Birmingham’s Underground Heritage: A Self-Guided Cemetery Tour

Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has mysteries beneath its glittering surface. On this self-guided walking tour, you’ll discover the unexpected Birmingham Catacombs: dramatic two-tiered burial chambers carved into an old sandstone quarry. As you explore two historic Victorian cemeteries, you’ll hear stories about remarkable Brummies whose innovations shaped not just the city, but the modern world.

You’ll weave through Warstone Lane Cemetery (also called Brookfields Cemetery) with its striking gatehouse and unusual tiered catacombs built into former quarry walls. Along the way, you’ll encounter the mysterious grave of an Arch Druid and a memorial to a Titanic victim.

I’ll show you Key Hill Cemetery, Birmingham’s first nonconformist burial ground, where industrial pioneers and social reformers lie beneath leafy pathways. You’ll find out how these burial grounds were ingeniously built above old sand mining tunnels.