Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries (also known as Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery) were opened within one month of each other in 1858 and are sited on adjacent plots of previously open land. The two component parts are characteristic examples of the first wave of Victorian public cemeteries and are now part of the Brockley Conservation Area. The cemeteries occupy of land wholly within the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Merid ...

and are owned and managed by the Cemeteries and Crematorium Services of the Borough. They are also nature conservation sites of Borough Importance Grade 1 and a haven for wildlife, plants and wildflowers. Until 1948, the two cemeteries were completely separate, being divided by a wall. Ladywell Cemetery, which was previously known as Lewisham Cemetery, stands to the east of the wall and Brockley Cemetery, formerly Deptford Cemetery, lies to the west. Both cemeteries hold a wealth of historical interest. Evidence of

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

's seafaring past can be found in the many inscriptions and adornments on the headstones.

Notable burials

The grave of an anarchist in Ladywell cemetery - geograph

Joseph Henry Blackburne Joseph Henry Blackburne (10 December 1841 – 1 September 1924) was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late ...

(1841–1924), dominated the English chess scene in late 19th century *Commander

Archibald Walter Buckle Commander Archibald Walter Buckle, (16 February 1889 – 6 May 1927) was a school teacher who served as an officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in the First World War. He commanded the Anson Battalion in the 63rd (Royal Naval) ...

(1889-1927), commanded Anson Battalion of the

63rd (Royal Naval) Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who we ...

in World War I * Horatio Henry Couldery (1832–1918), one of the best-known Victorian painters of animals * Jane Clouson (1854–1871), murdered girl with a monument paid for by public donations *

Ernest Dowson Ernest Christopher Dowson (2 August 186723 February 1900) was an English poet, novelist, and short-story writer who is often associated with the Decadent movement. Biography Ernest Dowson was born in Lee, then in Kent, in 1867. His great-uncle ...

(1867–1900), poet and

decadent movement The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourishe ...

artist *Sir William Eames (1821–1897), marine engineer * Sir John Gilbert (1817–1897), illustrator, drawing for the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'' and designed a cover for ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' * Sir George Grove (1820–1900), first director of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

, 1882, and author of 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians' *Sir William Hardy (1807–1887), Deputy Keeper of Public Records, 1878-1886 * Lionel de Jersey Harvard, commemoration to "the only Harvard to attend Harvard", died in World WarI, buried in France * George Lacy Hillier (1856–1941), an English racing cyclist and pioneer of British cycling * David Jones (1895–1974), war poet and artist *

Fernando Tarrida del Mármol Fernando Tarrida del Mármol (August 2, 1861 – 1915) was a mathematics professor born in Cuba and raised in Catalonia best known for proposing "anarchism without adjectives", the idea that anarchists should set aside their debates over th ...

(1861–1915), Cuban anarchist writer *

Margaret McMillan Margaret McMillan (20 July 1860 – 27 March 1931) was a nursery school pioneer and lobbied for the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act. Working in deprived districts of London, notably Deptford, and Bradford, she agitated for reforms to ...

(1860–1931), educational reformer * Sir Alexander Nisbet (1812–1892), Inspector General of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and honorary physician to the Queen * William Stephens (1817–1871), Grand Warden of the

Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

* E. H. Windred (1875–1953), painter of

racing pigeon Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of trave ...

s *Edward Lewis (1864–1922), Actor and Comedian. *

Joe Bowker Joe Bowker (12 June 1881 – 31 October 1955) was a British boxer who was world bantamweight champion from 1904 to 1905. His defeat of Frankie Neil on 17 October in London for the world bantamweight title was acclaimed as the most remarkable e ...

(1881–1955) English boxer who was Bantamweight champion of the world in 1904 and 1905 *

Samuel Tinsley Samuel Tinsley (13 January 1847 – 26 February 1903) was an English chess player and writer. Tinsley was born in South Mimms, Middlesex to Sarah (née Dover) and William Tinsley. He was the seventh of ten children, and a younger sibling of publ ...

(1847–1903), English chess player * Mary Ann Bevan (1874–1933), "the ugliest woman in the world" * Mrs Amelia Winters (1827–1889), poisoner. *

Beatrice Offor Beatrice Offor (1864–1920) was a British painter. She is primarily known for portraits; often of an esoteric nature. Life Offor was born in 1864 in Sydenham, Kent and trained at the Slade School of Art in London, where she became a close fri ...

(1864-1920), British painter

War graves

Grave of the Harvard Family, Ladywell Cemetery 02

Both cemeteries contain war graves of Commonwealth service personnel registered and maintained 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 ...

(CWGC). Brockley Cemetery contains 195 war graves, 175 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 19 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 ...

. The majority of the graves lie in a War Plot. On the cemetery's west side, a Screen Wall memorial lists those whose graves could not be marked by headstones.BROCKLEY CEMETERY
CWGC Cemetery Report, Brockley Cemetery. Ladywell Cemetery contains 226 war graves from World War I and 18 from World War II. A War Graves plot contains 100 graves, the names of those buried there being listed on a Screen War Memorial in Plot D, as well as those buried elsewhere in the cemetery whose graves could not be marked by headstones. The CWGC also maintain a Commemorative Plot, in Plot B, on which 46 headstones have been erected.LEWISHAM (LADYWELL) CEMETERY
CWGC Cemetery Report, Ladywell Cemetery.

Ladywell entrance gates

The Ladywell entrance to the cemetery is Grade II listed. This notes that the gates were built in 1857 to the designs of William Morphrew, for the Lewisham Burial Board. The gates are made of wrought iron, the piers of stone; square, with set back, sloping tops culminating in saddleback gables. The gates are of florid Gothic design, the monogram of the Lewisham Burial Board in the three lower hubs to each gate, with trefoil and barley sugar decoration above. The name LADYWELL CEMETERY may have been inserted, or is more likely a reworking of the original name LEWISHAM CEMETERY; the style of the lettering, however, is clearly of 1857.

References

*Brockley Conservation Area. Character Appraisal. Conservation & Urban Design Team. Submitted to the Mayor & Cabinet Meeting on 14 December 2005 *''A Guide To The Flora, Fauna and Local History to be found in Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries: Lewisham Council''

External links

Lewisham Cemeteries and crematoriums

Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

North West Kent Family History Society: Ladywell & Brockley Cemetery

Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries in Lewisham, Greater London - Find A Grave Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Brockley: Cemetery Details

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Ladywell Cemetery Details
{{Authority control Cemeteries in London 1858 establishments in England Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Lewisham Religion in the London Borough of Lewisham Nature reserves in the London Borough of Lewisham Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Lewisham