Cemeteries

The South Metropolitan cemetery then came into being amidst the fields of the hamlet of Norwood in Surrey and the first burial took place on 12th December 1837 - soon after Queen Victoria arrived on the throne.

By the 1960s the cemetery was being neglected and overgrown and it was bought by Lambeth Council which started a 'lawn clearance' programme resulting in the removal of over 10,000 memorials.

Chapel at West Norwood Cemetery

However, the council is now working to repair and restore some of them. It has also resold over 900 graves following 1970s legislation permitting municipal cemeteries to sell unused burial space within existing graves over 75 years old.

In 1994, a Southwark church court judged the resale of graves at West Norwood, as it was originally a private not a municipal cemetery, to be illegal.

Reserved Brotherhood

Today, the cemetery is a spot where one may relax in tranquil surroundings. There are many headstones and monuments which will be preserved.

There are a variety of trees and shrubs and in the spring a carpet of daffodils can be seen, also wild primroses and clumps of bluebells.

The grounds are a haven for many forms of animals and birds. Foxes, squirrels, owls and hawks have been seen.

Norwood also has an area reserved for the brotherhood of the Greek community in London.

The establishment of the new Hendon Cemetery, together with the withdrawal of many long-established families to the countryside marked the beginning of the decline of the Cemetery of Norwood.

Very soon abandoned memorials became victims of looting and vandalism.