A pair of urban explorers stepped into a forgotten cemetery where the marble graves of people who died more than a century ago have been "reclaimed by nature".
Eric Kayes and George Toohey captured their exploration of the abandoned Jewish cemetery on Green Lane, Tuebrook, on camera. Their video, which they shared on social media, shows the friends venturing into the undergrowth between St Cecilia's Catholic Church and Lister Drive Infant School and discovering the many graves covered in masses of tangled ivy.
Eric, 55, from Knowsley, said: "We had been told about the cemetery and thought we would go and have a look, and lo and behold it turned out to be something special.
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"It seems to be a well-kept secret, because even in that area not many people seem to know about it. People just thought it was old woodland. It was an extraordinary find."
The cemetery was opened in 1831 and was used by the now-defunct Liverpool New Hebrew Congregation until 1921, when gates were closed. Founded by the Congregation, which was also known as the Hope Place Synagogue from 1857, it was taken over in 1937 by the newly-built Greenbank Drive Synagogue, which itself shut down in 2008.
The cemetery remained out of use for 70 years before it was restored by well-known Liverpool solicitor Rex Makin in 1991 in memory of his father Joseph, whose family were part of the Congregation. More than 30 years later, it is now completely overgrown.
Eric said: "When you first go in, it's very unstable underfoot because nature is reclaiming it. The ivy is all over the ground. The only headstone we could make out was from 1842. My inquisitive nature was to move the ivy and see, but you have to show the monuments respect. A lot of the stones were pure marble in excellent condition.
"I'm a big believer that we've got a lot of stuff in our city that people walk past without knowing what it is, and we tend not to take things in. I love looking at abandoned stuff, but we like to find the things that people aren't looking at. When you hear people taking about the old days and you go looking, you find it's still there."
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