Southern Cemetery is the largest municipal cemetery in the UK and the second largest in Europe. The cemetery opened on 9th October 1879 and had mortuary chapels for Anglicans, Nonconformists, and Roman Catholics, and a Jewish chapel at the west corner of the site. The original cemetery is registered by English Heritage in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens for its historic interest, and the mortuary chapels and other structures are listed buildings.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission register and maintain the war graves of 803 Commonwealth service personnel (including one unidentified) of the First World War and 475 (including 3 unidentified) of the Second. Many graves are scattered around the cemetery but there are two separate war grave plots, one for each war, whose graves are not headstoned but have screen wall memorials on which those buried are listed.

The Jewish section of the cemetery was initially used from 1892 by the Manchester Reform Synagogue; later shared from 1924 with South Manchester Synagogue, the Sephardi community from 1934, and Whitefield Synagogue from 1957.