Following the Belfast Burial Ground Act (1866), the cemetery was opened on August 1, 1869, as a cross denominational burial ground for the people of Belfast, a fast-growing
Victorian town at the time. The land was purchased from Thomas Sinclair. The cemetery features cast iron fountains and separate
Protestant and
Catholic areas. Many of Belfast's wealthiest families have plots in the cemetery, particularly those involved in the
linen trade. Since its opening in 1869 around 226,000 people have been buried in the cemetery. In 1874 an area was set aside for Belfast's
Jewish residents. In this section there is a memorial to Daniel Joseph Jaffe, father of
Otto Jaffe, a Jewish linen exporter and former Lord Mayor of Belfast. Above the old Jewish entrance to the cemetery, Hebrew writing can clearly be identified. In 1916 an area was dedicated to soldiers who died serving in
World War I, when 296 Commonwealth service personnel were buried in the cemetery. Those whose graves could not be marked by headstones are listed on Screen Wall memorial in Plot H. Many of the
United States Army personnel killed in the sinking of
HMS Otranto in 1918 were buried in the graveyard. After the war their bodies were exhumed and repatriated to the
United States. In
World War II, 274 Commonwealth service personnel, 5 of them unidentified, were buried in the cemetery, besides 3 Norwegian nationals whose graves are also maintained by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. ==Developments==