Come with us on a special guided tour of Kensal Green Cemetery, for which we are lucky enough to be led by Johanna Holmes, the chairman of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery. However, the number of places is limited to 20, so sign up early!

We will look at some of the most important parts of the cemetery, first opened in 1833 and containing the graves of some notable individuals, from royalty to engineers, artists and designers.

We will also be able to envisage the possible effects on the cemetery of the proposed developments at the Kensal Canalside site, just on the other side of the canal, with its tall tower blocks and massively increased housing.

The Friends work to preserve the cemetery and have restored large parts of it, including the Dissenters Chapel where we will meet up and start with coffee. During the walk, we will be given an expert’s eye of this beautiful and fascinating cemetery (note: suitable footwear required!), and hear some of the more interesting stories. before the walk ends around 12.30.

As London’s population expanded rapidly in the early 1800s, it became clear that existing church graveyards in the city were unable to cope. Kensal Green Cemetery was established by an act of Parliament in 1832 and in 1833 the Bishop of London consecrated the first 19 hectares (48 acres). The first burial took place a week later.

Conceived as a garden of remembrance, the cemetery has both formal avenues and informal planting, framing the monuments. A design competition was held for two chapels: one for Anglicans, located in the middle and assigned 16 hectares (39 acres) of burial grounds, and one for Dissenters (Protestants who opposed the Church of England), tucked away in the southeastern corner and assigned 6 hectares (15 acres). The winning designs were for two Gothic buildings, but the chairman of the company wanted a neo-classical look, so he asked the company’s surveyor, John Griffith, to design the two buildings in the Greek Revival style instead. The two chapels look similar, but the Anglican Chapel has Doric columns while the Dissenter’s Chapel has Ionic columns. In 1939, the West London Crematorium and the Gardens of Remembrance were added at the western end of the cemetery, close to the border with St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, which had been created in 1858.

An initial real success among the rich and famous, the Duke of Sussex (son of George III) asked to be buried there in 1843 and later his sister Princess Sophia, buried here in 1848 under a magnificent monument. There are three Brunels (father, son and grandson), William Makepeace Thackeray, the artist John Tenniel and, more recently, the designer Ossie Clarke. Over 550 of the famous residents can be found in the National Dictionary of Biography. For more information, go to this link: The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery.

Members £20.00, non-members £25.00. Price includes coffee before the walk

Not a member?
It’s only £20 for a whole year. If you want to take advantage of the lower membership price, just become a member online first via our membership page, before booking your ticket below.