The cemetery opened in 1881 and covers 5.5 acres. It cost the Belgrave Burial Board the sum of £8000 which was paid for by a loan obtained from the Scottish Provident Society with annual repayments of £400

The Belgrave Burial Board was a Committee of the Local Parochial Board of Belgrave. The Chairman was the vicar of St Peters Church , the Revd F H Richardson. The Parish consisted of Belgrave, Birstall, and South Thurmaston. In 1851 the population was 1444; in 1871 it had increased to 2049, and in 1881 to 7285.

Purchased from the Great Northern Railway Company the land cost £3000. The laying out and construction cost £373.14s.3d including the furnishings for the chapel which was demolished in the 1960s at a cost of £103.3s.10d.

Belgrave was absorbed by the Borough of Leicester in 1893,and presumably became the responsibility of Leicester Corporation.  The cemetery has 4505 burial plots, which when purchased were sold with perpetual rights.

Records state that Rosetta Getliffe who died on 5 May 1881 aged four months was the first burial at the cemetery.  In 1882 a total of fifty one burials had taken place which resulted in burial fees of £26.10s 6d. Many of these were of babies and young children, many in common graves for which no monuments have survived.

Whilst it is no longer possible to purchase a grave at Belgrave Cemetery, it is still a working cemetery.

Many prominent Leicester citizens lie at rest in the cemetery including:

George Edward Hilton JP, Mayor of Leicester 1920-1921. Died 17 May 1936.

Alderman Stephen Hilton JP, Mayor of Leicester 1904-1905. Died 16 March 1914.

Rolland Vincent Sylvester Grimston JP, Late Captain 93 Highlanders and the Chief Constable of the County of Leicestershire. Died 18 June 1889.

Alderman Richard Hallam, the founder of the Primary School on Anstey Lane, Leicester.

Joseph Cave, the Belgrave resident who `sang in his grave', his tall monument, a draped urn, (unfortunately missing the urn) is in Section D. Died 1921.

The Wilkinson family, well-known for owning the Lodging House in Britannia Street, Leicester, who have a large memorial in Section A.

Belgrave Cemetery contains some of the finest examples of Victorian and Edwardian stonemasons’ art. Victorian monuments are a great source of information as many people trace their family tree by them.  Religion was very important at the time. The social status of those buried is reflected in the grandeur of their memorials and in the proud boast of their epitaphs. Epitaphs one hundred years ago were produced in great numbers and the highest standard of letter carving was reached. 

Victorians were keen to take their status into the next life through the grandeur of their monuments and the inscription on them. Some epitaphs, especially those of Victorian women, remind us of the harsh realities of Victorian life when infant mortality was high.

Nearly every example of memorial resides in Belgrave Cemetery :  

• The Sacred Heart
• The Angel (the agent of God or guardian of the dead)
• The Anchor (for hope)
• The Broken Column (a life cut short)
• Obelisk (eternal life)
• Palm (triumph of a martyr over death)
• Draped Urn (symbolises death derived from classical cinerary urns)
• The Cross (has several meanings but is above all the symbols of the Christian religion)

Standing 6 ft to 15 ft high, these headstones are a commemoration and a tribute to the deceased person's life, placed there at great expense by their family. These fine memorials are part of Leicester’s heritage for future generations to see and appreciate. One of the earliest headstones commemorates a George Billington who died 5 July 1881. The stonemason was J Barratt of Leicester. Stonemasons, Curry and Flavel of Gladstone Street in Leicester erected the Samuel Billington memorial. 

The modern memorial being placed at Belgrave Cemetery reflects the need for the bereaved to honour the names of their loved ones by placing a lasting reminder, and to have a quiet place to reflect and remember.