Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is one of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries of London[1] that were built to relieve the overload of burials in the inner-city cemeteries in the 1800s. It is the final resting place for more than 350,000 individuals.
The property spans 27 acres (10.93 hectares) and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets within the East End of London.
HistoryHistory
Tower Hamlets Cemetery was open to burials from 1841 to 1966 when the property was closed as a cemetery by Act of Parliament and redesignated as a park. The park was owned and managed by the Greater London Council until 1985 when it passed to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
In 1990, after decades of neglect, the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park organization was formed to promote the park, educate the public, operate events, obtain funding, and involve volunteers in restoration.
EpidemicsEpidemics
Tower Hamlets 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.
Architecture and symbolismArchitecture and symbolism
The Tower Hamlets Cemetery was designed by architects Thomas Wyatt and David Brandon. The original buildings included the Anglican Chapel, a Byzantine-style Dissenters' Chapel, and a mortuary. The chapels fell into disrepair and were later demolished.
The Tower Hamlets Cemetery is home to magnificent monuments and mausoleums that are decorated with symbolic elements such as clasped hands, draped urns, flowers, grieving angels, anchors, birds, and crosses.
NatureNature
The Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is a designated Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. It offers a beautiful woodlands, mingled with gravestones, as a get-away from the busy citylife of London.
In 1993, the Soanes Centre, at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park was opened. The facility, operated by Setpoint London East, offers science workshops. Students observe nature by using the ponds, wildflower fields, woodlands, and meadows in the park as an outdoor classroom. All of the classes correlate with Britain's National Curriculum. The workshops are offered free of charge to Tower Hamlets schools and more than 7,500 school children participate in the program each academic year.
Most of the cemetery is woodland with a rich groundcover of grasses, bulbs, and wildflowers. There are five wildlife ponds. About a third of the park is grassland.
EventsEvents
The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, along with their partners, offers more than 170 events per year.
Some of the events include:
- Guided cemetery tours
- Nature volunteering to care for wildlife and plant life
- Birdwatching
- Bee-keeping instruction
- Foraging classes
- Gardening classes
- Wreath-making at the cemetery
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.
Notable burialsNotable burials
Notable burials at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park include:
- Major John Buckley (1813 – 1876), the 115th recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Charles Jamrach (1815 – 1891), animal supplier for the Ringling Brother Circus
- Henry Norris (1816–1878), British civil engineer specializing in lighthouse repair
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
ReferencesReferences
References
- ↑ The Magnificent Seven. London Natural History Society
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