Hither Green Cemetery
| Hither Green Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 Hither Green Cemetery | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1873[1] |
| Location | Verdant Lane, Grove Park, Lewisham, southeast London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°26′11″N 0°0′39″E / 51.43639°N 0.01083°E |
| Owned by | Lewisham Council |
| Size | 15 hectares (37 acres) |
| Find a Grave | Hither Green Cemetery |
Hither Green Cemetery, opened as Lee Cemetery in 1873,[1] is a large cemetery located on Verdant Lane, London, England. The cemetery is situated between Catford, Hither Green, Downham, Grove Park and Lee, located adjacent to a railway line, and close to Grove Park Sidings and Grove Park Nature Reserve. Next to Hither Green Cemetery is Lewisham Crematorium that was opened in 1956.
The cemetery was designed by Francis Thorne and included two
When the cemetery opened in 1873, it was named Lee Cemetery, although Lee's church and centre are about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) to the north of the cemetery, the land was covered by the Lee civil Parish at the time. The original cemetery occupied what is now the northernmost part of the cemetery, located on a road named Hither Green Lane, but was renamed Verdant Lane later. The cemetery expanded into a much larger southward, into lands previously occupied by the fields of a farm named Shroefield Farm.[3]
Particularly notable graves and memorials
1939–1945 War Memorial
In the cemetery, there is a memorial to all those who died at their post during World War II, erected in 1951. This is situated next to the Sandhurst Road School memorial.
Civilian war graves
- There is a large terraced area which was built as a memorial to the 38 children and six teachers who died when Sandhurst Road School was bombed on Wednesday 20 January 1943.
- Next to the memorial for the bombing, there is also a grave of some of the children and a teacher whose families chose to bury their dead together.
- William Hume Campbell M.A (priest), founder and first principal of St Christopher's College, Blackheath.
Military war graves
The cemetery contains the graves of 39 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 198 from World War II. Those whose graves could not be marked by CWGC headstones are listed on the Screen Wall memorial in the main War Graves plot.[4]
Melton Prior
Leland Lewis Duncan
William Colbeck
Gallery
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The Anglican Chapel in Hither Green Cemetery, south east London. -
The abandoned and disused Dissenters' Chapel in Hither Green Cemetery, south east London.
Transport links
Bus
Hither Green Cemetery and Lewisham Crematorium is best served by the
They are also served by the
Train
The cemetery and crematorium is within walking distance of Hither Green station and Grove Park station.
Alternatively, 284 bus links Grove Park station with the cemetery and crematorium and the 284 and
References
- ^ ISBN 0-00-716653-2p. Chapter 11 Monuments and cemeteries, map of London cemeteries locations with opening dates: Lee Cemetery opened 1873
- ^ "Dissenters Chapel designed by William Webster for the Hither Green Cemetery, Verdant Lane, London SE6". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Ordnance Survey Map, Kent VII.NE, Revised: 1893 to 1894, Published: 1898, accessed from maps.nls.uk
- ^ Reading Room Manchester. "CWGC – Cemetery Details". cwgc.org.
External links
- Hither Green Cemetery (LB Lewisham)