West Norwood Cemetery (also known as West Norwood Memorial Park, South Metropolitan Cemetery)

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An early 19th century cemetery founded in 1837 and originally known as South Metropolitan Cemetery, laid out to the design of William Tite.

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

West Norwood Memorial Park (formerly South Metropolitan Cemetery) is situated in densely populated West Norwood. Tulse Hill lies about 2 kilometres to the north-west and Streatham about 2 kilometres to the south. Dulwich Park lies about 1.5 kilometres to the north-east and Brockwell Park about 1.5 kilometres to the north-west.The walled and railed enclosure is bounded by Robson Road to the north, Norwood High Street to the west, by buildings along Martell and Romany Roads to the east, and by the buildings along Dunbar Street, Dunbar Road, Auckland Street, and Durban Road to the south-west, and Pilgrim Hill to the south. At the High Street end of the boundary a low brick plinth supports tall, cast-iron, mid 19th century railings in Gothic style. At the end of the wall are tall brick piers with stone battlemented tops. Further lengths of mid 19th century iron fencing in Gothic style are to be seen along Robson Road. All are Listed Grade II. The main body of the site is enclosed within high brick walls built to a height of about 3.5 metres, originally as a safeguard against body snatchers. The 16 hectares site rises steadily to the east. The bell tower of the neighbouring St Luke's Anglican church to the south-west provides an interesting eyecatcher from points around the site.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES

The cemetery is approached from Norwood High Street where the brick-paved entrance forecourt is enclosed with 20th-century iron railings and gates. An engraving of 1853 shows the entrance leading directly from the road, but by 1890 low iron railings had been introduced, and by 1938 the forecourt was fully enclosed by the current 1 metre high iron railings. In 1853 the forecourt was screened from the cemetery by shrubs and, with the introduction of railings around the forecourt, the shrubbery was extended along the boundary with Robson Road. The tradition of forecourt planting continues today (1999). A stone war memorial stands to the north of the forecourt.

Beyond the forecourt is an entrance (listed grade II) made in 1837 by William Tite. Designed in Tudor Gothic style and built from pale bricks with stone dressings, the entrance has a high central arch, originally hung with cast-iron double carriage gates (removed by 1999), with a low side arch for pedestrians. The main arch is decorated with a cornice which rises to a central peak above an estcutecheon with South Metropolitan Cemetery in riband with the date. There is a smaller pedestrian entrance to the south. In addition to the main gateway there is a second pair of iron gates (listed grade II) around 20 metres to the south. West Norwood Library (dating from around 1970), built on the site of three 19th-century houses, separates the two gateways. An additional gateway leading out on to Pilgrim Hill in the south-west corner no longer functions.

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

The crematorium is situated on the highest point of the site. The building, designed by A Underdown and built on the site of the original crematorium, was constructed in 1960 from pink bricks with ironwork decorations, and replaces Tite's Nonconformist chapel, itself having been adapted as a crematorium in 1915 and demolished in 1955. Grilles at the base of the walls, the only remaining evidence of the old chapel, secure the catacombs where Tite himself is buried.

GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS

The grounds are traversed by serpentine paths most of which are tarmacked. The lawns are planted with a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees, the more mature of which are to be found to the south.

From the entrance arch the brick road passes, to the south, the superintendent's office. Rebuilt in 1950, the office is the second building on this site. The original, a gothic lodge by Tite which was enlarged in 1936 when the Cemetery Company relocated their offices from the City to Norwood, was demolished after suffering severe damage as the result of enemy action in World War 2. The wide brick carriage drive continues for around 100 metres south-east before dividing. A brick road turns west to provide a drive to the iron gates in Norwood High Street, while a second serpentine path rises steadily to the south-east to become, after some 50 metres, the western and southern perimeter path. Some 5 metres to the north of the division the brick paving is discontinued and from that point all roads and paths are tarmacked.

The main path continues to the north-east as a curving perimeter path. The ground between the northern perimeter path and the north boundary wall was cleared of some of the older monuments in the mid-20th century and is currently (1999) used for new burials. Lesser paths lead south and provide a network of paths around monuments situated on the northern slopes of the site. As the northern perimeter path approaches the north-east corner it passes to the north a garden of remembrance, a rectangular lawn planted out with roses and enclosed within a screen of evergreens. The groundsmen's yard is situated in the far north-east corner, where for the first half of the 20th century a glasshouse stood.

South of the yard the path curves sharply, passing, enclosed within iron railings, the Greek burial ground which was reserved in 1842 for the Brotherhood of the Greek Community in London. The mortuary chapel associated with this part of the cemetery was built in 1872 by a wealthy Greek merchant, Stephen Ralli, in memory of his younger son Augustus. The chapel, built in the Greek Revival style, is thought to have been designed by John Oldrid Scott (1842-1913, son of architect Sir Gilbert Scott (1811-78)). The path continues, rising steeply to the south, with views back to the Greek burial ground and southwards to the crematorium. After some 100 metres the path divides, the western branch encircling the new crematorium.

At the top of the hill the main path follows the eastern boundary for around 200 metres, passing to the west the small plot reserved for the parishioners of Sir Christopher Wren's city church, St Mary at Hill. Enclosed within iron railings, the ground was used as an annex to St Mary's churchyard when it became overcrowded in the mid-19th century (Wilson 1973). Some 20 metres south of the burial ground the path curves west and, following the line of the south boundary wall, continues for around 350 metres where it turns north-west and, after a further 300 metres, joins up with the brick path leading to the iron gates in Norwood High Street.

The path system which encircles the crematorium passes between it and the catacombs to the south. Constructed under Tite's Anglican chapel, the catacombs had space for 2000 coffins. The coffins were slowly and quietly lowered from the chapel into the vaults below by the use of an hydraulic pump manufactured by the engineering firm of Bramah, Prestage and Ball of London (Curl 1980). After the chapel was demolished in 1960 the catacombs were sealed and the site marked by brick walls enclosing a second garden of remembrance with lawns and rose beds. A path to the west of the crematorium curves for 200 metres down the hill to join up with the southern perimeter path. Occasional grass paths provide access to graves.

The cemetery contains a number of notable memorials, of which seven are listed grade II* and thirty-seven are listed grade II (for further details see Meller 1991).

REFERENCES used by English Heritage:

J C Loudon, Gardener's Magazine (1843)

London Borough of Lambeth, West Norwood Cemetery, Conservation and Landscape Improvement (1971)

J B Wilson, The Story of Norwood (1973), pp 17-19

J Curl, A Celebration of Death (1980), pp 223-224, 244-263

B Cherry and N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2 South (1983), pp 340-342

H Meller, London Cemeteries (1991), pp 218-231

Maps

J Rocque, Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster and Borough of Southwark, published 1746

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1868

3rd edition published 1901

OS 60" to 1 mile: 1932-1941

Illustrations

Collection of sketches by Sargent, a local artist (Lambeth Archives Department)

Engraving showing the site from a high point to the west, 1853 (Lambeth Archives Department)

Collection of photographs, 1890(1960 (Lambeth Archives Department)

Aerial photograph, Brixton Illustrated Press, 1927, p 11 (Lambeth Archives Department)

Description written: April 1999

Edited: July 2001