Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery)[1] is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[2] It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Established by Act of Parliament and laid out in 1839, it opened in 1840. Consecrated by Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London, in June 1840, it is one of Britain's oldest and most distinguished garden cemeteries. Some 35,000 monuments, from simple headstones to substantial mausolea, mark more than 205,000 resting places. The site includes large plots for family mausolea, and common graves where coffins are piled deep into the earth. It also has a small columbarium, and a secluded Garden of Remembrance at the northern end for cremated remains. The cemetery continues to be open for burials. It is also known as an urban haven for nature. In 2014, it was awarded a National Lottery grant to carry out essential restoration and develop a visitor centre, among other improvements.[3] The restoration work was completed in 2018.[4]
By the early years of the 19th century, inner city burial grounds, mostly churchyards, had long been unable to cope with the number of burials and were seen as a hazard to health and an undignified way to treat the dead. In 1837 a decision was made to lay out a new burial ground in Brompton, London. The moving spirit behind the project was the architect and engineer, Stephen Geary, and it was necessary to form a company in order to get parliamentary permission to raise capital for the purpose. Geary was appointed as architect but was later forced to resign. Securing the land – some 40 acres – from local landowner, Lord Kensington and the Equitable Gas Light Company, as well as raising the money proved an extended challenge.[6] The cemetery became one of seven large, new cemeteries founded by private companies in the mid-19th century (sometimes called the 'Magnificent Seven') forming a ring around the edge of London.
The site, previously market gardens, was bought with the intervention of John Gunter of Fulham,[7] and was 39 acres (160,000 m2) in area. Brompton Cemetery was eventually designed by architect, Benjamin Bauda. At its centre is a modest sandstone domed chapel dated 1839; at its southern end, are two symmetrical long colonnades, now all Grade II* listed, in the style of St. Peter's Square in Rome, and flanked by catacombs.[8][9][10][11][12] It was intended to give the feel of a large open air cathedral. It is rectangular in shape with the north end pointing to the northwest and the south end to the southeast. It has a central "nave" which runs from Old Brompton Road towards the central colonnade and chapel. During a 4-year restoration project that began in 2014, an original Victorian flooring with Bath and York stone radial pattern was uncovered underneath the chapel carpet.[13]
Below the colonnades are catacombs which were originally conceived as a cheaper alternative burial to having a plot in the grounds of the cemetery. Unfortunately, the catacombs were not a success and only about 500 of the many thousands of places in them were sold. The Metropolitan Interments Act 1850 gave the government powers to purchase commercial cemeteries. The shareholders of the cemetery company were relieved to be able to sell their shares as the cost of building the cemetery had overrun and they had seen little return on their investment and there were few burials at first.[6]
During World War II the cemetery suffered bomb damage.
In all there are up to forty items associated with the cemetery which have a Historic England listing, including gates and telephone kiosks.[16]
Burialsedit
Brompton was closed to burials between 1952 and 1996, except for family and Polish interments, of which there are over 300.[17] In the 21st century it is once again a working cemetery, with plots for interments and a 'Garden of Remembrance' for the deposit of cremated remains.[18] Many nationalities and faiths from across the world are represented in the cemetery.
Military gravesedit
From 1854 to 1939, Brompton Cemetery became the London District's Military Cemetery. The Royal Hospital Chelsea purchased a plot in the north west corner where they have a monument in the form of an obelisk; the Brigade of the Guards has its own section south of that. There are 289 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 79 of World War II, whose graves are registered and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A number of veterans are listed in the Notable Interments.[19] Although the majority of war graves are in the dedicated railed section to the west – also containing 19th century services graves – a number of servicemen's graves are scattered in other areas. Besides the British there are many notable Czechoslovak, Polish and Russian military burials.
Bennet Woodcroft – textile manufacturer, industrial archaeologist, pioneer of marine propulsion, patent reformer and first clerk to the Patent Commissioners
In the late 1880s when the nearby Earl's Court Exhibition Grounds played host to the American Show with Buffalo Bill, a number of Native American performers in the show, died while on tour in Britain.[21] The Sioux chief, Long Wolf, a veteran of the Oglala Sioux wars was buried here on 13 June 1892 having died age 59 of bronchial pneumonia. He shared the grave with a 17-month-old Sioux girl named White Star believed to have fallen from her mother's arms while on horseback. A British woman, Elizabeth Knight, traced his family 105 years later and campaigned with them to have his remains returned to the land of his birth.[22] In 1997, Chief Long Wolf was finally moved to a new plot at Wolf Creek Cemetery (ancestral burial ground of the Oglala Sioux tribe) in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
His great-grandson John Black Feather said "Back then, they had burials at sea, they did ask his wife if she wanted to take him home and she figured that as soon as they hit the water they would throw him overboard, so that's why they left him here."[1][23][24]
There was a Brulé Sioux tribesman buried in Brompton named Paul Eagle Star. His plot was in the same section as Oglala Sioux warrior Surrounded By the Enemy who died in 1887 from a lung infection at age 22.[25] Like Long Wolf, he took part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Paul died a few days after breaking his ankle when he fell off a horse in August 1891. His casket was exhumed in spring of 1999 by his grandchildren, Moses and Lucy Eagle Star. The reburial took place in Rosebud's Lakota cemetery. Philip James accompanied the repatriation.
Little Chief and Good Robe's 18-month-old son, Red Penny, who travelled in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show is also buried here.[26] His specific resting place within the cemetery is not known.
Two notable Polish figures originally buried in Brompton Cemetery were reburied in Powazki Cemetery, Warsaw:[17]
General Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski – founder of a Polish resistance unit in the Second World War and war hero, who died in Casablanca on 22 May 1964. The urn containing his ashes was reburied at Powazki in September 1992.
Major General Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski – prime minister of Poland before outbreak of the Second World War, who died in London in August 1962, was reburied at Powazki on 8 June 1990.
The richness of the art and symbolism contained in many graves traces art movements across two centuries. Aside from the stonemason's and sculptor's craft, there is a vast array of lettering, decorative ironwork (sadly in a very corroded state) and ceramics. Some graves and mausolea are the work of noted artists and architects.
Flora and faunaedit
Although never envisaged as a park, JC Loudon devised the original planting scheme that was not fully realised, however, pines were imported from Poland with the prospect that in maturity they would cast shade over the graves.[28] There are over 60 species of trees, of which the limes are dated to 1838. The fact of the enclosure of the cemetery by a wall, has preserved almost intact, a distinct area of Victorian country flora. The adjacent West London line afforded a green corridor for many years, enriched by ballast from the South Downs when Counter's Creek was filled in and two railway lines constructed in mid-19th century, although a small wetland area was preserved by West Brompton station. However recent redevelopment along the station has further reduced local biodiversity and further reductions are planned with the major redevelopment of nearby Earls Court Exhibition Centre.[29]
In the cemetery each season brings its features, like snow-drops and bluebells or wild lupin and foxgloves, broad-leaf pea, ferns and horse tail. There are small scale wooded areas and meadows. Since the land was used for market gardens, there are wild cabbages, asparagus and garlic among the slabs. A grape vine has fallen victim to maintenance. In Autumn, there can be a display of fungi, a mycologist's trove. The evergreens and ivy are a haven for birds and countless insects. Over 200 species of moth and butterfly have been identified in the cemetery. Despite the absence of a permanent water feature, there have been sightings of amphibians, notably a toad. Mammals are represented by bats, a range of rodents, including grey squirrels and one or two families of foxes. Among the birds, there is a long-standing population of carrion crows and several garden species with the addition of green woodpeckers and occasionally, nesting kestrels and ring-necked parakeets. The appearance of a female ring-necked pheasant in 2012 was short-lived.[citation needed]
"Brompton Cemetery has been identified as a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation (grade I) comprising moderately diverse grassland that contains at least three notable London species that support a diverse assemblage of invertebrates".[30]
Public accessedit
The cemetery is open daily to the public throughout the year, with opening times varying with the seasons. It is regularly visited by the Parks Police Service to monitor and curb occurrences of anti-social behaviour.
Dog walking and cycling, under strict control, is permitted on indicated paths. Through traffic is forbidden and there is no parking. Any visiting vehicles must observe a 5 mph limit. The byelaws are displayed on boards at both entrances.
The Friends of Brompton Cemetery organise Open Days, regular tours and other public attractions.[31]
The cemetery has a reputation for being a popular cruising ground for gay men.[32]
Beatrix Potter connectionedit
Beatrix Potter, who lived in Old Brompton Road nearby and enjoyed walking around it, may have taken the names of some of her characters from tombstones in the cemetery. Names of people buried there included Mr Nutkins, Mr McGregor, Mr Brock, Mr Tod, Jeremiah Fisher and even a Peter Rabbett, although it is not known for certain if there were tombstones with all these names.[33][34][35]
^"Brompton Cemetery receives £3.7m for restoration". BBC News. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^"Multi-million National Lottery-funded restoration unveils hidden secrets of spectacular London cemetery" (Press release). The Royal Parks. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
^Walker, Dave (27 September 2012). "Wild, wild west: Buffalo Bill in Earls Court".
^Balz, Dan (26 September 1997). "Chief Long Wolf's Last Journey". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^"Chief Long Wolf goes home, 105 years late". CNN. 25 September 1997. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
^Weaver, Maurice (5 May 1997). "Sioux reclaim tribal chief from English grave". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 26 September 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
^"Sioux mystery solved". Manchester Evening News. 3 October 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^"The Salford Sioux – Manchester's own native American community (Lancashire) Page 4 RootsChat.Com". www.rootschat.com.
^Prochy arcybiskupa Sawy powróciły do Polski Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (in Polish)
^"Brompton Cemetery" (PDF). www.rbkc.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
^Archer, John; Keech, Daniel (1993). Nature Conservation in Hammersmith & Fulham – Ecology Handbook 25. London Ecology Unit. pp. 41–51. ISBN 1-871045-22-3.
^"Conservation Area appraisal, Draft, Brompton Cemetery". RBKC. 2017. pp. 20–23. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
^"Go west, young man" (PDF). QX Magazine International. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
^Barden, Karen (3 August 2001). "Grave inspiration to Beatrix Potter". The Westmorland Gazette. Newsquest (North West) Ltd. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
^Baker, Erin (28 July 2001). "Beatrix Potter's cast list found on headstones". The Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
^Mason, M. (2013). Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground. London: Arrow Books. p. 174 ISBN 978-0099557937
^"Brompton Cemetery: Sherlock Holmes (2009)". Retrieved 10 May 2020.
^ abSmith, Oliver (4 October 2017). "The London filming locations you might not have known about". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^ ab"Brompton Cemetery in film". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
^"'The Gentlemen' Shooting Location Details". The Cinemaholic. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
Further readingedit
Culbertson, Judi; Randall, Tom (1991). Permanent Londoners: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of London. Post Mills, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company.
Suchcitz, Andrzej (1992). Non omnis moriar: Polacy na londyńskim cmentarzu Brompton [Non omnis moriar: Poles buried in Brompton Cemetery, London] (in Polish). Poland: Oficyna Wydawnicza Audiutor. ISBN 978-8390008592. Digitized by the University of Michigan, 12 Oct 2007.
Meller, Hugh; Parsons, Brian (2008). London Cemeteries: an illustrated guide and gazetteer, The History Press. ISBN 978-0750946223
Beach, Darren (2008). London's Cemeteries. Metro Guides. ISBN 1902910230
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brompton Cemetery.
Official Website
Friends of Brompton Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
YouTube – Brompton Cemetery – Guided Tour
Aerial view from 1947, from the English Heritage "Britain from Above" archive