St James’ Necropolis, The Secret Garden Cemetery Shivers Ghost Tour
“Death, that last patch of untouched snow that no-one can report back on…”
A unique gaze into the lives of those now on the other side…
Begin your Journey within the midst of the city’s striking Georgian Quarter outside the famously haunted hostelry, The Philharmonic Pub where you are surrounded by the former hospitals, asylums, workhouses and Victorian children’s homes once served by the Necropolis.
Witness the grandeur of the surrounding neighbourhood that envelops the Dormitory of the Dead, behold the historic & haunted Philharmonic Hall, the former Royal School for the Blind and Blackburne House as your guide invites you along the elegant street of Hope, to then loom towards the Anglican Cathedral and sink into the depths of the Necropolis, St James’ Cemetery Gardens; final resting place for nearly 58,000 souls (where for over a hundred years something sinister has lurked)
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A crucible of contrasts, ghosts and ghoulish creatures, history & heritage, magic & medicine, squalour & splendor, a most Gothic and glorious setting; The Liverpool Secret Garden Cemetery Tour really has it all…
Through the prism of our signature expert storytelling and award winning guiding skills Shiverpool will transport you on a spine-tingling Gothic odyssey through the layers of time and place where spooky spirits dance and storytellers dream & weave their tales in the pale moonlight, a journey you are unlikely to forget…
An experience that embraces the gruesome chapters of Victorian Public Health and the innovations there in, The Secret Garden Cemetery Shivers Tour explores and dissects the grim narrative of the darker side to Liverpool’s past, and stitches together the beginning middle and end, where death completes us all.
Our journey also explores our attitudes to death and dying – hark dear creatures, it is Death that makes life worth living!
We will also find hope in the darkness and discover pioneers that really did carve out a legacy giving love life and friendship to the story of Liverpool’s great & good.
Popular with all age groups The Secret Garden & Cemetery Shivers appeals to families, friends looking for something different to enjoy together, it’s a great alternative for a team building activity or indeed a romantic scare for two – this experience has something for everyone.
Gallery
Highlights
Begin your Journey outside Liverpool’s most famously haunted hostelry The Philharmonic Pub, surrounded by the former hospitals, asylums, workhouses and children’s homes once served by the Necropolis. View the surrounding neighbourhood that envelops the Dormitory of the Dead, St James’ Cemetery.
Enter Liverpool’s Père Lachaise, City of the Dead, St James’ Secret Garden Cemetery…
Listen to your guide masterfully weave ghostly tales and gruesome fables, medical accounts of the realities of the many Public Health crisis experienced by the city’s residents all swept up in the melancholy moods that pass through this great green lung…
Absorb Liverpool’s awe-inspiring Anglican Cathedral “head and shoulders of the City” from the underbelly of this sea soaked sanctuary, arguably one of the most spectre-acular vantage points!
Experience the otherworldly soul of St. James’ Cemetery Gardens after dark, where nearly 58,000 of Liverpool’s great and good are entombed.
Visit the venerable Chalybeate spring- where Liverpool’s only remaining natural spa waters flow from the rock bed of the town – believed to possess enlivening healing properties, still enjoyed by the residents to this day.
Marvel at the impressive mausoleums and shrines including William Huskisson- the first victim to fall beneath the grinding might of a locomotive train- whose ghoulish presence still haunts his final resting place…
Have a renewed vigour for life and the living, for it is when we are surrounded by the dead, it is thus that we can feel most alive!
Tour Times
This tour is usually scheduled on a Thursday at 7PM but please note that tour times and days can vary and are subject to change. Please pay special attention to your e-ticket confirmation and real-time LIVE calendar of events.
Prices
Adults: £19.50
Concessions: (Seniors, students and under 16’s) £17.50
Family ticket: £72.00 (2 adults & 2 children under 16)
Ultimate Shiverpool Tour Ticket (Includes Tour+The Ghost Map + Glow-in-the-Dark Enamel Pin) £35.50
Duration
Depending on group size this tour is usually 1 hour & 30 minutes. However the Necropolis is very absorbing and with a sold-out show the experience can take 120 minutes (or eternity) so please plan with enough time for the experience to potentially run over.
Start Location
Outside The Philharmonic Pub, Hope Street, City Centre.
ENSURE YOU ARRIVE 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE TOUR BEGINNING
End Location
Anglican Cathedral, Upper Duke Street, City Centre
Late Arrivals
If you are Late by 5-10 mins head down Hope Street towards the Anglican Cathedral
(approaching, you will pass the Philharmonic Hall on your left and Hope Street Hotel on your right)
Accessibility
This tour is regrettably not wheelchair friendly, although there is a path running throughout the space- there are parts of our sojourn when the guide takes the group off of the beaten track that make it impossible to manage safely with a muddy landscape and undulating surfaces. It is important to state that the gradient of some very steep slopes too and the need for a strong pair of arms would be essential to assist.
We would strongly recommend calling or emailing our team to discuss your mobility needs if you do use a wheelchair to avoid disappointment and difficulties along the route.
There are no disabled toilet facilities on the tour route.
For those with mobility issues, this tour is a pacy walk and it does involve some time on your feet listening to stories.
Wherever possible Shiverpool always try to accommodate those with mobility issues or disabilities and make our tours inclusive for everyone. Please let us know when you book if you have any disabilities or mobility issues.
All of Shiverpool’s experiences can be delivered online on request please send an email with your enquiry to info@shiverpool.co.uk
We Recommend
We encourage our guests to make the most of the local area either before their last hour or indeed if they survive the Shiverpool Tour.
There is so much to enjoy in the Hope Street Quarter but here are a few of our favourites:
The London Carriageworks
Further Reading & Interesting Links
Shiverpool would like to thank Mike Faulkner, Robin & the whole team of volunteers from the Friends of St James’ for their work and care of this ancient site… Over the many years that Shiverpool has delivered street theatre and storytelling here we have admired the dedication of the team that help keep the site in excellent condition for the enjoyment of Liverpool’s citizens.
Thank You!
We would highly recommend anyone interested in the history of Liverpool and this unique, otherworldly space to check out the website here
Other Excellent Resources
A Fictional Ghostly Walk Published in The Porcupine
“Cathedral Feathers” Published in The Liverpool Echo 1932
The Cathedral Wild Birds’ Sanctuary 1932
Bird Cameos from our Local Sanctuaries In Mersey Vol VII, 1935
And by day if you fancy a walk…
If you stop and listen for a moment as you walk through you won’t hear much that would confirm you were in the middle the urban sprawl. What you will hear is the breeze playing through the leaves of trees – sycamore, ash, maple and beech, as well as the happy and uplifting song of busy blackbirds, bluetits and sparrows.
If you stick around long enough you might even spot the family of rabbits that have taken up residence in one of the old tombs.
Primroses, ox-eye daisy, poppies, violets, foxgloves, celandines, red campion, bluebells, cornflowers, buttercups and marigolds give the place a wild meadow feel, and great splashes of colour everywhere from spring right through to autumn.
“The patterns of light, the gradations of green that go through there and the pools of sunlight – I mean it’s just stunning!”
Old Images of St James’ Necropolis
