• Norwood Forum

West Norwood Cemetery

West Norwood Cemetery is a very important place of exercise and contemplation for local people, especially so during the Covid-19 lockdowns, as well as a place of burial, cremation, bereavement and reflection. Major works will be happening in the Cemetery over the coming months and years, as the Heritage Lottery Funding project works and other capital works start on the ground. Users will inevitably experience some disruption, and we will write further on this shortly when we have some further information from the Council.

Brief history

West Norwood Cemetery was opened in 1837 by the South Metropolitan Cemetery Company as one of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London and one of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries of London. The Cemetery is a site of major historical, architectural and ecological interest, classified as a Historic Park and Garden, and registered with English Heritage for its historic value in terms of character, appearance and setting.  There are some 42,000 graves, with 69 Grade II and Grade II* listed monuments, and around 200,000 plus interments.

The space for new burials had largely been exhausted by the inter-war years, and the cemetery company became unable to properly afford its upkeep or the repair of buildings damaged by wartime bombing. Lambeth Council compulsorily purchased the cemetery in 1965, and embarked on lawn conversion, removed at least 10,000 monuments (including some of the listed monuments) and illegally resold unused space in existing graves for reburials. The Southwark Diocese Consistory Court cases held in 1994, 1995 and 1997 found these works to be illegal and as a consequence Lambeth now operates the cemetery in accordance with a scheme of management under the joint control of all interested parties. That includes Lambeth Council, the Diocese, the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery and conservation bodies such as Historic England.

The grounds are now a mixture of historic monuments, modern gravestones and a lawn cemetery, with catacombs (currently closed to the public – see below), cremation plots, crematorium, chapel and a columbarium.

Heritage Lottery Funding

Under a partnership of Lambeth Council and the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery, National Lottery funding (£4.6m) has been awarded jointly by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund, with further funding of £2.1m of match-funding contributed by the Council and the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery. The ‘New Beginning’ vision for the project aims to achieve a balance between burials and bereavement, expanded community uses, nature and landscape and heritage, culture and history, thereby providing an enhanced and sustainable community asset.

The project, which commenced in April 2019 and will last for five years, consists of a capital works programme and activities and interpretation plans:

  • Plans for two new pedestrian entrances: at Hubbard Road and Robson Road
  • A new visitor centre provided within the existing cemetery lodge building
  • The repair and conservation of 16 significant monuments and their removal from the ‘Heritage at Risk’ Register (there are 69 listed cemetery monuments in total)
  • Infrastructure works to carriageways, footpaths, drainage and the extensive boundary wall. This contract has just been let and we will report further shortly.
  • The repair of St Stephens Chapel (Greek Cemetery) to bring it into wider public use as a small-scale events venue
  • Interpretation and wayfinding to provide more ways for visitors to learn and explore
  • An activities, volunteering and interpretation programme to encourage new visitors and greater participation.

Bereavement Services capital investment

Lambeth Council is also making further capital investment in its Cemeteries and this includes the following planned works at West Norwood Cemetery over a number of years:

  • Sanctum development (for cremated remains burial plots) near planned Robson Road entrance
  • Rose Garden works
  • Landscaping of cremated remains plots*
  • St Mary at Hill plot*: reinstatement of rear and side boundary wall works
  • Enon Chapel plot demarcation and interpretation
  • Stillborn babies’ memorial
  • Gilbart Memorial: repair
  • Contingency for memorial repairs
  • Crematorium: new electric cremator and enabling works
  • Crematorium: replacement catafalque (the hydraulic lift to lower coffins) and new goods lift
  • Crematorium: new family room

* Works to reinstate or regularise damage and/or removal; part of the commitment of Lambeth Council made under the scheme of management arrangements.

Investment in the Grade II Listed catacombs, a major heritage asset of international interest, is also planned. This is a longer term project and likely to be the subject of a heritage style funding bid. The catacombs were built to house 3,500 coffins (across both sets of catacombs) but have considerable capacity remaining. As well as protecting the catacombs, the aim would be to generate income through selling the remaining space within and operate fee-paying tours. The area above the catacombs is currently being made watertight, and future use of this opened up space, including a small chapel and housing for the coffin lift, is to be considered.

All the above works will be subject to discussion with and approval of the Scheme of Management Committee; they are fully supported by the Chair of the Scheme of Management Committee and the Chair of the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery.

Get more information and be involved

  • The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery website should be your first port of call if you wish to increase your knowledge and appreciation of West Norwood Cemetery. Read in particular the 1990-2015: 25 Years of Research and Conservation publication available as a free download here. Also, a number of publications can be purchased. The Friends tweet as @fownc1837, and you can sign up to receive regular news here.
  • The HLF ‘New Beginning’ project has its own website for further information, including volunteering activities (in due course); they tweet as @WNCemetery.
  • The Cemetery continues to be managed by the Scheme of Management Committee (SOM) and its supporting Advisory Group and all their agendas and minutes can be read on the Council website.
  • The Council website also has an information page, including opening hours.