This small Roman Catholic cemetery was opened in the early 1820s on land donated by Sir Thomas Joseph de Trafford, 1st Baronet, (1778-1852). From 1823 to 1948, the cemetery served as the official burial ground for parishioners of All Saints Church, which the Trafford family had built in 1805 and then rebuilt in 1816 and 1867.
Over the course of the 19th century, use of the Barton cemetery gradually declined as a dedicated Catholic section was opened at Peel Green Municipal Cemetery, and as the newly constructed Manchester Shipping Canal effectively cut off All Saints from much if its congregation. Nevertheless, private burials did continue until the cemetery was finally closed in 1948. In 1961, responsibility for the All Saints parish and cemetery was officially transferred to Holy Cross Church in Patricroft.
Barton-upon-Irwell's Roman Catholic Graveyard measures approximately 30 metres square and is laid out as a grid―15 columns lettered A to O from east to west, by 30 rows numbered south to north―rendering 450 plots in total. Not all plots were designated for burials, however, as some were occupied by pathways, entrance steps and a large stone cross situated alongside the grave of Rev. Thomas Sadler. According to the records of All Saints Church, a total of 1,487 burials took place at the graveyard between 1823 and 1948. Some plots were communal, holding up to as many as 20 individuals; others were limited to single families.
After 1853, the All Saints burial register no longer recorded plot numbers, meaning that unless a headstone was erected (there were about 203 headstones in 1978, some without inscriptions), locating anyone buried after that was impossible. Over time, the perimeter of the graveyard shrank as rows and columns were eliminated to widen roads or make way for adjacent construction. Especially affected by this encroachment were the many unmarked communal graves located on the northern side of the graveyard in rows 28 to 30.
In 1978 a complete record of all the monumental inscriptions was compiled by local priests S. Finkill and T. Beirne. By 2011, the burial register of All Saints Church had been digitized and was put online.
Regrettably, the cemetery has been neglected for decades and remains completely overgrown. Large parts of it are today virtually inaccessible.