View source for Nunhead Cemetery

{{Short description|Cemetery in Nunhead, London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox cemetery
| name        = Nunhead Cemetery
| image       = London Nunhead Cemetery Entrance.JPG
| imagesize   = 260
| caption     = View up The Avenue from the North Gate towards the Anglican Chapel
| map_type    =
| map_size    =
| map_caption =
| established = 1840
| location    = Linden Grove, [[London]], [[SE postcode area|SE15 3LP]]
| country     = [[England]]
| coordinates = {{coord|51.46423|-0.05304|display=it}}
| type        = Public
| style       =
| owner       =
| size        = {{convert|21|ha|acre}}
| graves      =
| interments  =
| website     = {{official website|http://www.fonc.org.uk/}}
| findagraveid  = 2132089
| political   =
}}

[[Image:London Nunhead Cemetery Grave.JPG|thumb|Grave of [[Vincent Figgins]] (d. 1844). Memorial designed by [[William Pettit Griffith]].]]
'''Nunhead Cemetery''' is one of the [[Magnificent Seven, London|Magnificent Seven]] [[Cemetery|cemeteries]] in [[London]], [[England]]. It is perhaps the least famous and celebrated of them.<ref name=friend>[http://www.fonc.org.uk/ Friends of Nunhead Cemetery]</ref> The cemetery is located in [[Nunhead]] in the [[London Borough of Southwark]] and was originally known as '''<nowiki>All Saints' Cemetery</nowiki>'''. Nunhead Cemetery was consecrated in 1840 and opened by the London Cemetery Company.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1000824|desc=Nunhead Cemetery  (All Saints), Southwark |accessdate=2017-09-30}}</ref> It is designated a [[local nature reserve]].<ref name=LNR>{{cite web|url= http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=nunhead&ID=1466|title=Nunhead Cemetery |series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England| date = 6 March 2013 |access-date= 22 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271083008%27|title=Map of Nunhead Cemetery|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England| access-date= 22 January 2014}}</ref>

==Location==
The Main Gate (North Gate) is located on Linden Grove (near the junction with Daniel's Road) and the South Gate is located on Limesford Road. The cemetery is in the [[London Borough of Southwark]], [[SE15]].

==History and description==
The cemetery was consecrated in 1840, with an Anglican chapel designed by Thomas Little. It is one of the "[[Magnificent Seven, London|Magnificent Seven]]" Victorian cemeteries established in a ring around what were then the outskirts of London, and is one of two located south of the [[River Thames]] (the other being [[West Norwood Cemetery|West Norwood]]). The first burial was of Charles Abbott, a 101-year-old [[Ipswich]] grocer; the last burial was of a volunteer soldier who became a canon of [[Cathedral Church of Resurrection|Lahore Cathedral]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/10/nunwood_cemetery_feature.shtml Nunhead Cemetery], BBC London, 21 July 2008.</ref> The first grave in Nunhead was dug in October 1840. The average annual number of burials over the ten years 1868–1878 was 1685: 1350 in the consecrated, and 335 in the unconsecrated ground.<ref name="blogspot">{{cite web|url=https://onelondonone.blogspot.com/2011/02/nunhead-cemetery.html|title=Number One London. Join us as we explore Regency, Georgian and Victorian England and all aspects of British history, including London, the Duke of Wellington, stately homes and museums. Posts on new books, films and UK travel|publisher=onelondonone.blogspot.com|access-date=26 May 2014}}</ref>

Remains from the demolished church and churchyard of [[St Christopher le Stocks]] in the [[City of London]] were reinterred at Nunhead in 1867 and 1933.

The cemetery contains examples of the imposing monuments to the most eminent citizens of the day, which contrast sharply with the small, simple headstones marking common or public burials. By the middle of the 20th century, the cemetery was nearly full, and so was abandoned by the United Cemetery Company. With the ensuing neglect, the cemetery gradually changed from lawn to meadow and eventually to woodland. It is now a [[local nature reserve]] and Site of Metropolitan Importance for wildlife, populated with songbirds, [[woodpeckers]] and [[tawny owl]]s.

A lack of care and cash surrendered the graves to the ravages of nature and vandalism, but in the early 1980s the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery was formed to renovate and protect the cemetery.

The cemetery was reopened in May 2001 after an extensive restoration project funded by Southwark Council and the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]]. Fifty memorials were restored along with the Anglican Chapel.

==Notable burials==
[[File:Nunhead cem 2020 Bryan Donkin.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Vault of Bryan Donkin (d. 1855) and his family]]
* [[Frederick Augustus Abel|Sir Frederick Abel]], 1827–1902, co-inventor of [[Cordite]]
* [[Bobby Abel|Robert Abel]], 1857–1936, England test cricketer
* [[George John Bennett]], 1800–1879, English [[Shakespearian]] actor
* [[William Brough (writer)|William Brough]], 1826–1870, writer and playwright
* [[Joseph Lemuel Chester]], 1821–1882, American [[genealogist]], poet and editor
* [[Bryan Donkin]], 1768–1855, engineer who developed a paper-making machine and food-canning process
* [[Edward John Eliot]], 1782–1863, [[Peninsular War]] soldier
* [[Vincent Figgins]], 1766–1844, typefounder
* [[James Figgins]], 1811-1884, MP, son of Vincent Figgins
* [[Charles Fox (civil and railway engineer)|Sir Charles Fox]], 1810–1874, civil and railway engineer
* [[Jenny Hill (music hall performer)|Jenny Hill]], 1848–1896, [[music hall]] performer
* Henry Jupp 1841-1889. England test cricketer
* Sir [[Polydore de Keyser]], 1832–1898, lawyer and Roman Catholic [[Lord Mayor of London]]
* Sir [[George Livesey]], 1834–1908, engineer, industrialist and philanthropist
* [[Cicely Nott]], 1832–1900, singer and actress
* [[John Proctor (artist)|John Proctor]], 1836–1914, artist, illustrator and cartoonist
* [[Charles Rolls (engraver)|Charles Rolls]], 1799–1885, engraver
* [[Thomas Tilling]], 1825–1893, bus tycoon
* [[Alfred Vance]], 1839–1888, English [[music hall]] [[performer]]
* [[Charles Frederick Williams]] (4 May 1838 – 9 February 1904), was a [[Ulster Scots people|Scottish-Irish]] writer, journalist, and [[war correspondent]]

==Layout and other structures==
[[File:The Scottish Martyrs Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Scottish Martyrs Memorial]]
At 52 acres, Nunhead is the second largest of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Views across London include [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2013/may/28/london-underappreciated-architecture-in-pictures#/?picture=409570172&index=7 |title=London's most underappreciated architecture – in pictures |publisher=The Guardian |date=28 May 2013 |access-date=28 May 2013 }}</ref>

The Victorian part of the cemetery is currently in a poor state of repair, being best described as an elegant wilderness; locals like to call it a nature reserve. Many areas of the cemetery are fairly overgrown with vines, as visible in newer tourist photos. Numerous tombstones lean to the side. Although the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery are doing their best to restore some parts of the cemetery it is badly in need of care and funding. It is about {{convert|52|acre|m2}} and is a popular place to walk.

The lodges and monumental entrance were designed by [[James Bunstone Bunning]]. There is an [[obelisk]], the "Scottish Political Martyrs Memorial", the second monument ([[Political Martyrs' Monument|the other]] is in Edinburgh) dedicated to the leaders of the [[Friends of the People Society]], popularly called the Scottish Martyrs, including [[Thomas Muir (radical)|Thomas Muir]], [[Maurice Margarot]], and [[Thomas Fyshe Palmer]], who were transported to Australia in 1794. It was erected by Radical MP [[Joseph Hume]] in 1851–52. It is immediately on the right on Dissenters Road, when entering through the North Gate.

A memorial commemorates nine [[Sea Scout]]s who died in the [[Leysdown]] Tragedy off the [[Isle of Sheppey]] in 1912, including Percy Baden Powell Huxford aged 12 (named after, but not related to, [[Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell|Lord Baden Powell]]). The original memorial, designed by Sir [[Giles Gilbert Scott]], was erected in 1914.<ref name="Wynne Jones">{{cite web |url=http://mirror.co.uk/article?id=1224493/|title=A twist of fate: David Beckham's great grandfather saved from Thames disaster|last=Wynne Jones|first=Ros|date=2012-08-04|work=[[Daily Mirror]]|access-date=6 August 2012}}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Most of this was removed after vandalism, and only the base remains.<ref>[http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=675 Kent History Forum website]. A picture of the original memorial can be seen on the {{cite web|url=http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/seascouts.htm|title=Scouting Milestones website|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909175455/http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/seascouts.htm|archive-date=9 September 2012|url-status=dead}}.</ref> The present replacement memorial was erected in 1992, on the initiative of the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery.

[[File:Nunhead cem 2020 Australian military.jpg|thumb|right|First World War [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|CWGC]] Australian plot]]
There are a large number of [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War]] war graves in the cemetery, the greater proportion (592 graves) being Commonwealth service burials from the former war. Most of those are concentrated between three war graves plots: the United Kingdom plot (Square 89), holding 266 graves, the Australian plot which holds 23 graves, and the Canadian plot (Square 52) which holds 36 graves, including burials of South African and New Zealand servicemen. Those buried in the UK plot and in individual graves outside the three plots are, because of not being marked by headstones, listed by name on a Screen Wall memorial inside the cemetery's main entrance. A second Screen Wall lists 110 Commonwealth service personnel of the Second World War who are buried in another war graves plot (Square 5), and elsewhere whose graves could not be marked by headstones. There is also a Belgian war grave of the First World War.<ref name="cwgc">[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/41701/NUNHEAD%20(ALL%20SAINTS)%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report.</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Gates of Nunhead Cemetery.JPG|The North Gate
File:Gate Lodge (left).JPG|The Gate Lodge, left of the North Gate
File:Nunhead cem 2020 chapel from W.jpg|The Anglican Chapel from the west
File:Allan Monument.JPG|Monument to John Allen (d. 1865)
File:Nunhead cem 2020 Stearns mausoleum.jpg|Mausoleum of Laura Stearns (d. 1900)
File:Scottish Martyrs Monument Base 01.JPG|The base of the Scottish Martyrs Memorial
File:Nunhead Cemetery – 20180126 123634 (40140650452).jpg|Scene in the cemetery, January 2018
File:Framed view of St Pauls from Nunhead Cemetery.jpg|The view of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] from the upper part of the Cemetery
File:Grave of George Thomas Livesey in Nunhead Cemetery.jpg|Grave of Sir George Livesey
File:Grave of Charles Rolls in Nunhead Cemetery.jpg|Grave of Charles Rolls
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Beach |first=Darren |title=London's Cemeteries |publisher=Metro Publications |location=London |year=2013 |isbn=978-1902910406 |pages=144–147 }}
* FoNC, ''Nunhead Cemetery, An Illustrated Guide'', Friends of Nunhead Cemetery, 1988, {{ISBN|0950888168}}
* {{cite book |last1=Meller |first1=Hugh |first2=Brian |last2=Parsons |title=London Cemeteries: an illustrated guide and gazetteer |publisher=History Press |location=Stroud |edition=4th |year=2008 |isbn=978-0750946223 }}
* {{cite book |first=Ron |last=Woollacott |title=Nunhead Notables: some of the interesting and important men and women buried in London's Nunhead Cemetery |location=London |publisher=Friends of Nunhead Cemetery |year=1984 |isbn=0950888117 }}
* {{cite book |first=Ron |last=Woollacott |title=Ron Woollacott's Nunhead Notables: a biographical list of notable men and women buried in London's Nunhead Cemetery of All Saints |location=London |publisher=Friends of Nunhead Cemetery |year=2002 |isbn=0953919439 }}
* {{cite book |first=Ron |last=Woollacott |title=The Victorian Catacombs at Nunhead: a short history of the Chapel Catacombs, Shaft Catacombs and the Eastern Catacomb in the Nunhead Cemetery of All Saints, Linden Grove, London, SE15 |location=London |publisher=Maureen and Ron Woollacott |year=2003 |isbn=0952614251 }}
* {{cite book |first=Ron |last=Woollacott |title=Investors in Death: the story of Nunhead Cemetery and the London Cemetery Company and its successors |location=London |publisher=Friends of Nunhead Cemetery |year=2010 |isbn=978-0953919482 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Ron |last1=Woollacott |first2=Michèle Louise |last2=Burford  |title=Buried at Nunhead: Nunhead Notables: Volume 3 |location=London |publisher=Friends of Nunhead Cemetery |year=2014 |isbn=978-0956987426 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Ron |last1=Woollacott |first2=Michèle Louise |last2=Burford  |title=Buried at Nunhead: Nunhead Notables: Volume 4 |location=London |publisher=Friends of Nunhead Cemetery |year=2018 |isbn=978-0956987440 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Ron |last1=Woollacott |first2=Michèle Louise |last2=Burford  |title=The enigmatic Mr Peek Stevens or The Great Vance: the life and career of a Great Victorian music-hall luminary buried at Nunhead |location=London |publisher=Friends of Nunhead Cemetery |year=2018 |isbn=978-0956987433 }}
* Zisenis, Marcus, ''Nunhead Cemetery, London, United Kingdom: a case study of the assessment of the nature conservation value of an urban woodland and associated habitats'', M.Sc. in Conservation dissertation, University College London, University of London, 1993, [https://ucl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/44UCL_INST/155jbua/alma990005587480204761 unpublished] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028072604/https://ucl-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=UCL_LMS_DS21122376910004761&context=L&vid=UCL_VU2&lang=en_US&search_scope=CSCOP_UCL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=local&query=any,contains,marcus%20zisenis |date=28 October 2020 }}.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.fonc.org.uk/ Friends of Nunhead Cemetery website]
* [https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW060452 Aerial view from 1939], from the English Heritage "Britain from Above" archive

==Transport==
The cemetery is easily reached with public transport via local buses and National Rail:
* Bus: 78, 343 and 484 all have stops nearby
* Train: The [[Nunhead railway station]] is close by.

{{Cemeteries in England}}
{{Cemeteries in London}}
{{LNRs in Greater London}}

[[Category:Cemeteries in London]]
[[Category:Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Southwark]]
[[Category:Burials at Nunhead Cemetery| ]]
[[Category:Local nature reserves in Greater London]]
[[Category:Nature reserves in the London Borough of Southwark]]
[[Category:Anglican cemeteries in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England]]
[[Category:Nunhead]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed parks and gardens in London]]
[[Category:Cemeteries established in the 1840s]]
[[Category:1840 establishments in England]]