[1] It was established due to the overcrowding of churchyards, officially opening on 1 September 1857, with its first interment being Joseph Brotherton on 14 January 1857.

The cemetery, which was bombed during the 1940 Manchester Blitz, now features a heritage trail and guided tours, with several Grade II listed monuments.

[6] During the 1940 Manchester Blitz, a German bomb fell on the cemetery in an air raid targeting the nearby docks.

[7] In 2004, a heritage trail was opened through the efforts of Salford City Council, the Friends of the Cemeteries and the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit.

[10] The cemetery contains the graves of 373 Commonwealth service personnel who died during the First and Second World Wars, plus numerous memorials to servicemen buried abroad.