Historic cemetery completes £7.2m regeneration project

One of London’s most historic cemeteries has completed a six-year, £7.2m refurbishment project largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Lambeth Council.

Originally opened in 1837, West Norwood Cemetery covers more than 40 acres and contains 69 listed monuments. These include the chapel of St Stephen, designed in the style of the Parthenon in Athens, which overlooks the last resting place of many leading figures from the capital’s Victorian-era Greek community.

Other high-profile individuals interred at West Norwood include sugar magnate and art museum founder Sir Henry Tate, pottery entrepreneur Sir Henry Doulton, and cookery writer Isabella Beeton.

By 2018, however, parts of the cemetery had suffered from vandalism and had fallen into disrepair, with campaigners warning of collapsing monuments and exposed human remains.

The recent programme of restoration, backed by a £4.6m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, plus £2.6m from Lambeth Council, included a new visitor centre, conservation of 17 monuments and major upgrades to drainage, roads and pathways.

Councillor Donatus Anyanwu, Lambeth’s cabinet member for stronger communities said: “The restoration of West Norwood Cemetery is not just about bricks and mortar; it’s about bringing history to life and reconnecting our communities with this unique and sacred space. The project is a shining example of what’s possible when heritage and people come together.”

Elsewhere in England, the Heritage Lottery Fund has also awarded Newcastle City Council a grant of £176,466 to restore two of its historic cemeteries, St John’s and Westgate Hill, which both date to the 1800s.

Welcoming the decision, councillor Alex Hay, Newcastle’s deputy leader and cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: “Generations of people have been lain to rest in these cemeteries, so they play an important role in our communities. Due to years of funding pressures, they have deteriorated which is terribly sad, but we hope this funding will help to reverse that decline and start the necessary work towards securing their long-term future.”