In February of 1845, the prospectus of a "Greenock Cemetery Company" was published and the cemetery established in 1846 as the expansion of the population of the town meant that the previous burial grounds (Inverkip Street & Duncan Street) were inadequate. The 31 hectare site (now believed to be one of the largest municipal cemeteries in Europe) was procured from Sir Michael Robert Shaw Stewart, 7th Baronet (who also provided the land for Sir Gabriel Wood's Mariners' Home). By the autumn of 1846, the new cemetery had been laid out, under the superintendence of Mr Stewart Murray (curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Glasgow). In a letter dated 5th October, 1846, Murray says that the Cemetery "has been completed to my entire satisfaction". Some additions were made to the original plan: a few acres of additional ground had been acquired "to secure the summit of the hill, thereby allowing a carriage drive all around"; in addition, the boundary wall, which was originally to have been made of wood, was built of stone instead (the additional expense incurred would be offset, in time, by the higher value of tombs alongside the wall). A small area near the SW boundary wall, close to the entrance was set aside as a paupers' burial area. The cemetery includes a memorial to those who died as a result of the Blitz on Greenock on 7th and 8th May 1941 in which 280 people died and over 1200 were injured. There are 95 Commonwealth War Graves of the 1914-18 war, one being an unidentified British soldier. There are a further 169 of the 1939-45 war, two being unidentified seamen of the Merchant Navy and two being unidentified sailors of the Royal Navy. There are 5 Foreign National war burials. A crematorium is located within the grounds of the cemetery.