Stoney Royd House was a brick house built for Christopher Rawson (1777-1849), the third son of John Rawson of Bolton "a little before 1764". It was demolished in the second half of the 20th century. One of its original gate lodges remains as part of the cemetery.
In 1860 Halifax Corporation bought the site to turn it into a cemetery. Edward Milner won a competition for its design. It opened in 1861, and the northern section was consecrated on 11 September 1862. The southern section was for Nonconformist burials.[1]