Bells Hill Burial Ground is a cemetery and Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation in the Parish of

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Chari ...

in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough ...

. It was opened in 1895 and closed in 2005 when it officially became full (although occasional burials still take place). In 2006 control was passed to Barnet Council. There is access from Spring Close.

Burials

Among the interments at Bells Hill is Albert Edward Curtis (1866–1940), who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his rescue of a severely injured senior officer under heavy fire during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. The burial ground also includes 4
Commonwealth War Graves
– 21 from World War I and 24 from World War II.

Natural environment

The north-eastern part of the site has older monuments and is wooded with a variety of trees, including mature cedar and yew. Wildflowers include

common knapweed ''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names lesser knapweed, common knapweed and black knapweed. A local vernacular name is hardheads. It is native to Europe but it is known on other ...

and

lady's bedstraw ''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is ...

, while brambles and roses climb the tombs in wilder areas. The burial ground is a good site for butterflies, such as

gatekeeper A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...

small skipper The small skipper (''Thymelicus sylvestris'') is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Appearance It has a rusty orange colour to the wings, upper body and the tips of the antennae. The body is silvery white below and it has a wingspan of 25� ...

and

meadow brown The meadow brown (''Maniola jurtina'') is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasse ...

. The south-western area is more managed with mown grass, and some graves have flowers. The burial ground attracts birds typical of such suburban sites: jackdaws, magpies, starlings and green woodpeckers forage in the grassy areas, and the more wooded section attracts ring-necked parakeets, tits, warblers and other woodland birds. Larger mammals include grey squirrel and red fox, which breed within the cemetery.

Access

The original main entrance – a roofed brick gateway on Bells Hill (opposite Dellors Close) – is usually kept locked, but there are two entrances in Spring Close. Visitors can park here for up to an hour without needing a permit. Anyone requiring a permit for a longer stay should phone the Parish of Chipping Barnet office. The lower entrance leads to a wide track adjacent to Bells Hill as far as the original main gate; the upper entrance leads to a parallel path across the centre of the site. These two are linked by two cross-paths. Leading northwest from the central track are two narrow dead-end paths to the boundary with the Barnet Hospital campus. There is no laid-out route connecting the ends of these paths, but it is easy to cross the short distance from one to the other to complete a walk without having to retrace one’s steps.

Notable interments

* Albert Edward Curtis, awarded the

. * Lancelot Gerald Hasluck, founder of the housing charity th
Lancelot Hasluck Trust
* John Oliver Brook Hitch, MC, architect. * Francis Beaumont Mitchell, awarded the British Empire Medal for gallantry in 1942 after crawling 2–3 miles from the wreckage of his aircraft to raise the alarm after it crashed on a training flight.''London Gazette'', 2 January 1942. * Hugh Moore, awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

. * Kenneth Ian Thornton, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Nature reserves in the London Borough of Barnet Cemeteries in London 1895 establishments in England Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Barnet Religion in the London Borough of Barnet Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England