City of Westminster Cemetery, Hanwell 02

City of Westminster (Hanwell) Cemetery is a cemetery located in Hanwell, Ealing, west London. It is owned and managed by the City of Westminster's Parks Service.

History

By the 1840s, the cemeteries of London were full and almost overflowing. The Bayswater Road Cemetery and St Mark's, North Audley Street were under the control of the St. George's Hanover Square Burial Board, who were unable to find a solution until the Metropolitan Interment Act of 1850 became law. In 1853, the board purchased in Hanwell for their exclusive use. Robert Jerrard was appointed as

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, who designed the church and administration buildings in a Victorian

Gothic revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th cent ...

style. Consecrated on 6 July 1854, by the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Charles Blomfield, the total cost of cemetery and buildings was £14,741 17s 11d. The first interment took place on 2 August 1854. In 1883, and additional were purchased, making a total size of today of . In 1889, the cemetery was transferred to the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Westminster. The cemetery suffered extensive damage during

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and at the end of the war in Europe a gift was given to the cemetery in the form of the renewal of the chapel's south side stained glass window, depicting a miscellany of some 30 biblical emblems. In 1965, the cemetery came under new management in light of local government reorganisation. In 1987, the cemetery was one of three that Shirley Porter's

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

controversially sold to land developers for 15p. However, like

East Finchley East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ha ...

and

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

, it was reacquired by the new City of Westminster in 1990, and renamed at that point as their Hanwell Cemetery. The council undertook extensive restoration of the central buildings in 1994, and in 2001 replaced the entire roof and cleaned the exterior walls, as well as making all provisions required under the

Disability Discrimination Act In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a number of countries have passed laws aimed at reducing discrimination against people with disabilities. These laws have begun to appear as the notion of civil rights has become more influential globally ...

War graves

Memorial to City of Westminster killed, Hanwell

There are 84 graves administered by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

– 55 from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 29 from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

– located throughout the cemetery.http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/42409/HANWELL%20CEMETERY CWGC cemetery report. There is also a

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ...

memorial cross in the centre of the cemetery. A number of people killed during World War II in air raids were buried temporarily during the conflict, and then reburied afterwards. 200 residents of the City of Westminster are remembered on the civilian memorial, located near the centre of the grounds. Unveiled in 1950, it houses the grave of popular singer

Al Bowlly Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African– British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs. His most popular songs includ ...

, who was killed at his flat in

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...

during an air raid on 17 April 1941.

Transport links

The cemetery is well connected to London's transport network, with buses E3, E8, 83 and 207 stopping outside. The nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

stations are

Ealing Broadway Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, Acton Town and

Boston Manor Boston Manor is an English Jacobean manor house built in 1622 with internal alterations, intensively restored in later centuries and Boston Manor Park is the adjoining publicly owned green space including a lake. It was the manor house o ...

TfL Rail TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. On 24 May 2022, upon the opening of th ...

services stop at Hanwell station from

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

Notable interments

* Violet Bland (1863-1940), English Suffragette *

, singer. Killed in

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, buried in the mass grave in the centre of the grounds * Marta Cunningham CBE, American soprano singer and philanthropist, founder of the Not Forgotten Association. * Freddie Frinton, comedian * Sir John Ackerman K.C.M.G, Mayor of Pietermaritzsburg *Dr Robert Mortimer Glover, chloroform pioneer (unmarked grave) *

Ian Nairn Ian Douglas Nairn (24 August 1930 – 14 August 1983) was a British architectural critic who coined the word "Subtopia" to indicate drab suburbs that look identical through unimaginative town-planning. He published two strongly personalised criti ...

, architectural critic and broadcaster * Richard Bullen Newton, Paleontologist at the British Museum * Col. Sir David Semple, First Director of Research India. Founder of the Pasteur Institute at Kasauli India. * Sir John Hunt O.B.E, First Town Clerk of the City of Westminster *The Rev Andrew Charles Albert McLaglen, son Fred Charles McLaglen and wife Lillian Marian McLaglen all relatives of 1935 Oscar winner

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...

References

External links