| Barnes Old Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 Decapitated statue of an angel at Barnes Cemetery | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1854 |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°28′16″N0°14′04″W / 51.4710°N 0.2344°W |
| Type | Disused |
| Owned by | Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council |
| Size | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Find a Grave | Barnes Old Cemetery |
Barnes Cemetery, also known as Barnes Old Cemetery, is a disused cemetery in Barnes, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located off Rocks Lane on Barnes Common.
The cemetery was established in 1854 on two acres of sandy ground purchased by the Church of England for the sum of £10. A chapel, lodge and landscaping were provided at a further cost of £1,400. The cemetery functioned as an additional burial ground to the local parish churchyard. [1] It was well-used and a number of distinguished Victorians were buried there, with a variety of monuments and statues erected to their memory. At the centre of the cemetery is a large memorial to the Hedgman family, who were local benefactors in Barnes. [2] The cemetery was claimed to be haunted by a ghostly nun that would hover over the grave of Julia Martha Thomas, the victim of an infamous murder in 1879. [1]
In 1966 the cemetery was acquired by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames with the intention of turning it into a lawn cemetery, a grass-covered area where each grave is marked with a commemorative plaque rather than standing memorials. The council demolished the chapel and lodge and removed the boundary railings to prepare the cemetery for its new role. However, it then dropped the plans and effectively abandoned the cemetery. [2]
Over the next thirty years or so, the site was subject to considerable damage and vandalism to graves and monuments. However, within the past decade,[ when? ] the site has seen significant change. No longer neglected, much thought and care now goes into the management of this beautiful old cemetery. Indeed, its resultant ‘gothic charm’ and evocative light levels that have been enhanced by selective thinning and conservation work, make it a popular site for local art and film students. The overgrown nature of today's cemetery provides a valuable sanctuary for birds and other fauna. With good feeding grounds all around, many native birds and summer visitors breed in the cemetery, including thrushes, wrens, tits, finches, blackcap, chiff chaff, willow warbler, goldcrest while others migrate through. Some of the original planting is still in evidence: large specimens of yew, cedar, holly, Holm oak, pines and Wych elm. Many of these have produced thickets of seedlings and saplings. There are also native deciduous trees such as oak, ash and birch, and bird-sown shrubs such as elder. In some of the more open glades you can see pretty herbaceous species such aslike Herb Robert, Ox-eye Daisy and foxglove. For its part, Richmond upon Thames Council describes the cemetery as an "atmospheric and romantic place" with "an evocative atmosphere of decay and seclusion". [3]
Ten Commonwealth service personnel, whose graves are registered and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, are buried at the cemetery, seven from World War I and three from World War II. [9]
Barnes is a district in South West London, England, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is centred 5.8 miles (9.3 km) west south-west of Charing Cross in a bend of the River Thames.
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames 9.9 miles (15.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the borough council's administrative headquarters are located in the area.
East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Barnes was a local government district in north west Surrey from 1894 to 1965, when its former area was absorbed into the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Putney Vale is a small community in south west London. It lies between Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common, to the east of Beverley Brook and Kingston Vale. Its main features are a housing estate, a superstore and a large cemetery. The A3 dual carriageway runs through it.
St Peter's Church is the parish church of the village of Petersham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England. The main body of the church building dates from the 16th century, although parts of the chancel date from the 13th century, and evidence in Domesday Book suggests that there may have been a church on the site in Saxon times. Nikolaus Pevsner and Bridget Cherry describe it as a "church of uncommon charm... [whose] interior is well preserved in its pre-Victorian state". The church, which is Grade II* listed, includes Georgian box pews, a two-decker pulpit made in 1796, and a display of the royal arms of the House of Hanover, installed in 1810. Its classical organ was installed at the south end in late 2009 by the Swiss builders Manufacture d'Orgues St Martin of Neuchâtel, and a separate parish room was added in 2018. Many notable people are buried in the churchyard, which includes some Grade II-listed tombs.
The Hampton Wick War Memorial in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is situated on the Hampton Wick side of Kingston Bridge, between the bridge and the entrance to Home Park. Several dozen casualties of both world wars are commemorated. Most of these men will have been lost or buried abroad, but a few are buried in the London area. The memorial has been Grade II listed since 2015.
St Anne's Church, Kew, is a parish church in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The building, which dates from 1714 and is Grade II* listed, forms the central focus of Kew Green. The raised churchyard, which is on three sides of the church, has two Grade II* listed monuments – the tombs of the artists Johan Zoffany and Thomas Gainsborough. The French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), who stayed in 1892 at 10 Kew Green, portrayed St Anne's in his painting Church at Kew (1892).
St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake, is a Roman Catholic church in North Worple Way, Mortlake, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The church is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It is located just south of Mortlake High Street and the Anglican St Mary the Virgin Church. St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School is just north of the churchyard.
Lonsdale Road Reservoir is a disused reservoir in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is an 8.2 hectare local nature reserve and Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, owned and managed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council.
North Sheen Cemetery is a cemetery in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Mortlake Cemetery is a cemetery in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is also known as Hammersmith New Cemetery as it provided burials for the then Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith when Margravine Cemetery was full. The cemetery opened in 1926 and is still in use. It is now managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Teddington Cemetery is a Grade II listed municipal cemetery in the north of Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Opened in 1879 it has many tall, eclectic trees and its nucleus was the outcome of a competition for designs by Richmond Burial Board.
Twickenham Cemetery is a cemetery at Hospital Bridge Road, Whitton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was established in 1868 and was expanded in the 1880s when the local parish churchyards were closed to new burials.
Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expanded several times and now occupies a 15-acre (6-hectare) site which, prior to the expansion of London, was a rural area of Surrey. It is bounded to the east by Richmond Park and to the north by East Sheen Cemetery, with which it is now contiguous and whose chapel is used for services by both cemeteries. Richmond cemetery originally contained two chapels—one Anglican and one Nonconformist—both built in the Gothic revival style, but both are now privately owned and the Nonconformist chapel today falls outside the cemetery walls after a redrawing of its boundaries.
East Sheen Cemetery, originally known as Barnes Cemetery, is a cemetery on Sheen Road in East Sheen in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The cemetery opened in 1906 on what was previously woodland in a rural area of Surrey. Originally, only half the site was given over for burials while the other half was maintained as a nursery before it was converted in the 1930s and the whole site was renamed East Sheen Cemetery. It is today contiguous with Richmond Cemetery, though the original boundary is marked by a hedge. The cemetery's chapel is used for services by both sites, as Richmond Cemetery's chapel is no longer in use as such. The chapel was built in 1906 in the Gothic revival style by local architect Reginald Rowell, who was himself later buried in the cemetery.
Hampton Cemetery is a cemetery on Hollybush Lane in Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was opened in 1879 and is now managed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council. Fourteen Commonwealth servicemembers of World War I and seven of World War II are buried in the cemetery.
Putney Lower Common Cemetery is a cemetery on the edge of the London Borough of Wandsworth between Putney and Barnes town centres.
