A FORECAST OF THE FUTURE.
“Now our sands are almost run:
More or little, and then dumb.”
SHAKESPEARE.
I ACKNOWLEDGE a hesitation in writing this chapter, because there are
many people who feel very strongly upon the subject of the disposal of
the dead, and whose feelings I wish in no way to appear to treat with
anything but the greatest consideration.
The custom of burying the body has been in practice in England ever
since Christianity was established here, and so completely did burial
take the place of burning that the latter expedient has never been
formally forbidden, or, until 1884, even referred to, in English law. It
is well that this fact should be clearly understood, viz., that it is
not illegal to dispose of a dead body by other means than by burial in
earth (unless it should be proved a public nuisance at common law), nor
has it been illegal in England in the past, but it has merely not been
the custom, “inhumation” having been systematically practised for a
thousand years.
It is natural that many beautiful thoughts should have been expressed by
our greatest writers in connection with the burial of the dead; it has
been a theme upon which poets have loved to dwell. The mourners, the
lych-gate, the weather-worn stones, the solemn stillness, the
yew-tree—they all furnish subjects for reflection and for verse.
Tennyson refers in terms of tenderest meaning to the yew-tree in the
churchyard in his “In Memoriam,” and even Tom Hood puts aside his joking
mood when he thinks of it—
“How wide the yew-tree spreads its gloom,
And o’er the dead lets fall its dew,
As if in tears it wept for them,
The many human families
That sleep around its stem!”
I confess I love these associations dearly, and it would be hard indeed
to give them up. But will they ever cling around our cemeteries? I think
not.
On the other hand, many very curious notions have arisen in connection
with this subject—notions as groundless as they are quaint. I will
mention three only, which are illustrated by the two following epitaphs,
the first of which is from St. Olave’s, Jewry, and the second from
Bermondsey, as quoted by Maitland:—
1. “Under this Tomb, the sacred Ashes hold,
The drossie Part of more celestiall Gold;
The Body of a Man, a Man of Men,
Whose worth to write at large, would loose my Pen.
Then do thy worst, Death, glut thyself with Dust,
The precious Soul is mounted to the Just.
Yet, Reader, when thou read’st, both read and weep,
That Men so good, so grave, so wise, do sleep.”
2. “Where once the famous _Elton_ did entrust
The Preservation of his sacred Dust,
Lyes pious _Whitaker_, both justly twined,
Both dead one Grave, both living had one Mind;
And by their dissolution have supply’d
The hungry Grave, and Fame and Heaven beside.
This stone protect their Bones, while Fame enrolls
Their deathless Name, and Heaven embrace their Souls.”
In the first we are told to weep because so good a man has gone, from
the second we are led to believe that the gravestone protects the body
of the departed, and both contain the idea that the grave or earth is
anxious to receive the mortal remains, and is more comfortable for
having done so. First there is the question of the weeping. It is very
usual, on gravestones and monuments, to find the order given to the
reader to “drop a tear.” And yet how impossible it is to carry it out.
Imagine dropping a tear all along a line of graves of people of whom one
has never heard, and who died 250 years ago! But happily there are quite
as many injunctions to the contrary, and we are as often told not to
weep:—
“Weep not for me, friends, though death us do sever,
I’m going to do nothing for ever and ever.”
This epitaph to a poor overworked woman is, perhaps, flippant. Here is a
more serious one, which was in the church of St. Martin Outwich:—
“Reader, thou may’st forbear to put thine Eyes
To charge For Tears, to mourn these Obsequies:
Such charitable Drops would best be given
To those who late, or never, come to Heaven.
But here you would, by weeping on this Dust,
Allay his Happiness with thy Mistrust;
Whose pious closing of his youthful Years
Deserves thy Imitation, not thy Tears.”
(_In memory of John Wight_, 1633.)
Secondly there is the question of the protecting gravestone. This is
also not uncommonly met with. The poet Gray’s well-known “Elegy in a
Country Churchyard” contains the following verse:—
“Yet e’en these bones from insult to protect
Some frail memorial still erected nigh,
With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked,
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh.”
But there could be few notions more false. Gravestones have often enough
been “moved about to give more appearance of room,” and oftener still
cleared away altogether, while the bodies beneath have been cast out
almost as soon as they were buried; and unfortunately there are many
country churchyards now which are terribly overcrowded. A short time
after the death of Lawrence Sterne his admirers collected money to put a
monument on his grave in St. George’s burial-ground, Bayswater Road. It
was erected in what was supposed to be about the right position—no one
could point to the exact spot where the body lay.
Thirdly we have the idea of the hungering grave, which is carried to a
ridiculous point in this passage from “The Wonderful Yeare 1603, wherein
is shewed the picture of London lying sicke of the Plague.”—“Let us look
forth, and try what consolation rises with the sun. Not any, not any;
for, before the jewel of the morning be fully set in silver, hundred
hungry graves stand gaping; and every one of them (as at a breakfast)
hath swallowed downe ten or eleven lifeless carcases. Before dinner, in
the same gulfe, are twice so many more devoured. And, before the Sun
takes his rest, those numbers are doubled.”
[Illustration: SHEEP IN THE SAVOY CHURCHYARD ABOUT 1825.]
Now the grave is not hungry, and the earth does not want dead bodies; it
is better without them. Yet, strangely enough, there is a certain
benefit to be derived from a moderate supply, and the most advanced
cremationists advocate the use of the few remaining ashes as manure for
some kinds of farm lands. Sir Henry Thompson, a cremationist worthy of
every honour, has referred to the great increase there would be in the
fish supply if burial at sea were generally practised, a plan approved
of by some _anti_-cremationists. We have seen that churchyard water has
been drunk for generations, and very bad it is. Churchyard poultry and
churchyard mutton are also common enough, many a poor parson being glad
to earn a few pounds in the year by allowing sheep to graze among the
graves. This is all very well in some country places, but it used to be
practised in London, and sheep have been actually killed by swallowing
with the grass the poisonous products of the overfilled ground. In the
Charterhouse graveyard there are some magnificent wall fruit trees, such
as are seldom seen in crowded towns; one of the Stepney pest-fields
became a market-garden; while breweries and burial-grounds seem to be
closely associated with each other.
But the question of paramount importance is how to stop the increase of
cemeteries. Are we ever to allow England to be divided like a
chess-board into towns and burial-places? What we have to consider is
how to dispose of the dead without taking so much valuable space from
the living. In the metropolitan area alone we have almost filled (and in
some places overfilled) twenty-four new cemeteries within sixty years,
with an area of above six hundred acres; and this is as nothing compared
with the huge extent of land used for interments just outside the limits
of the metropolis. If the cemeteries are not to extend indefinitely they
must in time be built upon, or they must be used for burial over and
over again, or the ground must revert to its original state as
agricultural land, or we must turn our parks and commons into
cemeteries, and let our cemeteries be our only recreation grounds—which
Heaven forbid!
I fail to understand how any serious-minded person can harbour the idea
that burning the body can be any stumbling-block in the way of its
resurrection, for the body returns “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust
to dust,” whether the process takes fifty years or fifty minutes. But
many people have a horror of the notion—they know it is sanitary, but
they think it irreverent. There are other alternatives, worthy of
careful consideration. Some have advocated burial at sea; others, and
among them Sir Seymour Haden, have pressed forward the advantages of
using perishable coffins, wicker baskets, and the like—a suggestion as
excellent as it is economical, for the sooner the earth and the body
meet the better it is. Perhaps, in this scientific generation, some one
may invent a totally new method of disposing of the dead, which will
commend itself both to those who advocate cremation and to those who
dislike it. He would indeed be a public benefactor, deserving of the
Faraday medal. But that cremation is on the increase cannot be denied.
Even Kensal Green Cemetery has now a “Columbarium,” which is an elegant
name for pigeon-holes for cinerary urns, built in 1892, with forty-two
little cupboards. Since the decision of Mr. Justice Stephen in the case
of Dr. William Price, in February, 1884, it has been recognised as legal
in England, and the crematoriums at Woking and elsewhere have been
frequently used. But if the practice is to become at all general it must
be advocated by a different set of people. It has, to a certain extent,
happened hitherto that those who have been cremated have been more or
less associated (I hope I may not be misunderstood here) with the
advanced school—those that consider themselves “enlightened,” Radicals,
or Socialists, or persons of little or no professed religious views.
This was not the case with the promoters of cremation, but it has been
so with some of their disciples, or at any rate many anti-cremationists
think so. The Rev. H. R. Haweis is excellent in his way—I speak of him
with the greatest respect—but I venture to think that cremation will not
be taken up very largely until a few such men as the Archbishop of York,
the Chief Rabbi, the Rev. Prebendary Webb Peploe, and Father Staunton
pronounce in its favour. Then it would soon be necessary to have a
crematorium in every cemetery.
[Illustration: THE COLUMBARIUM AT KENSAL GREEN.]
It is morbid and useless to make previous preparation for death, except
by life insurance, a proper will, and other business-like arrangements
for the benefit of survivors. It is foolish to erect, as many have done,
a tomb during lifetime (like the Miller’s tomb on Highdown Hill,
Sussex), to keep a coffin under the bed, or to have a picture of a
skeleton always on the wall. Such eccentric practices as that of the
gentleman who died in a house by Hyde Park, and, at his wish, had his
body kept in a coffin under a glass case on the roof of the house, are
not to be admired. We can never forget that our life here will have its
ending, our friends, companions, and neighbours are constantly leaving
us, our daily paper has its daily obituary column, and surely no
artificial method is needed to remind us of this fact. Cowper has said:
“Like crowded forest-trees we stand,
And some are marked to fall;
The axe will smite at God’s command,
And soon shall smite us all.”
The utmost we need do, if we do not want our bodies to rest in the
cemeteries, is to tell our friends that we wish them cremated, or buried
in perishable coffins, or quietly laid in some far-off, rural spot. All
else we may leave—it is in higher hands than ours; and already the
Church on earth, imperfect, faulty, and divided though she be, has
“mystic, sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.”
A few words in closing about the future of the disused burial-grounds in
London. I think they are tolerably safe now. I have attempted to show
how many there still are, closed and idle, or being used for a totally
wrong purpose, between Hampstead and Plumstead, Hammersmith and Bow; but
they are surely, if but slowly, being reclaimed and changed, one by one,
into places of rest and recreation for the living. The public mind has
so far awaked to the necessity of securing all the breathing-spaces
which may be had, that the smallest corner of land in which interments
can have been said to have taken place now forms a subject of litigation
if attempts are made to build upon it. Preservation is the first step
upon the ladder, acquisition the next, while conversion crowns them all.
I can foresee no better fate for the disused graveyards than that they
should become gardens or playgrounds. The churchyards must be gardens,
as green and bright and neat as they can be made, for the older people;
and the unconsecrated grounds, detached from places of worship, will
serve as playgrounds, many of them having to be reclaimed from their
present use as builders’ yards, cooperages, &c. Spa Fields, Clerkenwell,
a burial-ground to the history of which I have already referred, is a
typical London playground, in the very centre of the town, although
surrounded by courts and streets with such rural names as Rosoman
Street, Wood Street, Pear-tree Court and Vineyard Walk—grim reminders of
what the district was like a hundred years or more ago. Exmouth Street,
behind which this open space is situated, is worth a visit. I was there
recently, one Monday afternoon. Trucks and stalls with wares of all
kinds lined the narrow road, and there seemed scarcely a square yard
without a person on it. One woman was selling old garments, of which she
had only about six, and these were spread out on the road itself—in the
mud. A little farther on I noticed a stall, where two women were making
purchases of “freshly-boiled horse-flesh at 2d. a lb.” This was not cut
up as for cat’s meat, but was in large, dark brown, shapeless-looking
joints. In the middle of the street is the Church of the Holy Redeemer,
a huge structure in imitation of an Italian church. It stands on the
site of the Spa Fields Chapel, an old round building, removed a few
years ago, belonging to the Lady Huntingdon Connexion, which had a stone
obelisk in front of it to the memory of Lady Huntingdon, who lived in a
neighbouring house. Behind the church is the open space, which is nearly
two acres in extent. Originally taken for a tea-garden the speculation
failed, and the ground was used as a burial-ground, slightly lower fees
being charged than in the neighbouring churchyards. After being grossly
overcrowded it was closed for interments in 1853. For several years the
space has been used as a drill-ground by the 3rd Middlesex Artillery and
the 39th Middlesex Rifles; and in 1885 the Metropolitan Public Gardens
Association entered into negotiations with the owner, the Marquis of
Northampton, and he generously handed it over at a nominal rental for
the purposes of a children’s playground, and subsequently added to it
half an acre of adjoining land. The association drained it and carted a
large amount of soil and gravel into it, and put up some gymnastic
apparatus in the additional piece, which was not a part of the
burial-ground. The entrance is from Vineyard Walk, Farringdon Road. When
I last visited the playground, although it was a chilly afternoon, a
great many children were enjoying themselves, and some women were
swinging their little ones. But after or between school-hours is the
proper time to see it. Then it is crowded, and every swing, rope, pole,
bar, ladder, and skipping-rope is in use, and children are running about
all over the open part of the ground.
[Illustration: SPA FIELDS PLAYGROUND.]
It is a strange-looking place. On the north-west side is the unfinished
apse of the Church of the Holy Redeemer, and on the south side is the
parish mortuary, the presence of which does not seem to have any
sobering effect upon the children. I watched four boys on the giant’s
stride, and when they had vacated it a little girl of about eight years,
who had been sitting on a seat with a baby on her lap, and was knitting
a long strip with odd bits of coloured wools, beckoned to another
sad-looking little girl sitting on my seat, and off they went to take
the boys’ places. The baby was deposited on yet another seat, and it
wept copiously. But the children did not heed its cries; they had a
silent and vigorous turn at the giant’s stride, each holding on to two
ropes. They neither spoke nor smiled, and, when they had finished, the
one returned to her baby and her knitting and the other clambered on to
the back of the long-suffering and well-worn vaulting-horse. They are
very strong, some of these poor children, and it is wonderful what they
can do. The shabbiest often seem the most active. I noticed one little
lad, whose clothes were literally dropping to pieces—shoes, stockings,
knickerbockers, and blouse all in tatters—and he twisted himself about
on the handle swings, putting his toes through the handles, and
performing all sorts of gyrations which many a well-fed boy, clad in the
best of flannels, would have given his all to be able to accomplish.
A playground such as Spa Fields is about as different from an ordinary
village green, where country boys and girls romp and shout, as two
things with the same purpose can well be. For the soft, green grass, you
have gritty gravel; for the cackling geese who waddle into the pond, you
have a few stray cats walking on the walls; for the picturesque cottages
overgrown with roses and honeysuckle, you have the backs of little
houses, monotonous in structure, in colour, and in dirt; and instead of
resting “underneath the shadow vast of patriarchal tree,” you must be
content with a wooden bench close to the wall, bearing on its back the
name of the association which laid out the ground. But it is only
necessary to have once seen the joy with which the children of our
crowded cities hail the formation of such a playground, and the use to
which they put it, to be convinced that the trouble of acquiring it, or
the cost of laying it out, is amply repaid. They are so crowded at home,
so crowded at school, so crowded in the roads, that it seems hard to
lose one opportunity of securing a piece of ground, however small, where
they can be free to stretch their arms, their legs, and their lungs,
away from the dangers and the sad sights of the streets, under the
charge of a kindly caretaker,
“And where beadles and policemen
Never frighten them away.”
And can the dead beneath the soil object to the little feet above them?
I am sure they cannot. Even Gray, in describing Stoke Pogis Churchyard,
which is surrounded by meadows, rejoiced to see the “little footsteps
lightly print the ground.” Such a space as Spa Fields may never have
been consecrated for the use of the dead, but perchance the omission is
in part redeemed by its dedication to the living.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX A.
BURIAL-GROUNDS WITHIN THE METROPOLITAN AREA, WHICH STILL EXIST, WHOLLY
OR IN PART. ABRIDGED FROM THE RETURN PREPARED FOR THE LONDON COUNTY
COUNCIL IN THE SPRING OF 1895, AND CORRECTED UP TO DATE.
HAMPSTEAD.
1. _St. John’s Churchyard._—1½ acres in extent. It is full of
tombstones, but very neatly kept, and although not handed over to any
public authority, nor provided with seats, the gates are usually open.
2. _Burial-ground in Holly Lane._—1¼ acres. This is still used for
interments, and new graves are occasionally dug here. It was consecrated
in 1812. It is tidily kept, and the gates are open whenever the gardener
is on the ground.
3. _Hampstead Cemetery._—19½ acres. First used in 1876. Open daily. It
is well kept, except the part nearest to Fortune Green.
4. _The Tumulus, Parliament Hill Fields._—Excavated in 1894 by the
London County Council, and said to be an ancient British burial-place of
the early bronze period. Railed round for its protection.
N.B.—There are tumuli in Greenwich Park, and evidences of Roman
cemeteries and other ancient burial-places in several parts of London.
ST. MARYLEBONE.
5. _St. Marylebone Episcopal Chapel-ground_, High Street.—⅓ acre
This chapel was the parish church until 1816. The churchyard is full of
tombstones, closed and fairly neat.
6. _St. Marylebone Burial-ground_, Paddington Street, north side.—¾
acre. A mortuary was built in it a few years ago. The ground was
consecrated in 1772. It is closed to the public, but neatly kept and
used as a garden for the inmates of the adjoining workhouse.
7. _St. Marylebone_ (also called _St. George’s_) _Burial-ground_,
Paddington Street, south side.—2¼ acres. Consecrated in 1733, and very
much used. Since 1886 it has been maintained as a public garden by the
vestry, and is well kept.
8. _St. John’s Wood Chapel-ground._—An additional burial-ground for the
parish of Marylebone. 6 acres. The tombstones have not been moved, but
the Marylebone Vestry maintains the ground as a public garden. It has a
few seats in it, and is neatly kept.
PADDINGTON.
9. _St. Mary’s Churchyard._—1 acre. The tombstones have not been moved,
but the ground has been neatly laid out, and is kept open by the vestry.
10. _The Old Burial-ground_, Paddington.—3 acres. This adjoins St.
Mary’s Churchyard, and was laid out and opened as a public garden by the
vestry in 1885. It contains the site of an older church, dedicated to
St. James.
KENSINGTON.
11. _St. Mary Abbots Churchyard._—About 1¼ acres. The graveyard is
smaller than it was 20 years ago because the present church is far
larger than the original one, and recently a long porch or cloister has
been added. It is neatly laid out but closed to the public.
12. _Holy Trinity Churchyard_, Brompton.—3½ acres. There are public
thoroughfares through this ground, but they are railed off, and the
churchyard is closed and has a neglected appearance.
13. _Brompton Cemetery_, also called West London Cemetery and London and
Westminster Cemetery.—38 acres. First used in 1840. By 1889 upwards of
155,000 bodies had been interred there. It is crowded with tombstones,
and is in the midst of a thickly populated district.
14. _All Souls Cemetery_, Kensal Green, partly in Hammersmith.—69 acres.
Open daily and neatly kept. This cemetery has been in use since 1833,
and it is crowded with tombstones and contains catacombs and numerous
vaults and mausoleums.
15. _Burial-ground of the Franciscan Convent of St. Elizabeth_,
Portobello Road.—This is a triangular grass plot, not above ¼ acre in
size, in the garden behind the convent. It is surrounded by trees and
neatly kept. It was sanctioned by the Home Secretary in 1862, and is
only used for the interment of nuns, of whom five have been buried here,
the first in 1870 and the last in 1893.
HAMMERSMITH.
16. _St. Paul’s Churchyard._—1 acre. This is smaller than it used to be,
the present church being larger than the old one, and a piece of the
ground having been taken in 1884 to widen the road. It is neatly laid
out and often open, but not a public recreation ground. It was
consecrated in 1631, and frequently enlarged.
17. _St. Peter’s Churchyard_, Black Lion Lane.—1,800 square yards.
Closed and untidy.
18. _New West End Baptist Chapel-ground_, King Street.—¼ acre. This is
north and south of the chapel, the northern part having been encroached
upon. Closed and neatly kept.
19. _Wesleyan Chapel Burial-ground_, Waterloo Street.—The chapel has
been supplanted by a Board School, and the playground is the site of the
burial-ground. It is tar-paved, has a few trees in it, and is about 500
square yards in size.
20. _Friends Burial-ground_, near the Creek.—300 square yards. This is
on the north side of the Friends meeting-house, and is closed, but very
neat. There are a few flat tombstones, and burials took place until
about 1865.
21. _St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery_, Kensal Green.—30 acres. The
first interment was in 1858, and it is now crowded with vaults,
tombstones, &c. It is open daily and neatly kept.
22. _The Cemetery of the Benedictine Nunnery_, Fulham Palace Road.—This
is a small burial-ground in the garden. According to a report from the
Home Office it is about 14 by 12 yards in extent. It was in use before
1829, but was closed for interment some years ago.
23. _The Cemetery of the Convent_ (_Nazareth Home_), in Hammersmith
Road.—This is at the extreme end of the garden, under the wall of Great
Church Lane. It is not more than 12 yards by 9 yards, and is used for
the interment of the sisters, burials only taking place at considerable
intervals. This ground has been in use for upwards of 40 years.
FULHAM.
24. _All Saints’ Churchyard._—Two acres or more. This is kept open
during the summer months, and has seats in it, but the gravestones have
not been moved, nor has the ground been handed over to any public
authority for maintenance. It is neatly kept. No new graves are dug in
it, but where the rights can be proved certain old vaults are still
occasionally used.
25. _St. Mary’s Churchyard_, Hammersmith Road.—Size ½ acre. This ground
is closed, but fairly tidy. Several of the tombstones have been moved.
26. _St. John’s Churchyard_, Walham Green.—½ acre. There are only a few
tombstones on the north side of the church and none on the south side,
and the ground is closed and appears neglected.
27. _St. Thomas’s Roman Catholic Churchyard_, Fulham.—2,600 square
yards. This ground was closed by order in Council in 1857, but only
partially, for new graves are still dug in it, in the midst of a
densely-populated district of new streets. The gate is usually open.
28. _Lillie Road pest-field_ (the orchard of Normand House).—The site of
this orchard, then 4 acres in extent, was used extensively for burials
at the time of the Great Plague. Lintaine Grove now occupies part of it,
and a row of houses in Lillie Road. Only about ¾ acre is still unbuilt
upon, at the corner of Tilton Street, and this is offered for sale.
29. _Fulham Cemetery._—12½ acres. First used in 1865. Open daily.
30. _Hammersmith Cemetery_, in Fulham Fields.—16½ acres. First used in
1869. Open daily.
CHELSEA.
31. _St. Luke’s Churchyard_ (the old church on the Embankment).—¼ acre.
This ground is closed and neglected.
32. _St. Luke’s Churchyard_ (the new church in Robert Street).—2¼ acres.
This ground was consecrated in 1812, and contains vaults and catacombs.
It was laid out as a public garden and is maintained by the Chelsea
Vestry.
33. _Old Burial-ground_, King’s Road.—¾ acre. Given to the parish of
Chelsea by Sir Hans Sloane, consecrated in 1736, and enlarged in 1790. A
mortuary has been built in it. It is laid out as a garden for the use of
the inmates of the adjoining workhouse. Fragments of an old chapel and
graveyard have been found here.
34. _Chelsea Hospital Graveyard_, Queen’s Road.—1⅓ acres. This ground
was used for the interment of the pensioners. It is closed, but neatly
kept.
35. _All Souls Roman Catholic Burial-ground_, Cadogan Terrace.—1½ acres.
The adjoining chapel (St. Mary’s) was consecrated in 1811. The ground is
closed and full of tombstones.
36. _Moravian Burial-ground_, Milman’s Row.—The part actually used for
interments is fenced in and closed. It is neatly kept, the tombstones
being very small flat ones. It belongs to the Congregation of the
Moravian Church in Fetter Lane, E.C., and was closed by order in Council
about 8 years ago.
37. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Fulham Road.—½ acre. It belongs to the
Western Synagogue, St. Alban’s Place, S.W., and was first used in 1813.
It is closed to the public except between 11 and 4 on Sundays.
ST. GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE.
38. _St. George’s Burial-ground_, Mount Street.—1¼ acres. Laid out as a
public garden, and beautifully kept by the vestry. The ground dates from
about 1730, but there are very few tombstones.
39. _St. George’s Burial-Ground_, Bayswater Road.—Laid out by the
vestry, the gravestones having been placed round the walls. The
approaches to this ground are its chief drawback, and it is not visible
from any public road. One entrance is through the chapel facing Hyde
Park, and the other is in a mews. It is about 5 acres in extent.
WESTMINSTER (ST. MARGARET AND ST. JOHN).
40. _The Churchyard of Westminster Abbey._—What remains of the extensive
burial-ground which once occupied this site is the piece of land on the
north side of the Abbey, and the cloisters. (See _St. Margaret’s_.)
41. _St. Margaret’s Churchyard._—This was laid out as a public garden,
and forms one ground with the Abbey churchyard. It is well kept up by
the burial board of the parish. The size of the churchyard, with the
ground used for interments which belongs to the Abbey, is about 2¼
acres.
42. _Christ Church Churchyard_, Victoria Street (also called St.
Margaret’s burying-ground).—This church was a chapel of ease to St.
Margaret’s. The adjoining graveyard has had a vicarage built in it. What
remains is 7,000 square yards in size, closed, with flat tombstones and
grass.
43. _St. John the Evangelist Churchyard_, Smith Square.—This churchyard
used to extend, at the beginning of the century, for some distance on
the south side of the church, but was thrown into the road. Now all that
remains is a very small bare enclosure, not ¼ acre in size, railed in
round the church.
44. _Additional ground for St. John’s Parish_, Horseferry Road.—Walled
in in 1627, and very much used, especially for the burial of soldiers.
It is 1½ acres in size, and has been laid out as public garden. It is
neatly kept by the vestry, and much frequented.
45. _Vincent Square._—8 acres. This is what remains of the Tothill
Fields pest-field. It is the playground of Westminster School, and some
buildings have been erected in it. A stone-paved yard in Earl Street is
said to be the site of the plague-pits.
46. _Millbank Penitentiary Burial-ground._—432 square yards in size. In
1830-33 there were an average of 14 interments per annum, but at times
it was more used. The site of this graveyard will be preserved when the
space which used to be occupied by the prison is built upon.
47. _Knightsbridge Green._—Victims of the plague from the leper hospital
and elsewhere were buried here. A grassy, closed triangle opposite
Tattersalls.
ST. MARTIN’S IN THE FIELDS.
48. _St. Martin’s Churchyard._—⅓ acre. This is stone-paved, has trees
and seats in it supplied by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association,
and is maintained by the vestry.
49. _Additional ground in Drury Lane._—Less than ¼ acre. Laid out as a
public garden, and now maintained by the vestry. It is well kept, and
contains some gymnastic apparatus for the use of the children. Also
called the Tavistock burial-ground.
ST. JAMES’S, WESTMINSTER.
50. _St. James’s Churchyard_, Piccadilly.—½ acre. This is a dreary
ground, and might be made very attractive. The part where most burials
took place is considerably raised above the rest. The yard on the north
side of the church is entirely paved with stones, amongst which are many
tombstones. In the upper part tombstones form the walks, the walls, &c.
One gate is often unlatched.
51. _St. James’s Workhouse Ground_, Poland Street.—The workhouse was
built upon a “common cemetery” where, at the time of the plague, many
thousands of bodies were interred. A small part of it was kept as the
workhouse burial-ground, but this has now disappeared, and all that is
left of the original ground used for interments is the garden or
courtyard of the workhouse. It is a pleasant recreation ground for the
inmates, and is well supplied with seats, being about ¼ acre in extent.
THE STRAND.
52. _St. Mary le Strand Churchyard._—At the west end of the church,
about 200 square yards in size, closed and not well kept.
53. _Additional ground, Russell Court, Catherine Street._—430 square
yards. It is probable that few grounds in London were more overcrowded
with bodies than this one, which was entirely surrounded by the backs of
small houses. When closed in 1853 it was in a very disgusting and
unwholesome condition, and it continued to be most wretched until the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association asphalted it in 1886. It is
maintained as a children’s playground by the London County Council. This
is the scene of “Tom all alone’s” in “Bleak House.” There are 6
gravestones against the wall.
54. _St. Clement Danes Churchyard._—This is now ¼ acre in extent, having
been curtailed when the Strand was altered. It is closed.
55. _Additional ground, Portugal Street._—This was called the
“Green-ground,” and was crowded with bodies. A corner of King’s College
Hospital was built upon the ground. The remaining piece is nearly ½ acre
in size, between the hospital and Portugal Street. It is now the
entrance drive and a grass plot. It is neatly kept, with some trees and
seats in it, and is used solely by the hospital.
56. _St. Paul’s Churchyard_, Covent Garden.—¾ acre. Given by the Earl of
Bedford in 1631. It is closed and very neat, the tombstones forming a
flat paved yard round the church, while the rest of the ground is
turfed.
57. _St. Ann’s Churchyard_, Soho.—½ acre. It is estimated that in this
small ground and the vaults under the church 110,240 bodies were
interred during 160 years. It was laid out by the Metropolitan Public
Gardens Association in 1892, and is maintained as a recreation ground in
very good order by the Strand District Board of Works.
58. _The Churchyard of the Chapel Royal_ (_St. Mary’s_), Savoy.—¼ acre.
This ground was much used for the internment of soldiers. It belongs to
Her Majesty the Queen, as Duchess of Lancaster, and was laid out as a
public garden at the cost of the Queen, the Earl of Meath, and others.
It is well maintained by the parish.
ST. GILES IN THE FIELDS.
59. _St. Giles’ Churchyard._—Nearly an acre. This ground being
originally consecrated by a Roman Catholic, was much used by the poor
Irish. It was enlarged in 1628, and at various subsequent dates, and was
very much overcrowded, and it occupies the site of an ancient graveyard
attached to a leper hospital. It has been laid out as a public garden,
and is maintained by the St. Giles’ District Board of Works. The
brightest part of the ground is north of the church, and this is only
opened at the discretion of the caretaker.
HOLBORN.
60. _Additional ground for St. John’s, Clerkenwell_, in Benjamin
Street.—This land, which is nearly ¼ acre in extent, was consecrated in
1775. It was laid out as a public garden ten years ago, and is
maintained by trustees with help from the Holborn District Board of
Works and the Clerkenwell Vestry. Very well kept.
61. _Charterhouse Square._—This garden is a part of the site of a
burial-ground dating back to 1349, when Sir Walter de Manny purchased
from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital 13 acres of land, known as the Spittle
Croft, for the burial of those who died in the plague of that time. In
20 years 50,000 bodies were interred there. In 1371 the Carthusian
Monastery was built upon it. This Pardon Churchyard was a space of three
acres acquired a year earlier, to which the plague-ground was added.
This Pardon Churchyard survived longer, being used for suicides and
executed people. Charterhouse Square is 1¼ acres.
62. _The old Charterhouse Graveyard._—In 1828 to 1830, when the present
Pensioners’ Court and other buildings were erected, part of this ground
was built upon; but part exists in the courtyard on each side of the
Pensioners’ Courts, being about ⅓ acre in extent. All the open land has
been used at one time or another for burials.
63. _The new Charterhouse Burial-ground._—When the above ground was done
away with, a smaller piece to the north was set aside for the interment
of the pensioners. This remains still, and is very neatly kept. There
are a few gravestones on the wall and splendid fruit trees. It is about
¼ acre in extent.
CLERKENWELL.
64. _St. James’s Churchyard._—¾ acre. This ground was purchased in 1673,
enlarged in 1677, and is now laid out as a public garden and maintained
by the vestry.
65. _Additional ground, Bowling Green Lane_ (called St. James’s middle
ground).—This was leased by the parish, with the adjoining “Cherry Tree”
public-house, in 1775 for 99 years. It is ¼ acre in size, situated at
the corner of Rosoman Street and Bowling Green Lane. The London School
Board secured it when the lease ran out, and it is now the playground of
the Bowling Green Lane School.
66. _The Burial-ground of St. James’s_, Pentonville Road.––This was
formed as an additional ground for the parish of St. James, Clerkenwell.
It is nearly an acre in extent, full of tombstones and very untidy, but
the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association has undertaken to convert it
into a public garden.
67. _St. John’s Churchyard._—What exists of this is between the church
and St. John Street, a narrow strip, about 320 square yards in extent,
closed and paved with tiles and tombstones. Its laying out by the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association is in hand.
68. _Spa Fields Burial-ground_, Exmouth Street.—Originally a tea-garden,
afterwards a burial-ground, managed by a private individual. It is the
property of the Marquis of Northampton, is about 1¾ acres in extent, and
in the evenings is occasionally used as a volunteer drill-ground. In
1885 the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association laid it out as a
playground, and the London County Council maintains it.
ST. PANCRAS.
69. _St. Pancras Burial-ground_, Pancras Road.
70. _St. Giles in The Fields Burial-ground_, Pancras Road.—These two
grounds now form one garden, about 6 acres in extent, maintained with
much care for the use of the public by St. Pancras Vestry. St. Giles’
ground dates from 1803, but the other is much older. In 1889 part of St.
Pancras ground was acquired under a special Act by the Midland Railway
Company. This part was, in 1791, assigned to the French _Émigrés_, and
many celebrated Frenchmen and Roman Catholics were buried there. Part of
it has not actually been built upon, as the railway goes over it on
arches. There are many high stacks of tombstones in the garden, and a
“trophy” and a “dome” of headstones, numbering 496, which were taken
from the part acquired by the railway.
71. _St. Martin’s in the Fields Burial-ground_ in Pratt Street.—1¾
acres. This was consecrated in 1805. It is now a well-kept public garden
under the control of the St. Pancras Vestry. A part appears to have been
appropriated as a private garden for the almshouses and as a site for a
chapel and other buildings.
72. _St. James’s Burial-ground_, Hampstead Road.—This belongs to the
parish of St. James, Piccadilly. It was laid out as a public garden in
1887, and is maintained by the St. Pancras Vestry, a large slice at the
east end having been taken off for public improvements. The remaining
portion measures about 3 acres.
73. _St. Andrew’s Burial-ground_, Gray’s Inn Road.—1¼ acres. This ground
belongs to the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, adjoins the church of Holy
Trinity, and is maintained as a public garden by the St. Pancras Vestry.
It is well kept, except a railed-off piece south of the church, which is
a sort of lumber-room.
74. _The Burial-ground of St. George’s_, Bloomsbury.
75. _The Burial-ground of St. George the Martyr_, Bloomsbury.—These are
out of Wakefield Street, Gray’s Inn Road, and together form one public
garden maintained by the St. Pancras Vestry, and very well kept. A part
of the latter, which was consecrated in 1714, is still closed. Each
ground is 1¼ acres in extent. There are vaults under the church in Hart
Street.
76. _Whitfield’s Tabernacle Burial-ground_, Tottenham Court
Road.—Somewhat less than ½ acre. The London County Council opened it as
a public garden in February, 1895. It is said that in 97 years upwards
of 30,000 bodies were interred in this ground.
77. _Wesleyan Chapel-ground_, Liverpool Street, King’s Cross.—An untidy
little closed yard at the west end of the chapel containing two
tombstones and much rubbish, and measuring about 225 square yards.
78. _St. James’s Cemetery_, Highgate.—38 acres. First used in 1839. In
50 years 76,000 interments had taken place. It is in two portions and
situated on a steep slope. Open daily.
ISLINGTON.
79. _St. Mary’s Churchyard._—1⅓ acres. This ground was enlarged in 1793,
and was laid out as a public garden in 1885. It is maintained by the
vicar and churchwardens.
80. _Additional ground round the Chapel of Ease in Holloway Road._—4
acres. This is also laid out as a public garden, and is beautifully kept
by the Islington Vestry.
81. _Burial-ground of St. John’s Roman Catholic Church_, Duncan Row.—½
acre. A strip at the northern end of this ground is railed off with some
tombstones in it, the remainder being tar-paved and used as a playground
for the boys’ Roman Catholic school.
82. _Islington Chapel-ground_, Church Street (also called Little Bunhill
Fields).—The original chapel was built in 1788, and had a small
graveyard. In 1817 the Rev. Evan Jones bought the garden of 5, Church
Row, and added it to this graveyard, the whole ground being nearly 1
acre in extent. It is now in several divisions, part is a yard belonging
to the General Post Office, and the other parts are let and sold as
builders’ yards, or are vacant.
83. _Maberley Chapel-ground_, Ball’s Pond Road.—Now called Earlham Hall.
The ground is about 270 square yards, between the chapel and the road.
It is closed and bare.
84. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Ball’s Pond.—1¼ acres. This belongs to the
West London Synagogue, is very neatly kept, and is still in use. It is
full of very large tombstones.
ST. LUKE’S.
85. _St. Luke’s Churchyard_, Old Street.—In two parts. Size of the whole
ground, nearly 1¾ acres. The piece round the church is closed, and full
of large altar tombs, ivy being planted most profusely. There is a great
deal of rubbish in it. The part on the north side was laid out as a
public garden in 1878, and is maintained by the vestry.
86. _The Poor ground_, Bath Street.—¼ acre. This was originally larger
than it is now. It was consecrated in 1662 for the parish of St. Giles,
Cripplegate, and called the pest-house ground. After 1732, when St.
Luke’s parish was formed, it was used by that parish. Now it is neatly
laid out and used as a recreation ground by the patients of the St.
Luke’s Asylum. It is ¼ acre in extent.
87. _Wesleyan Chapel-ground_, City Road.—½ acre. The part in front of
the chapel is neatly kept, but the part behind is closed and not so
tidy. Wesley himself was buried in a vault here.
88. _Bunhill Fields._—5 or 6 acres. This was originally two grounds, the
southern part having been intended for burials in the Great Plague, but
not being used was let by the Corporation to a Mr. John Tyndall, who
carried it on as a private cemetery. Subsequently the northern part was
added, and the whole ground extensively used for the interment of
Dissenters. The Corporation maintain it as a public garden, but the
tombstones have not been moved, and only the gates at the eastern end
are generally open.
89. _The Friends Burial-ground_, Bunhill Row.—Acquired in 1661, many
times added to, and chiefly used by the Friends of the Peel and
Bull-and-Mouth divisions. In 1840 a school was built in it. The existing
portion is about ½ acre in size, and is neatly kept as a private garden;
but the remainder was used as the site for a Board School, a coffee
palace, houses and shops, including the Bunhill Fields Memorial
Buildings, erected in 1881.
90. _St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Ground_, Seward Street.—⅓ acre. This was
used for the interment of the unclaimed bodies. After being closed it
was let as a carter’s yard until it was laid out as a public playground
by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1891. It is maintained
by St. Luke’s Vestry.
91. _Cripplegate Poor ground_, Whitecross Street.—It was called the
“upper churchyard” of St. Giles, and was first used in 1636. It was very
much overcrowded, the fees being low. A part of the site is occupied by
the church and mission-house of St. Mary, Charterhouse, erected in 1864,
and only a very small courtyard now exists between these buildings, with
a large vault.
92. _The City Bunhill (or Golden Lane) Burial-ground._—¼ acres. This was
the site of a brewery, and set aside for burials in 1833. About
one-third of it is in the City. It is now divided. One part is in the
occupation of Messrs. Sutton and Co., carriers, and is full of sheds and
carts, the greater part being roofed in, and the southern part has the
City mortuary and coroner’s court on it. What is unbuilt upon is a neat,
private yard between these two buildings. It was closed for burials in
1853.
SHOREDITCH.
93. _St. Leonard’s Churchyard._—1½ acres. Maintained as a public garden
by the Shoreditch Vestry. It is, I believe, partly in Bethnal Green.
94. _Old Burial-ground_, Hackney Road.—½ acre. This has an ancient
watch-house in it, which was subsequently used as a cholera hospital. In
1892 the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association laid it out as a public
playground, and it is maintained by the Burial Board.
95. _Holywell Mount Burial-ground._—Behind St. James’s Church, Curtain
Road, which occupies the site of a theatre of Shakespeare’s time. The
ground is very old, and was much used at the time of plagues, and many
actors are buried there. There is only about ⅓ acre left, the greater
part having been used as the site for a parish room, and this is a
timber-yard approached from Holywell Row.
96. _St. Mary’s Churchyard_, Haggerston.—1⅓ acre. This is maintained by
the Shoreditch Burial Board as a public garden, open during the summer.
It was laid out by the Earl and Countess of Meath in 1882.
97. _St. John’s Churchyard_, Hoxton.—1¼ acres. Also maintained by the
Shoreditch Burial Board, and laid out by the Earl and Countess of Meath.
98. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Hoxton Street.—¼ acre. This belongs to the
United Synagogue, and was used from 1700 till 1795. There is no grass,
but many tombstones, and some one is sent four times a year to clear
away the weeds, &c. It is not a tidy ground.
HACKNEY.
99. _St. John at Hackney Churchyard._—6 acres. This includes an older
ground, attached to the original church of St. Augustine, of which the
tower still remains. Part of the churchyard is laid out as a public
garden, and is neatly kept by the Hackney District Board of Works, but
the newer part to the south of the church is still full of tombstones
and rather untidy grass. The newest part of all, “the poor ground,”
which is at the extreme southern end, is laid out for the use of
children.
100. _West Hackney Churchyard_, Stoke Newington Road.—Nearly 1½ acres.
This was consecrated in 1824, and laid out as a public garden in 1885.
It is maintained by the Hackney District Board of Works.
101. _St. Barnabas’s Churchyard_, Homerton.—¾ acre. This ground is not
open, but a good deal of care is shown in its management. In 1884 the
Easter offerings were devoted to its improvement, and many tombstones
were then laid flat.
102. _St. John of Jerusalem Churchyard_, South Hackney.—About ¾ acre.
This was consecrated in 1831. It is full of tombstones, and the grass is
not well kept, but it is usually open for people to pass through. It was
closed for burials in 1868.
103. _Wells Street Burial-ground._—This contains the site of the
original South Hackney Church. It was laid out as a public garden in
1885, and is very neatly kept by the Hackney District Board of Works.
Nearly ¾ acre.
104. _Independent Chapel-ground_, Mare Street (also called St. Thomas’
Square Burial-ground).—⅔ acre. Laid out in 1888, and maintained by the
Hackney District Board of Works, who paid, £100 for a passage to join
this ground with No. 103, one caretaker managing both of them. It is
very bright and neat. The ornamental shelter occupies the site of a
previous building.
105. _Baptist Chapel-ground_, Mare Street.—About 500 square yards at the
back of the chapel. There are several tombstones tumbling about, and the
ground is very untidy.
106. _New Gravel Pit Chapel-ground_, Chatham Place, attached to the
Unitarian Church.—¾ acre. This is full of tombstones and fairly tidy.
The gate is usually open, the chapel-keeper living behind the chapel,
and having a green-house and fowl-house, &c., in the ground.
107. _Retreat Place._—A garden in front of 12 almshouses, founded in
1812 “for the widows of Dissenting ministers professing Calvinistic
doctrines.” Samuel Robinson, the founder, and his wife, are buried in
the middle of the garden.
108. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Grove-street.—2¼ acres. This belongs to the
United Synagogue, and was purchased in 1788. It is closed and full of
erect tombstones, and has some trees and flower-beds near the entrance.
STOKE NEWINGTON.
109. _St. Mary’s Churchyard_, Stoke Newington.—¾ acre. A very pretty
ground round the old church, but not laid out or opened.
110. _Friend’s Burial-ground_, Park Street, Stoke Newington, adjoining
the meeting-house.—¾ acre. This was bought in 1827, and enlarged in
1849. It is still in use and neatly kept, but not open to the public.
111. _Abney Park Cemetery._—32 acres. First used in 1840. Neatly kept
and open daily, being chiefly used by Dissenters. It is crowded with
tombstones.
BETHNAL GREEN.
112. _St. Matthew’s Churchyard._—About 2 acres. This was consecrated in
1746, and was much overcrowded. A mortuary was built in it some years
ago. There are vaults under the schools as well as the church. It is
closed, but negotiations are on foot respecting its conversion into a
garden.
113. _St. Peter’s Churchyard_, Hackney Road.—¼ acre. This churchyard is
maintained as a public garden by the vicar, who opens it during the
summer months. There are not many tombstones.
114. _St. Bartholomew’s Churchyard_, near Cambridge Road.—Nearly an
acre. This was laid out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association
in 1885, and is maintained by the London County Council. It is immensely
appreciated.
115. _St. James the Less Churchyard_, Old Ford Road.—Over an acre.
Closed and considerably below the church. It contains about 10
tombstones, and several cocks and hens live in it. It is bare and damp.
116. _Providence Chapel Burial-ground_, Shoreditch Tabernacle, Hackney
Road, was built on the site of the chapel. Part of the graveyard exists
as a tar-paved yard or passage by the Tabernacle, with 4 tombstones
against the walls.
117. _Victoria Park Cemetery._—11 acres. This is maintained as a public
garden by the London County Council, having been laid out in 1894 by the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association. It was formed in 1845, and used
for 40 years. Before being laid out it was a most dreary,
neglected-looking place; the soil is a heavy clay, and there used to be
large wet lumps lying about all over the ground. At a burial in 1884 the
clerk brought a handful of earth out of his pocket to throw upon the
coffin. Now it is a bright, useful, little park, and is called Meath
Gardens.
118. _Peel Grove Burial-ground_ (also called North-East London Cemetery,
Cambridge Heath or Road Burial-ground and Keldy’s Ground). According to
a return in 1855 it was 4 acres in extent, but now there is hardly one
acre. It is in the occupation of J. Glover and Sons, dealers in building
materials, and is full of wood, pipes, &c. There are some sheds in it.
It was a private ground, formed 100 years ago, and was very much
crowded. The late Metropolitan Board of Works saved the existing part
from being built over. Before its present use it was often let out for
shows, fairs, &c.
119. _Gibraltar Walk Burial-ground_, Bethnal Green Road.—Another private
ground, formed about 100 years ago. It belongs to a lady who lives in
the house which opens into it, and who has let pieces of it as yards for
the shops and houses round. It is full of shrubs, trees, and weeds, and
covered with rubbish, and is about ¾ acre in size.
120. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Brady Street.—This existed 100 years ago,
and belongs to the United Synagogue. I believe it is about 4 acres. It
is crowded with upright gravestones, and there are no properly made
paths, but it is covered with neglected grass. Part of it is higher than
the rest, the soil having been raised and the ground having been used a
second time. This was the “Strangers’” portion.
WHITECHAPEL.
121. _St. Mary’s Churchyard._—¾ acre. This is a very old churchyard, and
was much overcrowded. It is maintained by the rector as a garden, but a
charge of 1d. is made for entrance. It is neatly laid out.
122. _Additional ground, Whitechapel Road_, entrance in St. Mary’s
Street.—This was called the workhouse burial-ground, the workhouse
having been built in 1768 upon a former graveyard, and this piece to the
north of it having then been set aside for interments and consecrated in
1796. The workhouse site was built upon some years ago, and the
burial-ground became the playground of the Davenant Schools, one of
which, the one facing St. Mary’s Street, was built in it. In the order
for closing it, dated May 9, 1853, it is called the Whitechapel
Workhouse and Schools Ground. It is difficult to say exactly how far
east the burial-ground extended, but from the Ordnance map and some
older plans it would appear that the recent addition to the school in
Whitechapel Road has been built in the burial-ground. In 1833 the size
was given as 2,776 square yards, but it was stated that in 1832 196
cholera cases were interred in an adjoining piece of ground. This is
probably what is now used as a stoneyard, with carts in it.
123. _Christ Church Churchyard_, Spitalfields.—1¾ acres. Laid out as a
public garden by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1892,
the association having undertaken to maintain it for 5 years.
124. _St. Peter and Vincula Churchyard_, in the Tower.—This, with the
vaults under the church, was used for the interment of distinguished
prisoners. It is a part of the great courtyard, and is about 525 square
yards in extent.
125. _Holy Trinity Churchyard_, Minories.—A burial-ground possibly
dating back to 1348. It has been added to the roadway of Church Street,
some posts showing its boundaries. It was about 302 square yards in
extent. Part has been built upon.
126. _Aldgate Burial-ground_, Cartwright Street.—This belongs to the
parish of St. Botolph, Aldgate, and was consecrated in 1615. At the
beginning of this century it was covered with small houses, the Weigh
House School being built on it in 1846. The rookery was cleared by the
Metropolitan Board of Works, and Darby Street was made, gravestones and
remains being then discovered. The Metropolitan Public Gardens
Association informed the Board of the former existence of a
burial-ground, with the result that what remained of the burial-ground
was not built upon, but was made into an asphalted playground, about ⅛
acre in extent, for the children of the adjoining block of tenements.
127. _German Lutheran Church_, Little Alie Street.—A small yard exists
at the back of the church. Closed.
128. _Friends Burial-ground_, Baker’s Row.—Very nearly an acre. This
belonged to the Friends of the Devonshire House division, who acquired
it in 1687. It is leased by the society to the Whitechapel District
Board of Works, who maintain it as a public recreation ground. It is
well laid out and well kept, being chiefly used by children.
129. _Mile End New Town Burial-ground_, Hanbury Street.—This adjoined
the chapel, and extended from Hanbury Street to Old Montague Street. A
school and other buildings have been erected in it, and all that is left
is a paved yard, about 250 square yards in size, on the west side of the
chapel.
130. _Sheen’s Burial-ground_, Church Lane.—A private ground, immensely
used. It seems to have been at one time used by the congregation of the
Baptists in Little Alie Street, and was then called “Mr. Brittain’s
burial-ground.” If so it existed in 1763. After being closed for burials
it was used as a cooperage, and now it is Messrs. Fairclough’s yard, and
full of carts and sheds, &c. A new stable was built in 1894, but the
London County Council declined to prevent its erection. The size of the
ground is about ½ acre.
131. _The Landon Hospital Burial-ground._—In a plan of 1849 the whole of
the southern part of the enclosure is marked as a burial-ground, which
would be 1½ acres in extent. It was closed on November 25, 1853, but at
the hospital it is stated that bodies were interred there after 1859,
though not after 1864. Since then the medical school, the chaplain’s
house, and the nurses’ home have been built in it. The remaining part of
the ground is used as a garden and tennis-lawn for the students and
nurses.
ST. GEORGE’S IN THE EAST.
132. _St. George’s Churchyard._—Dates from about 1730. The wall between
this ground and the next one was taken down in 1875, and the two grounds
were laid out as a public garden. They are maintained by the vestry,
and, although in a densely crowded district, are beautifully kept. The
size of the whole garden, consisting of the two graveyards, is about 3
acres.
133. _St. George’s Wesleyan Chapel-ground_, Cable Street.—This forms one
garden with the above.
134. _New Road Congregational Chapel-yard_, Cannon Street Road, between
Lower and Upper Chapman Streets.—This was a much-used burial-ground,
part of which has been covered with sheds and houses. What is left is
about ⅓ acre in extent. The chapel was bought in 1832, and became
Trinity Episcopal Chapel, and was subsequently removed and its site used
for the new building of Raine’s School. The burial-ground is in three
parts, viz., the playground of the school, a cooper’s yard, belonging to
Messrs. Hasted and Sons, and a carter’s yard of Messrs. Seaward
Brothers.
135. _Danish Burial-ground_, Wellclose Square.—The Danish (or Mariners’)
Church has been supplanted by the Schools of St. Paul’s, London Docks,
and the whole of the garden is neatly laid out, and used as a private
ground for the people who look after the schools, the crèche, &c. There
are no tombstones now, and it is possible that only an enclosure round
the church was used, like the railed-in enclosure in Prince’s Square.
136. _Swedish Burial-ground_, Prince’s Square.—Round the Eleanora
Church, over ½ acre in size. It is very neatly laid out and well kept,
and contains many tombstones.
137. _Ebenezer Chapel Burial-ground_, St. George’s Street.—This was
described in 1839 as being very much overcrowded. The chapel has been
used us a school, but is now deserted, the small yard on the south side
of it is used as a timber-yard and closed. About 220 square yards.
138. _Congregational Chapel-ground_, Old Gravel Lane.—140 square yards.
Closed, bare, and untidy, with two gravestones against the wall.
139. _Baptist Burial-ground_, Broad Street, Wapping.—Mentioned by
Maitland in 1756, and shown on Rocque’s plan. The chapel has gone, but
part of the adjoining yard exists as a small yard belonging to a
milkman. Before he bought it it was the parish stoneyard. It is about
200 square yards in size. I have little doubt that this is a
burial-ground.
140. _Roman Catholic Burial-ground_, Commercial Road.—The tombstones are
flat and the ground is used as a private garden for the priests. It is
about ½ acre in extent.
LIMEHOUSE.
141. _St. Anne’s Churchyard._—3 acres. Consecrated 1730, and since
enlarged, but in 1800 a piece was cut of for Commercial Road, the bodies
being removed south of the church. Laid out as a public garden by the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1887, and now maintained by
the London County Council. It is nearly kept, except the private passage
to the mortuary.
142. _St. Paul’s Churchyard_, Shadwell.—¾ acre. Consecrated in 1671, but
used before that as a pest-field for Stepney. Laid out by the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1886, and now maintained and
kept in good order by the London County Council.
143. _St. James’s Churchyard_, Ratcliff.—Nearly 1 acre. Laid out as a
public garden by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1891,
and maintained by the vicar.
144. _St. John’s Churchyard_, Wapping.—600 square yards. Consecrated in
1617. This ground used to be very low and full of water. It is closed
and fairly tidy, having many large altar tombs in it.
145. _Additional ground opposite St. John’s Church._—Rather over ½ acre.
This was one of the Stepney pest-fields. It is closed, but tidy. There
are quantities of tombstones in this ground, many of which seem to be
falling to pieces, and an unusual number of trees and flowering shrubs.
146. _Friends Burial-ground_, Brook Street. Ratcliff.—800 square yards.
This is approached through the house on the south side of the
meeting-house. It was acquired by the Society of Friends in 1666 or
1667, the land being originally copyhold, but enfranchised in 1734 for
£21. It is neatly kept, and has four small upright stones.
147. _Brunswick Wesleyan Chapel-ground_, Three Colt Lane.—Approached by
a passage at the back of the chapel. It is about 450 square yards in
size, and is used as a private garden. There are vaults under the chapel
and three tombstones. It is said that about 1,000 bodies were buried
here, the last interment taking place in 1849.
MILE END OLD TOWN.
148. _St. Dunstan’s Churchyard Stepney._—About 6 acres, or rather more.
At the time of the Great Plague about 150 bodies were interred here
daily, and several extra grounds were provided for the parish. It was
laid out as a public garden in 1887 by the Metropolitan Public Gardens
Association. It is a most useful and shady ground, and is very neatly
kept by the London County Council.
149. _Stepney Meeting-House Burial-ground_, White Horse Street (also
called the Almshouse ground and Ratcliff Workhouse ground).—There are
many tombstones and the ground is fairly tidy. The gate is generally
open, as the entrance to the almshouses is through it. Size ½ acre.
150. _Holy Trinity Churchyard_, Tredegar Square.—¾ acre. Laid out by the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1887, and maintained by the
London County Council. The gravestones have not been moved, and some of
the graves are still occasionally used, though no new ones are dug.
151. _Wycliffe Chapel Burial-ground_, Philport Street, Stepney.—¾ acre.
This dates From 1831, and is behind the chapel and the Scotch church. It
is full of tombstones, closed and untidy. Chadwick divides it into a
part belonging to the chapel and a larger part belonging to the Scotch
church, but it appears to be all one now, and is in the hands of the
elders of Wycliffe Chapel.
152. _Globe Road Chapel Burial-ground_, also called Mile End
Cemetery.—The chapel is now Gordon Hall, and belongs to Dr. Stephenson
of the Children’s Homes. The burial-ground is in private hands. The
ground was very much overcrowded, and there were vaults under the
chapel, the schools and the sexton’s house, but all the part south of
the chapel was taken by the Great Eastern Railway Company. The existing
piece is about 670 square yards in extent, is closed and most untidy,
quantities of rubbish lying about amongst the tombstones.
153. _East London Cemetery_, Shandy Street, also called the Beaumont
Burial-ground.—2¼ acres. This was much crowded. It was laid out as a
playground by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1885, and
is maintained by the London County Council.
154. _Burial-ground of the Bancroft Almshouses_, Mile End Road.—The
People’s Palace is on the site of the almshouses, and part of the
burial-ground has been merged into the roadway on the east side of the
palace. St. Benet’s Church, Hall and Vicarage were built in this ground,
the church being consecrated in 1872. Three pieces still exist, in all
less than ½ acre; one is the vicarage garden, another is open to the
road, and the northern point is closed and roofed over, forming a little
yard where flag-staff’s, &c., are stored. The open part is also a
store-yard, having heaps of stones in it, besides much rubbish. There
are gravestones against the wall.
155. _Stepney Pest-field._—Many acres to the south of the London
Hospital were used for interments at the time of the plague, and the
Brewers’ Garden and the space by St. Philip’s Church are, according to
some authorities, part of the site originally called Stepney Mount. At
the Home Office it is believed that there have been no burials in the
ground round St. Philip’s, nor have there since it was St. Philip’s
churchyard; but I think there were long before the first St. Philip’s
Church or the Brewers’ Almshouses existed. The Brewers’ Garden is open
to the public at a charge of 1d.
156. _Jewish Burial-ground_, 70, Bancroft Road.—About 1,650 square
yards. This ground belongs to the Maiden Lane Synagogue, and is crowded
with upright gravestones. The grass is neglected. Burials still take
place. It is in a densely-populated district.
157. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Alderney Road.—1 acre. Formed in 1700,
enlarged in 1733. Belongs to the United Synagogue. The tombstones are
upright, and they are not so thick as in most of the Jewish grounds,
while the grass is kept more neatly.
158. _Jewish Burial-ground_, Mile End Road.—This ground is nearly ¾ acre
in extent, and is at the back of the Beth Holim Hospital. It belongs to
the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, the tombstones are flat, there are
several trees, and the ground is very neatly kept. Part of the graveyard
(where it is said that there have been no interments) has some seats in
it, and is used by the patients of the hospital as a garden.
159. _Jewish Cemetery_, Mile End Road.—4¾ acres. This belongs to the
Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and is still in use. The gravestones are
flat ones and low altar tombs, and the ground is neatly kept, although
very bare.
POPLAR.
160. _All Saints’ Churchyard._—Size, with that part which was used for
the burial of cholera victims, on the other side of the road, 4 acres.
The northern part of the churchyard was laid out by the Metropolitan
Public Gardens Association in 1893, the rector having undertaken to
maintain it for a few years. It is much appreciated and well kept.
161. _St. Matthias’s Churchyard._—(This church was the chapel of the
East India Dock Company, and is sometimes called Poplar Chapel.) 1¼
acres. It is in the middle of the Poplar Recreation Ground, closed and
fairly tidy. There are many tombstones.
162. _St. Mary’s Churchyard_, Bow.—2,716 square yards. This is in two
portions, the eastern one is closed, but the western one has been laid
out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association and provided with
seats, the rector maintaining it.
163. _St. Mary’s Churchyard_, Bromley-by-Bow, or Bromley St.
Leonard.—This churchyard is 1¼ acres in size and is closed, but very
neatly kept up by the parish, and has some tombstones of artistic value
in it. Its opening as a public garden is under consideration.
164. _Baptist Chapel-ground_, Bow.—⅓ acre. Part of this ground is railed
off as a private garden, the rest is used as a thoroughfare by the
school-children. There are several tombstones, some of which have been
put against the walls.
165. _Trinity Congregational Chapel-ground_, East India Dock Road.—⅓
acre. This was laid out in 1888 as a public garden, the minister of the
chapel maintaining it. On his removal from the district it was closed
and has not been re-opened.
166. _Roman Catholic ground_, Wade’s Place.—1,300 square yards. This
belonged to St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Finsbury Circus,
Moorfields, and was chiefly used for the poor Irish. It was a very damp,
unwholesome ground. It is now used as a playground for the adjoining
Roman Catholic school.
167. _City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery_ (partly in Mile
End).—33 acres. First used in 1841. By 1889, 247,000 bodies had been
interred here, many being buried in common graves. It is still in use
and open daily, a regular ocean of tombstones, many of which are lying
about, apparently uncared for and unclaimed; in fact, most of the
graves, except those at the edges of the walks, look utterly neglected,
and parts of the ground are very untidy. It is situated in a
densely-populated district.
WANDSWORTH.
168. _All Saints’ Churchyard_, High Street.—¼ acre. This is closed, and
is much more tidy at the eastern end than the western end.
169. _East Hill Burial-ground_, Wandsworth Road.—½ acre. This was
consecrated in 1680, and many French Huguenots were buried in it. It is
closed and fairly tidy.
170. _Garratt Lane Cemetery_, South Street, Wandsworth.—1¾ acres. This
was consecrated in 1808. It is closed to the public, and closed for
interments with the exception of widows, widowers, and parents of
deceased persons already interred there. It is maintained by the
Wandsworth Burial Board.
171. _Friends Burial-ground_, High Street, Wandsworth.—400 square yards.
This is attached to the meeting-house, is closed and very neatly kept.
There are a few upright tombstones.
172. _Baptist Burial-ground_, North Street, Wandsworth.—An untidy little
closed yard with no tombstones in it and neglected grass. The chapel now
belongs to the Salvation Army. I doubt if it was much used for burials,
but, at any rate, there was one interment in 1854. It is about the same
size as the Friends’ ground.
173. _Independent Burial-ground_, Wandsworth.—This is now a small
tar-paved yard adjoining Memorial Hall, which was built on the site of
an old chapel or school-house. There are a few trees.
174. _St. Mary’s Churchyard_, Putney.—½ acre. Closed and neatly kept.
175. _Putney Burial-ground_, Upper Richmond Road.—1 acre. This was a
gift to the parish from the Rev. R. Pettiwand, and consecrated in 1763.
It was laid out in 1886, but the tombstones were not moved, and many of
them are dilapidated brick altar tombs. It is maintained for the public
by the Putney Burial Board.
176. _St. Nicholas Churchyard_, Lower Tooting.—2 acres. This is still in
use. It is open daily and kept in good order.
177. _Lower Tooting Chapel-ground._—231 square yards behind the chapel
(Congregational in High Street) and about 30 square yards in front. Some
tombstones. Chapel dates from 1688, and was founded by Daniel Defoe.
178. _St. Leonard’s Churchyard_, Streatham.—1¼ acres. The present church
dates from 1831, but the churchyard is at least 100 years older. It is
closed for burials and well planted with flowers, grass, and trees. The
gates are sometimes open.
179. _St. Paul’s Churchyard_, Clapham, in the Wandsworth Road.—1½ acres.
This is closed, and very full of tombstones. It is maintained by the
Clapham Burial Board, but it is in a rather jungly condition.
180. _Union Chapel-ground_, Streatham Hill.—About 500 square yards. This
is a neat little garden between the chapel and the schools, both of
which have been rebuilt, the schools in 1878. There is a row of
tombstones against the walls. It is generally closed.
181. _Wandsworth Cemetery._—12 acres. First used in 1878. Open daily.
182. _Lambeth Cemetery_, Tooting Graveney.—41 acres. First used in 1854.
Open daily.
183. _Putney Cemetery._—3 acres. First used in 1855. This is an
encroachment on a common.
BATTERSEA.
184. _St. Mary’s Churchyard._—¾ acre. Closed. The laying out of this
ground is under consideration.
185. _St. George’s Churchyard_, Battersea Park Road.—¾ acre. This is
closed, and in a very neglected condition. There are not many
gravestones.
186. _Battersea Cemetery_, Bolingbroke Grove.—8½ acres. First used in
1860. Open daily.
LAMBETH.
187. _St. Mary’s Churchyard._—½ acre. A very old ground, enlarged in
1623 and 1820. It is very neatly laid out and the gates are left open,
though there are no seats in it.
188. _Additional ground in High Street_ (also called Paradise Row
burial-ground).—1½ acres. Given to the parish by Archbishop Tenison, and
consecrated in 1705. It was laid out in 1884 by the Lambeth Vestry, who
maintain it efficiently.
189. _St. John’s Churchyard_, Waterloo Bridge Road.—An acre in size.
This was laid out as a garden and playground in 1877, and is well kept
up by the Lambeth Vestry.
190. _St. Mark’s Churchyard_, Kennington.—1¾ acres. This is closed and
full of tombstones, but neatly kept.
191. _Regent Street Baptist Chapel-ground_, Kennington Road.—A little
ground at the back of the chapel, with a few tombstones and one great
vault in it.
192. _Esher Street Congregational Chapel-ground_, Upper Kennington
Lane.—About 480 square yards, closed, and very untidy.
193. _St. Matthew’s Churchyard_, Brixton.—2 acres. This dates from 1824.
It is closed, but neatly kept.
194. _Denmark Row Chapel-ground_, Coldharbour Lane.—This has been partly
built upon, and there is now only a small yard behind the chapel.
195. _Stockwell Green Congregational Chapel-ground._—¼ acre, or rather
more. This is behind the chapel, and is a particularly neglected and
untidy graveyard.
196. _St. Luke’s Churchyard_, Norwood.—1 acre. This dates from 1825. It
is tidily kept, except the part near the station. The gate is generally
open. The gravestones are in situ.