December - Walking Tour of West Norwood Cemetery

Sunday, December 6th at 11 am

Saturday, December 19th at 11 am

The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery are experts on the cemetery, with research continued over thirty years into its social history and the characters buried here. Published and unpublished research gives you the widest and deepest understanding of the significance of this cemetery.

Advance booking is (£10) and essential due to limited places. Please book here for December 6th and here for December 19th.

______________________________________________

West Norwood Cemetery was the second of the Magnificent Seven: early Victorian cemeteries set up by private companies between 1833-1841 to provide for London’s expanding population. Your guide is an expert on the Victorian era.

West Norwood was the first Gothic-Revival cemetery with the buildings and landscaping designed by William Tite (who was himself interred in the catacombs). In addition to original features like the entrance arch, and iron railings made by Bramah & Robinson (the two Gothic chapels, Anglican and Nonconformist, have not survived), a key feature of the cemetery is its ornate Gothic monuments and mausolea. Known as the Millionaires’ Cemetery, West Norwood is predominantly the resting place of self-made industrialists (often inventors) and manufacturers. The sheer variety of stylised grave stones and monuments (Gothic, Classical, Italianate, Egyptian) is a testament to the commercial expansion of nineteenth-century memorial masonry which, crucially, enabled the self-fashioning of new identities.

Please meet at the arched main entrance on the corner of Norwood Road and Robson Road.
Find out more about the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery here.

NOTE: The Friends 'first Sunday' walks are currently in the afternoons.