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Margravine Cemetery facts for kids

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Hammersmith Cemetery Chapel in Margravine Cemetery in London, spring 2013 (1)
Cemetery chapel

Margravine Cemetery, also known as Hammersmith Cemetery, is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The closest London Underground station is Barons Court.

History

Designed by local architect George Saunders, Margravine Cemetery was opened in 1868 on a site previously occupied by market gardens and orchards, known as Fulham Fields. The first burial took place on 3 November 1869.

Margravine Cemetery in London, spring 2013 (13)
Central pathway through the cemetery

Margravine closed for new burials in 1951, when the 16.5 acres of cemetery land were restored by the council and designated a 'Garden of Rest'.

Notable burials and monuments

World War II memorial in Margravine Cemetery in London, spring 2013 (1)
World War II memorial

The cemetery contains a number of distinctive monuments, three of which are listed buildings. Most striking is the green bronze memorial to George Broad, who owned the foundry which made the Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus. Nearest Charing Cross Hospital, the Young family mausoleum is a single-storey building in Gothic architecture style. The third listed grave is that of an Australian gold prospector, with a bas relief of him, opposite the Young family mausoleum.

A screen wall memorial erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (who list it as Hammersmith Old Cemetery) in Section 31 lists all 191 Commonwealth service personnel buried in registered war graves in the cemetery – 186 from World War I and 5 from World War II.

Notable burials

  • George Broad, brass and bronze founder
  • Sir William Bull, 1st Baronet, solicitor and Conservative politician
  • Sir Henry Foreman (1852–1924), Conservative politician
  • Thomas Nicholas (antiquary) (1816–1879), Welsh antiquary and educator
  • Edward Charles Williams (1807–1881), English landscape painter
  • George Wimpey (businessman) (1855–1913), founder of the construction firm of that name
Margravine Cemetery in London, spring 2013 (15)
Detail to the tombs

Conservation

The cemetery is now a part of the Barons Court Conservation Area, designated in April 1989.

Hammersmith and Fulham council states in its 2008 management plan that the site is designated a Nature Conservation Area of Local Importance. It is a particularly useful space for viewing migrating songbirds, bees and butterflies.

Images for kids

  • J Lyons and Company war memorials, Margravine Cemetery 01

    J. Lyons and Co. war memorials

  • Blake's Munitions memorial, Margravine Cemetery

    Blake's Munitions Factory memorial

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