Teddington Cemetery is a Grade II listed municipal cemetery in the north of

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...

in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Opened in 1879 it has many tall, eclectic trees and its nucleus was the outcome of a competition for designs by Richmond Burial Board. It includes the war graves of 70 Commonwealth service personnel, 42 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 28 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 ...

. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.

Above ground

Richmond Burial Board origins

Using the 1852

Burial Act Burial Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to burials. List *Burying in Woollen Acts *The Burial of Drowned Persons Acts 1808 and 1886 The Burial Acts 1852 to 1885 is the collective title of the followin ...

, Richmond was enabled to form a burial board, and to buy and let out new burial grounds.Sheaf J and Howe K. ''Hampton and Teddington Past'', Historical Publications Ltd, 1975. In 1877 it bought the first parcel of land, a former orchard, of in the south-west from Mr Travers Smith. A competition was announced to design the layout of the burial ground, with a first prize of 15

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

() and a second prize of 5 guineas

Landscaping and plants

The cemetery has many mature trees, some of them pre-dating the creation of the cemetery, such as

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

weeping beech The weeping beech, ''Fagus sylvatica'' 'Pendula', is a cultivar of the deciduous European beech. The original tree was found in the grounds of an English park, and it has been propagated by grafting, then many distributed widely. Physical descri ...

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, yew,

cypresses Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the la ...

giant redwood ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

, and a fine large monkey puzzle. Several cherry trees, probably the remains of the former orchard, are scattered in the lawns of the cemetery. Most of the small

roundabouts A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

are planted with single cypresses surrounded by heather and lawn, as is the junction of the main and central east/west axes north of the chapels. The south-west has been partially cleared. The main path gives a view north to the two chapels, planted with a semi-mature

deodar cedar ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic c ...

to each side. Among southern trees and shrubbery is the ornate medieval style (

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

) mortuary of 1879. The former western limit remains lined by trees. The perimeter path, lined with trees, was extended westwards by two paths linking the zone to the north-west added in 1950.

Paired chapels

The chapels, designed by T Goodchild in the

Decorated Style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

, have crocketed spires linked by a great entrance arch. Built in 1878, their main material is dark honey-coloured Bargate ragstone with Bathstone dressings.

Notable burials

Neil Aspinall Neil Stanley Aspinall (13 October 1941 24 March 2008) was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head the Beatles' company Apple Corps. The Beatles employed Aspinall first as t ...

(1941–2008), former head of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' company

Apple Corps Apple Corps Limited (informally known as Apple) is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company (Beatles Ltd.) and to form a conglomerate. Its name (pron ...

* R D Blackmore (1825–1900), author, whose novels included ''

Lorna Doone ''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly ar ...

'' *

John Sleeper Clarke John Sleeper Clarke (September 3, 1833 – September 24, 1899) was a 19th-century American comedian and actor. Life He was born in Baltimore, Maryland to George W. Sleeper and Georgianna Sleeper (née Clarke), and was educated for the law. In hi ...

(1833–1899), American comedian and actor, who lived in London from 1867 * Francis de Havilland Hall (1847–1929), physician, surgeon, and

laryngologist The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...

page 271page 272
/ref> * Kenneth MacDonald (1950–2001), who played the character of Mike Fisher in the BBC television sit-com ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'' * James Messenger (1826–1901), who lived in Teddington and was the professional single sculls world champion from 1854 to 1857. He served as the Queen's Bargemaster from 1862 to 1901. At the time, he became the Champion of the Thames which was effectively the English Sculling Championship. After the English title gained the world status in 1876, earlier winners were retrospectively given the world champion title. In 1862 he won the famed Doggett's Coat and Badge race on The Thames. * Robert John Tozer (1813–1892), one of the founders of Christ Church in Teddington. He laid the keystone of the chapels in Teddington Cemetery. * John Walter (1738–1812), founder of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''.

Notes and references

External links

Official website

*
London Gardens Online: Teddington Cemetery

Parks & Gardens UK: Teddington Cemetery
{{Cemeteries, crematoria and memorials in Richmond upon Thames 1879 establishments in England Burials at Teddington Cemetery Cemeteries in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England Gardens in London Gothic Revival architecture in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Teddington