SITE DETAILS

Fuller information:

The cemetery chapels were designed by the Ealing Borough Surveyor Charles Jones, a pair of gothic buildings, each with a spire, and linked by a porte-cochère topped by a substantial bellcote, At the entrance at the corner of Percy Road and Hospital Bridge Road are ornamental gates with stone piers, just inside which is an entrance lodge built in c.1930. The cemetery is hedged to Percy Road and has a number of mature trees, including conifers and monkey puzzle, numerous flat-topped yews and many more recently planted trees. The monuments are generally quite modest, although there is a charming garden commemorating the private graves of Variety Artistes laid out in a rectangular area with a central crazy-paved path leading to a classical marble column erected by the Variety Artistes Benevolent Fund and Institution, which was based in Staines Road, Twickenham. The column's four faces list names of 'Artistes of the Variety Profession' in chronological order in lead lettering, the first being James William Hanchard ('Major Miles') who died 1 December 1926. Behind the column is a wall on which further names are inscribed up until 1988, and the low walls along the path are similarly inscribed.

An interesting monument is that of Francis Francis (d.1886), novelist and angler whose tomb has a bronze fishing basket, rods and hat and the epitaph 'And angle on, and beg to have a quiet passage to a welcome grave'. Others buried here include Edward Stanley Gibbon (d.1913), the stamp dealer; the Rt. Hon Jonathan Peel (d.1879), MP for Huntingdon and Secretary of State for War in 1858-59 and a successful race horse owner who won first and second places at the Derby in 1844. Members of the family of the famous tea-merchant Thomas Twining (1806-1895) are buried here, including his wife Victoria (d.1899).

Sources consulted:

Hugh Meller & Brian Parsons, 'London Cemeteries, An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer', 4th edition (The History Press, 2008)

Grid ref:	TQ137731
Size in hectares:	8.1
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:	No
Nature Conservation Area:	No
Green Belt:	No
Metropolitan Open Land:	No
Special Policy Area:	No
Other LA designation:	Open Land of Townscape Importance