SITE DETAILS

Fuller information:

Bells Hill Burial Ground was consecrated on 30 April 1895 by The Rt. Rev. John Wogan, Bishop of St Albans, and according to a plaque at the entrance 'was provided for the Ancient Parish of Chipping Barnet from the Funds of the Chancel Estate Trust founded by James Ravenscroft'. James Ravenscroft was, like his father Thomas, a major benefactor of the area who founded the Jesus Hospital almshouses for six 'poor women' on Wood Street in 1679, and whose elaborate family chapel is in St John's Church, High Barnet (q.v.). The entrance to the burial ground on Bells Hill is through a small Gothic-style brick lych-gate with tiled roof and painted wooden gates; there is no chapel and the cemetery is served by St Stephen's church further down Bells Hill. The north-eastern side has older monuments with mature cedar and yew trees amongst deciduous species. The western section has more recent graves with utilitarian modern headstones. The main path from the entrance gate has been narrowed in some places where it is being used to accommodate new graves, which are generally bedecked with flowers.

Sources consulted:

Jan Hewlett, Ian Yarham, David Curson, 'Nature Conservation in Barnet', London Ecology Unit, 1997.

Grid ref:	TQ236959
Size in hectares:	3.4
On EH National Register :	No
EH grade :
Site on EH Heritage at Risk list:
Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:	No
Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:	No
The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.
On Local List:
In Conservation Area:	No
Conservation Area name:
Tree Preservation Order:	Not known
Nature Conservation Area:	Yes - Local Importance
Green Belt:	No
Metropolitan Open Land:	No
Special Policy Area:	No
Other LA designation: