The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery and crematorium in the east of London. It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation. It is designated Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Anyone can be interred at the City of London Cemetery irrespective of city connections or religious beliefs. The cemetery reuses graves which have not been used for more than 75 years, and which are known to have depth for at least two more burials. English Heritage has listed many burial grounds and says it has no objection to the reuse of graves in principle, as long as heritage is protected.
Location
The cemetery is on the north-east side of Aldersbrook Road, in Manor Park, in the London Borough of Newham, near Epping Forest. It has two entrances: the Main Gate, close to the junction of Aldersbrook Road and Forest Drive; and the South Gate, a small gate at the junction of Aldersbrook Road and Rabbits Road.
History
In 1849 William J. Haywood, Chief Engineer of the City of London Commission 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 in 1852. The commissioners 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 the 2nd Duke of Wellington, forming most of the Manor of Aldersbrook. The of land suited the construction of the cemetery because it was accessible—only from the City of London—and 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 for burial but also reserved land for plots sold in perpetuity, buildings, landscaping and roads. He was helped by landscape gardener Robert Davidson. In selecting planting, Haywood and Simon were guided by John Claudius Loudon'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 was on 24 June 1856, although the cemetery was not consecrated until November 1857, due to legal difficulties (which were solved in the Burial Act 1857). It is estimated that in 1858 around 2,700 interments took place. Approximately 600,000 people have been interred here and with the remains from over 30 London churchyards also placed on the site, the figure is approaching 1 million.
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 25 October 1904 in the presence of Sir Henry Thompson.
In 1937 a garden of rest was constructed, followed by a series of memorial gardens, today with an estimated 20,000 rose bushes.
A new crematorium was built in 1971 to a design by E. G. Chandler. It is a modern, symmetrical building containing two chapels and a basement crematory.
The cemetery has been in continuous use since its opening. Many of the churches that were demolished in London had their dead reinterred in the City of London Cemetery (see § Reburial and memorials).
Importance
The cemetery grounds have been listed Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Parks and Gardens. Eight Grade II listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England are also associated with the cemetery, these are the Main Entrance Screen and Lodges, the Non Conformist Mortuary Chapel, the Columbarium, the Monument at the South End of the Columbarium and Non Conformist Chapel, the monument to William Haywood, the cottage, and the Central Avenue chapel and the South Chapel
Facilities
City of London Cemetery and Crematorium, which has received the Green Flag Award, is open 365 days a year and contains formal gardens, roadways, and over 3,500 mature trees in a rolling landscape. It has uniformed information staff, a florist shop and a café with its own garden.