Hither Green Cemetery, opened as Lee Cemetery in 1873,''The Times, History of London, New Edition'', edited by Hugh Clout p. Chapter 11 Monuments and cemeteries, map of London cemeteries locations with opening dates: Lee Cemetery opened 1873 is a large cemetery located on Verdant Lane,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. The cemetery is situated between

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

, Hither Green, Grove Park and

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

. Next to Hither Green Cemetery is Lewisham Crematorium that was opened in 1956. The cemetery was designed by Francis Thorne and included two

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

chapels - one

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

, one for

dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, an ...

(the Dissenters' Chapel, built by William Webster, was for people belonging to nonconformist, ie: non-Anglican, churches) - and ornamental entrance gates. The original gate lodge was demolished. When the cemetery opened in 1873, it was named ''Lee Cemetery'', although Lee's church and centre are about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) to the north of the cemetery, the land was covered by the Lee civil Parish at the time. The original cemetery occupied what is now the northernmost part of the cemetery, located on a road named Hither Green Lane, but was renamed Verndant Lane later. The cemetery expanded into a much larger southward, into lands previously occupied by the fields of a farm named ''Shroefield Farm''.Ordnance Survey Map, Kent VII.NE, Revised: 1893 to 1894, Published: 1898, accessed fro
maps.nls.uk
/ref>

Particularly notable graves and memorials

1939-1945 War Memorial

In the cemetery, there is a memorial to all those who died at their post during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, erected in 1951. This is situated next to the Sandhurst Road School memorial.

Civilian war graves

*There is a large terraced area which was built as a memorial to the 38 children and six teachers who died when Sandhurst Road School was bombed on Wednesday 20 January 1943. *Next to the memorial for the bombing, there is also a grave of some of the children and a teacher whose families chose to bury their dead together. *William Hume Campbell M.A (priest), founder and first principal of St Christopher's College, Blackheath.

Military war graves

The cemetery contains the graves of 39 Commonwealth service personnel of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and 198 from

. Those whose graves could not be marked by

CWGC 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 mi ...

headstones are listed on the Screen Wall memorial in the main War Graves plot.

Melton Prior

Melton Prior (12 September 1845 – 2 November 1910), was an English artist and war correspondent 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 ...

'' from the early 1870s until 1904. Prior was one of the leading illustrators of late Victorian Britain, noted for his ability to quickly sketch scenes. His pencil sketches were sent back to London where they were re-drawn by studio artists and engraved on wood-blocks for printing in the Saturday issues of the ''Illustrated London News''. In addition to covering conflicts around the world, he also traveled on a number of Royal tours including accompanying the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

to Canada in 1901.

Leland Lewis Duncan

Leland Lewis Duncan , Colfeian, historian and photographer (born 24 August 1862) was buried here following his death on 26 December 1923. Marking the 75th anniversary of his death, a headstone was erected on his grave as a tribute to his work in recording the history of Lewisham and surrounding areas. The headstone was funded by donations from the ''Old Colfeian's'',

Lewisham Council Lewisham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lewisham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executiv ...

, various local groups (including local history groups) and surviving family.

William Colbeck

William Colbeck mariner who made two journeys to Antarctica, first with the Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink and then in 1900 in command of the relief ship ''

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning s ...

'', sent to resupply Captain Scott's ''Discovery'', then trapped in the ice at

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...

in the Antarctic.

Gallery

File:Anglican Chapel, Hither Green Cemetery.jpg, The ''Anglican Chapel'' in Hither Green Cemetery, south east London. File:Dissenters Chapel, Hither Green Cemetery.jpg, The abandoned and disused ''Dissenters' Chapel'' in Hither Green Cemetery, south east London.

Transport links

Bus

Hither Green Cemetery and Lewisham Crematorium is best served by the 284 bus route from Grove Park or Lewisham, Ladywell and Catford. They are also served by the London Buses route 124 bus route from Eltham, Middle Park and Downham or Catford.

Train

The cemetery and crematorium is within walking distance of

Hither Green station Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither Green in the London Borough of Lewisham, south-east London. It is down the line from and is situated between and either or depending on the route. It is a busy commuter station with ser ...

and Grove Park station. Alternatively, 284 bus links Grove Park station with the cemetery and crematorium and the 284 and 124 bus routes link Catford station and Catford Bridge station with the cemetery and crematorium.

References

External links

''Hither Green Cemetery''
(LB Lewisham) {{Cemeteries in London Cemeteries in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Lewisham Religion in the London Borough of Lewisham 1873 establishments in England Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England Grove Park, Lewisham