Margravine Cemetery

Cemetery chapel
Central pathway through the cemetery

Margravine Cemetery, also known as Hammersmith Cemetery, is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The closest London Underground station is Barons Court.

History

Designed for the Hammersmith Burial Board by local architect George Saunders, Margravine Cemetery was opened in 1868 on a site previously occupied by market gardens and orchards, known as Fulham Fields. The first burial took place on 3 November 1869.[1][2]

Margravine closed for new burials in 1951, when the 16.5 acres of cemetery land were restored by the council and designated a 'Garden of Rest'.[1]

Notable burials and monuments

Two memorials, one a four-sided stone pillar, the other a stone arc. Both are inscribed with names
J. Lyons and Co. war memorials
Blake's Munitions Factory memorial

The cemetery contains a number of distinctive monuments, three of which are listed buildings. Most striking is the green bronze memorial to George Broad, who owned the foundry which made the Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus. Nearest Charing Cross Hospital, the Young family mausoleum is a single-storey building in Gothic architecture style.[3] The third listed grave is that of an Australian gold prospector, with a bas relief of him, opposite the Young family mausoleum.

A screen wall memorial erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (who list it as Hammersmith Old Cemetery) in Section 31 lists all 191 Commonwealth service personnel buried in registered war graves in the cemetery – 186 from World War I and 5 from World War II.[4]

Two J. Lyons and Co. war memorials were relocated from their factory at Greenford to the cemetery in 2002. The World War I memorial is Grade II listed.[5]

There is a memorial to the 13 people killed – 11 of them women – in a 1918 explosion at Blake's munitions factory, Wood Lane. It was unveiled in 1920 and Grade II listed in 2017.[6][7]

Notable burials

View of the gravestones

Conservation

The cemetery is now a part of the Barons Court Conservation Area, designated in April 1989.[1]

Hammersmith and Fulham council states in its 2008 management plan that the site is designated a Nature Conservation Area of Local Importance. It is a particularly useful space for viewing migrating songbirds, bees and butterflies.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Margravine Cemetery". Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ^ London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Margravine Cemetery Management Plan 2009–2014, 2008, ""Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)" viewed 13 January 2013
  3. ^ Margravine Cemetery Management Plan 2009–2014, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, 2009, p18 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ [1] CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from Casualty Record.
  5. ^ Historic England. "J Lyons and Company First World War Memorial, Margravine Cemetery (1442826)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Blake's Munitions War Memorial, Margravine Cemetery (1437915)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Blakes Munition Factory – Cross". War Memorials Register. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Sir Henry Foreman". The Times. 12 April 1924. p. 24.
  9. ^ "Grave locations for holders of the Victoria Cross: West London. Archived copy". Victoriacross.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
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