City of London Cemetery and Crematorium
Encyclopedia
The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 and crematorium in the north east of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It is the largest such municipal facility in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and probably in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 .
It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation.

Location

The cemetery is located on the east side of Aldersbrook Road, in Manor Park
Manor Park, London
Manor Park is the name of an area in the London Borough of Newham, as well as of the local railway station and cemetery. There is another railway station - Woodgrange Park...

, in the London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...

, near Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....

. It has two entrances, the Main Gate, which is located close the junction of Forest Drive and the Aldersbrook Road. There is a small gate on the junction with Rabbits Road, called the South Gate.

History

In 1849 William J. Haywood
William Haywood (engineer)
William J. Haywood was a surveyor and an engineer to the City of London Commissioners of Sewers. He was also known as an architect.- Personal life :...

, Chief Engineer of the City of London Commissioners of Sewers, reported on the condition of the city's churchyards and their health risks. The Commissioners were responsible for public hygiene and sanitation and were in effect also the burial board for the City of London, due to an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 in 1852. The commisionners directed that a cemetery be built for the city's 106 parishes, to replace intramural interment (burial within the confines of a parish). The task was taken up by William Haywood and Dr John Simon.

In 1853 this led to the purchase of land owned by Lord Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington
Lieutenant-General Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington KG, PC , styled Lord Douro between 1812 and 1814 and Marquess of Douro between 1814 and 1852, was a British soldier and politician...

. The 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of land suited the construction of the cemetery because it was accessible (only 7 miles (11.3 km) to the centre of the City of London), had attractive planting and porous, gravelly, well drained soil. This former farm land was sold to the Corporation for £30,721 and the cemetery was founded in 1854. It was laid out in 1855 by William Haywood, who designated 89 acres (360,170.5 m²) for burial but also reserved land for plots sold in perpetuity, buildings, landscaping and roads. He was helped by landscape gardener
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...

 Robert Davidson. In selecting planting, Haywood and Simon were guided by John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...

's On the Laying Out, Planting, and Managing of Cemeteries (1843). The total cost is estimated at over £45,000, which is approximately £26,000 more than originally planned.

The first interment
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

 was on 24 June 1856, although the cemetery was not consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 until November 1857, due to legal difficulties (which were solved in the Burial Act 1857
Burial Act 1857
The Burial Act 1857 is a British law. It was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1857. Its purpose is to regulate burial grounds. It regulates where and how deceased people may be buried, and provides for the exhumation of remains....

). It is estimated that in 1858 around 2,700 interments took place and more than 500,000 since then.

Facilities

The cemetery has many different burial sites. It also has a number of chapels. At the beginning of the 20th century a crematorium was built (designed by D.J. Ross), at a cost of around £7,000 and was opened on October 25, 1904 in the presence of Sir Henry Thompson
Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet FRCS , British surgeon and polymath, was born at Framlingham, Suffolk.-Medical career:...

. Cremations were taking place from about a year later. There are now two crematoria, designated the Old and the New. The Old Crematorium is no longer in use as a crematorium but is still used as a chapel. The New Crematorium is a modern symmetrical building (1971, designed by E.G. Chandler) containing two separate crematoria (each having two cremators). There is also a Chapel of Remembrance and a Columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...

. The cemetery is one of only a few cemeteries in London with catacombs
Catacombs
Catacombs, human-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place can be described as a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman empire...

. This however has proven to be an impopular method of burial, part of the unused catacombs have now been converted into columbarium space.

In 1937 a Garden of Rest was constructed, followed by a series of Memorial Gardens (there are an estimated 20,000 rose bushes in this area alone).

Today

The cemetery and crematorium are still open, although the cemetery is reaching capacity. There are now in excess of 150,000 gravesites and new burials have begun to be placed atop older burials, leaving deep interments undisturbed.. This is done very sensitively, involving experts and the family of the deceased (if known).

Today, the Cemetery and Crematorium are non-denominational, but originally there was an Anglican chapel, with a 61 ft (18.6 m) spire and an unusual round Dissenter
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...

's chapel (designed by William Haywood).

Historical Importance

It is designated Grade II* on the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...

.
The cemetery is also interesting because it has been in continuous use since its opening. The social attitude towards the afterlife is reflected in the way the cemetery is laid out, ranging from Victorian to contemporary. Many of the churches that were demolished in London had their dead reinterred in the City of London Cemetery (see Memorials section).

Reburial and memorials

The Union of Benefices Act 1860
Union of Benefices Act 1860
The Union of Benefices Act was a necessary piece of legislation to reduce the number of parish churches in the City of London as the residential population declined in the second half of the 19th century.Churches affected were...

 allowed for the demolition of many unused City churches, and for the reinterment of the remains in the City of London Cemetery. The cemetery also contains inhumations from London churches destroyed during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

.
  • St Benet Gracechurch (1865)
  • All Hallows Staining
    All Hallows Staining
    All Hallows Staining was a Church of England church located at the junction of Fenchurch Avenue and Billiter Street in the north-eastern corner of Langbourn ward in the City of London, close to Fenchurch Street railway station. All that remains of the church is the tower, built around 1320 AD as...

     (1870)
  • St Andrew
    St Andrew, Holborn
    St Andrew, Holborn is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without.-Roman and medieval:Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 excavations in the crypt...

     and St Sepulchre
    St Sepulchre-without-Newgate
    St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey...

     (1871), this grand monument was designed by Haywood
  • St Mary Somerset (1871)
  • Holy Trinity the Less
    Holy Trinity the Less
    Holy Trinity the Less was a parish church in the City of London, destroyed in the Great Fire of London..-Location:The church was on the east side of Knightrider Street on the south side near St Nicholas Cole Abbey. -History:...

     (1872)
  • St Mildred, Poultry
    St Mildred, Poultry
    St Mildred, Poultry was a parish church in the Cheap ward, of the City of London. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London and demolished in 1872.-History:...

    , the church was demolished in 1872, the parish was joined with St Olave
  • St James Duke's Place
    St James Duke's Place
    St James Duke's Placewas an Anglican parish church in the eponymous City of London precinct from 1622 until 1874. It replaced the ruined Priory of the Holy Trinity when the area was settled by poor workmen.They found St Katherine Cree "uncongenial" and sought permission from the king to build a...

     (1874)
  • St Martin Outwich
    St Martin Outwich
    St Martin Outwich was a medieval parish church in the City of London, on the corner of Threadneedle Street and Bishopsgate.-History:A church of St Martin was built in the fourteenth century at the expense of members of the Oteswich family, from whom the church derives its name...

     (1874)
  • St Antholin, Watling Street
    St Antholin, Budge Row
    St Antholin, Budge Row, or St Antholin, Watling Street, was a former church in the City of London, demolished in 1874. Its successor church is still in existence as St Anthony and St Silas, Nunhead..-History:...

     (1875)
  • All Hallows Bread Street
    All Hallows Bread Street
    All Hallows Bread Street was a church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London on the south side of Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666...

     (1878)
  • St Dionis Backchurch
    St Dionis Backchurch
    St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London.-History:The church of St Dionis was dedicated to Dionysus the Areopagite, a follower of St Paul, said to have converted the French to Christianity. He became the patron saint of France, where he is known as St Denis...

     (1878)
  • St Matthew Friday Street (1884)
  • St Olave (1887)
  • St Helen's Bishopsgate
    St Helen's Bishopsgate
    St Helen's Bishopsgate is a large conservative evangelical Anglican church, in Lime Street ward, in the City of London, close to the Lloyd's building and the 'Gherkin'.-History:...

     (1892)
  • St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street, destroyed by a fire in 1886 and demolished in 1893
  • St Mary Woolnoth
    St Mary Woolnoth
    St. Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near the Bank of England.- Early history :...

     (between 1897–1900), the contents of the crypt were moved here because of the construction of the Bank Station under the church.
  • St Peter le Poer
    St Peter Le Poer
    St Peter le Poer was a church on the west side of Broad Street in the City of London. The church, often spelt "St Peter le Poor" was in existence by the end of the twelfth century...

    , the church was demolished in 1907, the parish was joined with St Michael, Cornhill
  • St Alphage London Wall
    St Alphage London Wall
    St Alphage London Wall, so called because it sat right on London Wall, the City of London boundary, was a church in Bassishaw Ward in the City of London...

     (1924)
  • St Katherine Coleman
    St Katherine Coleman
    St Katherine Coleman, known earlier as "All Hallows Coleman-church", was an historic church in the City of London, situated in Magpie Alley in Aldgate Ward that narrowly escaped the Great Fire of London, and was extensively rebuilt in 1741...

     (1925)
  • All Hallows Lombard Street
    All Hallows Lombard Street
    Coordinates: All Hallows Lombard Street was a City church in Langbourn Ward on the corner of Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street, London. Its tower, bells and complete interior fittings are now part of All Hallows Twickenham.-History:...

     (1939)
  • Holy Trinity, Minories
    Holy Trinity, Minories
    Holy Trinity, Minories was a church outside the eastern boundaries of the City of London; but within the Liberties of the Tower of London. The liberty was incorporated in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1899, and today is within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.The district lay within the...

     (1940)
  • St Alban, Wood Street
    St Alban, Wood Street
    St Alban's was a church in Wood Street, City of London. It was dedicated to Saint Alban. Only its tower now remains.-History:Some argue that it dated back to King Offa of Mercia, who is believed to have had a palace on the site which included a chapel...

     (1940)
  • St Mary Aldermanbury
    St Mary Aldermanbury
    St Mary Aldermanbury church in the City of London, is first mentioned in 1181 but was destroyed by the Great fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt in Portland stone by Sir Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls...

     (1940), the church was rebuilt in Fulton, Missouri, USoA, in 1966
  • St Botolph's Aldgate
    St Botolph's Aldgate
    St Botolph's Church, Aldgate, St Botolph-without-Aldgate, or just Aldgate Church, is a Church of England liberal and inclusive parish church in the City of London, standing at the junction of Houndsditch and Aldgate High Street. The current 18th century church is made of brick with stone quoins...

    , the remains of around 2,500 persons were moved here when the north part of the churchyard was cleared in 1965
  • St Michael Queenhithe, the church was demolished in 1876, reinterment took place in 1969
  • St Michael, Cornhill
    St Michael, Cornhill
    St Michael, Cornhill is a medieval parish church in the City of London with pre-Norman Conquest parochial foundation. The medieval structure was lost in the Great Fire of London and the current church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren between 1670-1677....

    , reinterment from the churchyard (date unknown)

Some churches were destroyed in the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...

 in 1666 and never rebuilt due to the Rebuilding Act. Many were joined with other parishes. Their churchyards were either left, moved to a new location or to this cemetery (sometimes at a later date). Among these were:
  • St John the Evangelist, Watling Street, the churchyard was cleared in 1954
  • St John Zachary
    St John Zachary
    St John Zachary was a church, first mentioned in official records in 1181, within the City of London, England, on the north side of Gresham Street, Aldersgate...

  • St Leonard, Eastcheap
    St Leonard, Eastcheap
    St. Leonard, Eastcheap, sometimes referred to as St Leonard Milkchurch, is a former church in the City of London.-History:The Mortality Bill for the year 1665, published by the Parish Clerks Company, shows 97 parishes within the City of London. By September 6, following the Great Fire of London,...

    , the churchyard on Fish Street Hill was cleared in 1882
  • St Martin Pomary
    St Martin Pomary
    St Martin Pomary was a church in the City of London.The Mortality Bill for the year 1665, published by the Parish Clerk’s Company, shows 97 parishes within the City of London. By September 6, following the Great Fire, the city lay in ruins, 86 churches having been destroyed...

  • St Martin Vintry
    St Martin Vintry
    St Martin Vintry was a parish church in the Vintry ward of the City of London, England. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never rebuilt.-History:...

  • St Mary Colechurch
    St Mary Colechurch
    St Mary Colechurch was a parish church in the City of London destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.-History:The Great Fire of London of 1666 destroyed 86 of the 97 parish churches in the City of London.. By 1670 a Rebuilding Act had been passed and a committee set up...

  • St Mary Woolchurch Haw
    St Mary Woolchurch Haw
    St Mary Woolchurch Haw was a parish church in the City of London, destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt.-History:The church of St Mary Woolchurch Haw was an ancient foundation, dating from the time of...

    , the churchyard was cleared in 1892
  • St Peter, Paul's Wharf
    St Peter, Paul's Wharf
    St Peter, Paul's Wharf is a former notable church in the City of London.The Mortality Bill for the year 1665, published by the Parish Clerk’s Company, shows 97 parishes within the City of London. By September 6 the city lay in ruins, 86 churches having been destroyed...


And of course:
  • French Hospital memorial

Notable burials

  • Michael Barrett
    Michael Barrett (Fenian)
    Michael Barrett was born in Drumnagreshial in the Ederney area of County Fermanagh. In his adult years he became a member of the Fenians....

    , a Fenian
    Fenian
    The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...

  • Robert Bentley and Charles Tucker, policemen victims of the Battle of Stepney
    Siege of Sidney Street
    The Siege of Sidney Street, popularly known as the "Battle of Stepney", was a notorious gunfight in London's East End on the 2nd of January 1911. Preceded by the Houndsditch Murders, it ended with the deaths of two members of a supposedly politically-motivated gang of burglars supposedly led by...

  • George Leslie Drewry
    George Leslie Drewry
    George Leslie Drewry VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

     VC, British sailor in the Royal Navy Reserve
  • Catherine Eddowes
    Catherine Eddowes
    Catherine Eddowes was one of the victims in the Whitechapel murders. She was the second person killed on the night of Sunday 30 September 1888, a night which already had seen the murder of Elizabeth Stride less than an hour earlier...

     and Mary Ann Nichols
    Mary Ann Nichols
    Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols was one of the Whitechapel murder victims. Her death has been attributed to the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who is believed to have killed and mutilated five women in the Whitechapel area of London from late August to early November 1888.- Life...

    ; victims of Jack the Ripper
    Jack the Ripper
    "Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...

  • George William Foote
    George William Foote
    George William Foote was a British secularist and journal editor.He was born in Plymouth, England and brought up in the Anglican tradition...

    , a secularist and journal editor
  • Elwyn Jones, a British barrister and Labour politician
  • Anna Neagle
    Anna Neagle
    Forming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...

    , a popular English stage and motion picture actress and singer and her husband Herbert Wilcox
    Herbert Wilcox
    Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...

     a British film director and producer.
  • James Roll
    Roll Baronets
    The Roll Baronetcy, of The Chestnuts in Wanstead in the County of Essex, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 November 1921 for James Roll, Chairman of Pearl Assurance Co Ltd and Lord Mayor of London from 1920 to 1921...

    , Lord Mayor of London
  • John Joseph Sims
    John Joseph Sims
    John Joseph Sims VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...

     VC, British foot Soldier
  • Percy Thompson, murder victim, see Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters
    Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters
    Edith Jessie Thompson and Frederick Edward Francis Bywaters were a British couple who were executed for the murder of Thompson’s husband Percy...


People reputed to have been reinterred here.
  • Claude Duval
    Claude Duval
    For other uses, see Claude Duval Claude Du Vall was a French-born gentleman highwayman in post-Restoration Britain.-Early life:...

     (1643–1670), highwayman, although he was originally buried in St Paul's, Covent Garden
    St Paul's, Covent Garden
    St Paul's Church, also commonly known as the Actors' Church, is a church designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fitt for the habitacons of Gentlemen and men of ability" in Covent Garden, London, England.As well...

  • Robert Hooke
    Robert Hooke
    Robert Hooke FRS was an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath.His adult life comprised three distinct periods: as a scientific inquirer lacking money; achieving great wealth and standing through his reputation for hard work and scrupulous honesty following the great fire of 1666, but...

     (1635–1703), scientist, although he was originally buried in St Helen's Bishopsgate
    St Helen's Bishopsgate
    St Helen's Bishopsgate is a large conservative evangelical Anglican church, in Lime Street ward, in the City of London, close to the Lloyd's building and the 'Gherkin'.-History:...


Other last resting places.
  • Bobby Moore
    Bobby Moore
    Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...

    , footballer, was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium, but his ashes rest in the Garden of Remembrance.
  • Veronica Foley, aka Ronnie, Stage and Television actress & drama teacher, from the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Visiting

The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a beautiful place maintained to a very high standard, even winning awards (Green Flag Award
Green Flag Award
The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom. The scheme was set up in 1996 to recognise and reward green spaces in England and Wales that met the laid down high standards...

.)
. It is well worth a visit. There is also a tea room.

Transport

There are a number of ways to get to the cemetery using public transport.
  • British Rail has two stations in the vicinity: Manor Park and Ilford.
  • The London Underground: East Ham
  • The London Overground: Woodgrange Park
  • Bus: 25, 86 and 101 (there is a bus stop at the main gate).

Further reading

  • Beach, Darren, London's Cemeteries, Metro Guides, 2006.
  • Meller, Hugh & Brian Parsons, London Cemeteries: an illustrated guide and gazetteer, The History Press, 2008.
  • Francis, Doris with Leonie Kellaher and Georgina Neophytou, The Secret Cemetery, Berg Publishers, 2005

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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