Brookwood Cemetery

About

Brookwood Cemetery is a beautiful Grade 1 listed site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens located in the heart of Surrey.  The site is rich in architecture, ecology, horticulture and History and has been serving the community since 1854.

 

The 220-acre park is the largest Cemetery across Western Europe with over 250,000 burials including over 50 notable persons, 18 listed structures at Grade II or Grade II* status and 12 Victoria Cross Holders.

 

The site provides a picturesque, tranquil setting for visitors 365 days of the year.  The grounds are divided into many smaller plots by a multitude of roads and avenues that boast magnificent trees and offer a wealth of flora and fauna as well as local heritage.

 

Brookwood Cemetery was conceived by the London Necropolis Company in 1949 to house London’s deceased, at a time when the capital was finding it difficult to accommodate its increasing population of living and dead.  The Cemetery was originally accessible by rail from a dedicated station – The London Necropolis Railway Station next to Waterloo station in Central London.  Trains with passenger carriages reserved for the different classes and Hearse Carriages for the coffins came into the Cemetery on its dedicated branch from the adjoining South Western Rail Line – a junction west of Brookwood Station.

There were two stations in the Cemetery itself, one serving the non-conformist side (North) and one serving the Anglican side (South).  The southern platform still exists today and is in the ownership of the St Edward Brotherhood.

For information on guided walks of the Cemetary please visit the Brookwood Society website.