Birmingham’s Underground Heritage: A Catacombs and Cemetery Tour

Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has mysteries beneath its glittering surface. On this 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.

The tour begins at the Jewellery Quarter Station, marked by a distinctive green cast-iron urinal known as a ”Temple of Convenience.” 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. The tour ends back at the Jewellery Quarter Station, where you can admire the Banksy mural that appeared overnight in 2019.

On this 45-minute walking tour, you’ll also have a chance to:

• Visit the grave of John Baskerville, creator of the famous typeface found on millions of computers today
• Learn about Joseph Chamberlain, the influential mayor who transformed Birmingham with clean water and slum clearance
• Pay respects at Alfred Bird’s grave and find out how his wife’s egg allergy led to the invention of custard powder
• Spot the distinctive blue engineering bricks that became a defining feature of Birmingham’s industrial landscape
• Notice the horseshoe-style letterboxes once used to securely deliver precious metals and gemstones

This walking tour reveals how Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter isn’t just a place of craft and commerce, but also a fascinating outdoor museum with a variety of stories to share.