Nunhead Cemetery is perhaps the least well-known, but most attractive, of the great Victorian cemeteries called The Magnificent Seven that surround the city of London. [1]
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HistoryHistory
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Founded in 1840 by the London Cemetery Company, the property was originally known as All Saints' Cemetery. The first burial was for Charles Abbott, an 101-year-old grocer from Ipswich.
In spite of the beauty of Nunhead Cemetery's lush green setting and beautiful architecture, this cemetery has seen its share of trouble. For decades the catacombs at Nunhead Cemetery have been raided for jewelry and metal from the lead-lined coffins.
The cemetery had brushes with financial ruin. The original owner, The London Cemetery Company, went bankrupt so the cemetery was sold to The United Cemetery Company. Even under the new owners, profits dwindled so the gates were padlocked in 1969 and the cemetery was abandoned to decay.
Today, the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery organization are making attempts at restoration, though most of the cemetery is still unruly. After years of being unattended, many gravestones and paths are still covered in overgrowth.[2]
EpidemicsEpidemics
Nunhead Cemetery was one of several cemeteries created in response to a lack of space in existing cemeteries and churchyards. Between 1800 and 1850, London’s population swelled from 1 million to more than 2.3 million. Illness under these crowded conditions led to epidemics of typhus, influenza, scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria, cholera, and smallpox.
Traditionally, London burials had taken place inside of church buildings but as time went on, the church’s floors and walls were filled with bodies. To create more space, side chapels were added with more burial crypts. Eventually, the side chapels were also filled to capacity so burials were made outdoors in the churchyards.
Then as churchyards also became overcrowded, bodies were buried shoulder to shoulder or even stacked on top of one another. Coffins were often absent among the poor. Decaying matter leached into London’s water supply, which worsened epidemic conditions.
Rural CemeteriesRural Cemeteries
Rural cemeteries became the solution for the health crisis. Nunhead Cemetery was consecrated as part of a plan to provide seven large, rural cemeteries, now known as the "Magnificent Seven", outside of central London.
Following World War II, Nunhead Cemetery became the host for 700 Commonwealth servicemen gravesites.
ArchitectureArchitecture
The entrance to Nunhead Cemetery is graced with a grand Gothic gatehouse designed by Thomas Little. Little won a competition in The Builder Magazine for his design of the gatehouse and also for the Nunhead Anglican Mortuary Chapel in 1843.
The Nunhead Anglican Mortuary Chapel was the main building among several cemetery chapels. Another chapel, built for non-Anglicans, was called the Dissenters' Chapel.
During World War II, the iron rail fences that enclosed the cemetery were removed for use in the war effort. The entire cemetery was bombed heavily during The with the Dissenters’ Chapel being so badly damaged that it was later demolished.
NatureNature
Today, Nunhead Cemetery is rated as Grade 2 on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The rating of Grade 2 indicates that the site is of particular national, architectural, or historical importance. About 28% of registered parks and gardens are rated Grade 2.
Nunhead Cemetery is a nature reserve consisting largely of ash and sycamore trees, with some horse chestnut, holm oak, turkey oak and pedunculate oak trees. There are well-developed shrubs and a spring-fed pond, both of which are attractive to birds, insects, and small mammals.
Birdlife at the cemetery includes chiffchaff, blackcap, great spotted woodpecker, tawny owl, sparrowhawk, jay and at least 60 pairs of wrens[3]. Wild herbs include yellow loosestrife, agrimony, old man's beard, false wood-broom, cowslip, reed sweet grass and meadowsweet. [4] Sixteen species of butterflies are found at the cemetery, including the rare white-letter hairstreak, as well as the speckled wood, orange-tip, and brimstone butterflies.
The Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is the nickname for seven huge cemeteries that surround London:
- Kensal Green Cemetery, 1832
- West Norwood Cemetery, 1836
- Highgate Cemetery, 1839
- Abney Park Cemetery, 1840
- Nunhead Cemetery, 1840
- Brompton Cemetery, 1840
- Tower Hamlets Cemetery, 1841
Each is a unique masterpiece of park-like greenspace. Nunhead is best known for its magnificent monuments and abundant trees.
Notable BurialsNotable Burials
Notable burials at Nunhead Cemetery include:
- Walworth Scouts, nine young boys who died aged between 11 and 14 who were on a camping and sailing trip on the Isle of Sheppey at Leysdown, England when their boat overturned and they drowned.
- Vincent Figgins (1766-1844), a typefounder from London who cast and sold metal type for printing
- Jack the Ripper, serial killer[5]
Explore more about famous cemeteriesExplore more about famous cemeteries
- London's Magnificent Seven Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- Documenting Cemeteries with BillionGraves, Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Cemetery Records Worldwide, BillionGraves, MyHeritage Catalog Collection
- The Seven Largest Cemeteries in the World, BillionGraves Blog
- Three Amazing Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 of the World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- Stories in Stone – Cemetery Research, Legacy Family Tree Webinars