Nunhead Cemetery, located in South East London, is one of the ‘magnificent seven’ – seven Victorian cemeteries created in London’s suburbs to deal with a shortage of burial spaces in central London at that time. Over the last few years I’ve visited three of the others – Highgate, Abney Park and Tower Hamlets, so I thought a trip across the river would be appropriate to see one of the two that are south of the river.
Surprisingly, Nunhead is still used for burials in the area around the southern entrance, however it is mostly a scene of gentle Victorian and Edwardian delapidation. In fact, towards the rear of the site many of the memorials have been completely absorbed by the local plant life. Near the main entrance, which carries one of the traditional Victorian symbols associated with graveyards, the up-ended torch (meaning life extinguished) is a beautiful ruined chapel where you’ll also find the high-class burials – large monuments and vaults dedicated to notable local businessmen and their families. To pick out two significant burials, the monuments to both Henry Daniel (a monumental mason associated with both Nunhead and Highgate) and the 44 year old Jane Elizabeth Blackman, who died in 1899, are remarkable works of art. I wonder whether the figure clutching the cross is actually a representation of Jane as a young woman…
Nunhead Cemetery contains some memorials that are particularly poignant – along with a large art deco monument listing the names of all of the local men who fell on the battlefields during the First World War, there are also two small military plots with the familiar white markers that you’ll see in war cemeteries across Europe – several of the grave markers are dedicated to soldiers from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. The saddest memorial of all, however, is the modest plaque to the teenage members of the 2nd Walworth Scout Troop, 9 of whom were drowned in a sailing accident in the summer of 1912.
I should also make mention of the massive obelisk which was put in place to commemorate the so-called ‘Scottish Martyrs’ – a group of Scots led by Thomas Muir who campaigned in the late 1700s to enfranchise all men of working age – i.e. to give them the vote. Unfortunately, rather than being seen as forward-thinking men of conscience the British state saw them as dissidents, and they were all deported to Australia, many of them dying soon after arriving there. The monument also has an identical twin which sits on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, just below Edinburgh Castle.
As with all of the ‘magnificent seven’ Nunhead is a very quiet and contemplative place – as I was snapping away I only saw a handful of dogwalkers and joggers. A lovely spot for a quiet stroll if you don’t mind a few ghosts… You can see all of the pictures I took today here, and find out more about the cemetery by visiting the Friends Of Nunhead Cemetery website.
