St John's Wood Church Grounds is a disused graveyard which is now a public park in

St. John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough ...

in London. It is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, and the only Local Nature Reserve in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

. Since 2004 it has received the

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

for excellent green spaces. It is owned and managed by Westminster Council.

History

St. John's Wood was part of the

Great Forest of Middlesex The Forest of Middlesex was an area covering much of the county of Middlesex, England, that was north of the City of London and now forms the northern part of Greater London. The area was under Royal Forest#Forest law, Forest Law, and much of it a ...

in the medieval period. From 1323 the land was owned by the Knights of the Order of St. John, after whom the area is named, but at the Dissolution of the Monasteries it passed to the Crown. In the 1732 the site was sold to Henry Samuel Eyre, and in the 18th century it was agricultural land on two fields called Great Garden Field and Willow Tree Field. The area began to be developed in the 19th century, and

St John's Wood Church St John's Wood Church is an Anglican parish church in St John's Wood, London. Built in the classical style, the Grade II*- listed church is situated on Lord's Roundabout, between Lord's Cricket Ground and Regent's Park in the Deanery of Westmins ...

and burial ground were consecrated in 1814. The burial ground was closed in 1855, and converted to a public garden in 1886. There are thought to be around 50,000 graves, including those of the artist

John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English Marine art, marine and Landscape painting, landscape painter, Etching, etcher, illustrator, and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a si ...

and the prophetess

Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a British self-described religious prophetess from Devon. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death. Early life Joanna Southcott was born in the h ...

The grounds

The site has formal flower beds, a wildlife area and a children's playground. The wildlife area has hedges, a meadow and woodland in an area mixed with gravestones, and it is a good site for butterflies. It is located opposite

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

between St John's Wood High Street and Wellington Road.

References

External links

* * * {{LNRs in Greater London Local nature reserves in Greater London Parks and open spaces in the City of Westminster St John's Wood