Duke Street Cemetery & the Mexico Disaster

The Story of The Mexico Disaster is well known in Southport. In total 27 men died on that night; all of the 14 crew from the Eliza Fernley, and 13 men from The Lytham Lifeboat Laura Janet.

The mass funeral of the Southport Crew was held on Tuesday 14th December 1886 took and 6 members of the crew. Charles Hodge, Thomas Jackson, Timothy Rigby, John Robinson, Richard Robinson and Peter Wright were buried in the communal vault.

John Ball, Peter Jackson, Ralph Peters and his son Benjamin, Harry Rigby, Thomas Rigby and Thomas Spencer are buried in private family graves in various parts of the cemetery.

Come with us to find those graves and hear the sad story of those brave men.

Timings

Tuesday 15 September:

1400

Thursday 17 September:

1400

Sunday 20 September:

1400

Location & directions

Duke Street Cemetery, Duke Street, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 5EL

Directions:

Please meet at the main entrance on Duke Street (large gates with lodges either side, opposite Robinson's Cemetery Works). There is space to park on nearby streets but please be respectful of residents and any visitors to the cemetery.

Contact on day:

Peter Rimmer [email protected]

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking required

Booking conditions:

Please contact Peter Rimmer to book: [email protected]

Booking contact name:

Peter Rimmer

Booking email:

[email protected]

Booking opens:

24 Aug 2026 12:00 AM

Accessibility details

Please note that there are some paths around the cemetery, but the older sections require walking on grassy areas and may not be accessible for wheelchairs.

Additional information

Max number of people:

20

Estimated duration:

1 hour(s)

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