre experience, grasp the stories, and appreciate the activity to the fullest!

“Our guides are always animated, lots of fun and quite often it’s the adults who feel the chill more than the kids, their imaginations sparking with a fearless energy. (you know your little monsters best)

“We deliver the stories in a way that captures their attention, transporting them from the present to the past and back again... We’re more spine-tingling than scary and hope to leave our listeners more fascinated than frightened. That’s not to say we don’t indulge our mischievous spirits when the right moment arises and audiences can expect, a little of the unexpected, hopefully serving to enhance the experience rather than defining it. That said people do love to be scared, I think it’s something to do with being able to feel that thrill of the chill whilst secretly knowing, you’re safe in the end – we’re definitely more magical than macabre.”

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To find out more about Saturday in the Cemetery summer holiday specials and discounts on other tours, go here