Introduction
Putney is in west Wandsworth, with the boroughs of Richmond to the west, Merton to the south and Lambeth to the east.
In the 18th century, when the burial ground was established, Putney was and still is an affluent place, it had many rich residents. One of the first of the wealthy and influential people to settle in Putney was John Lacy, a member of The Clothmakers Company (a Livery Company) in the City. Lacy was close to Queen Elizabeth I, and she visited him at his home in Putney on at least a dozen occasions. John Lacy has a road named after him, Lacy Road adjoins Putney High Street.
Taking the Lower Richmond Road from Putney Bridge towards Barnes you come to the adjoining common lands of Barnes and Putney Lower Commons. This is part of the extensive green corridor stretching from WWT Wetlands in the north through Barnes and Roehampton to Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common in the south.
We were drawn to this small patch of common lands because hidden away were two small Victorian burial grounds lying close together, and largely abandoned. The Richmond/Wandsworth boundary passes between them, and they are managed separately. Surrounded by woodland, tangled shrubs and open spaces, crisscrossed by paths these burial grounds are little known.
Barnes Cemetery is a wild area, the unkempt part of the Commons but enthralling and atmospheric. Gravestones are at angles or damaged, trees and shrubs invade their spaces, paths wind haphazardly round the old graveyard.
Putney Lower Common Burial Ground is the tidier one with paths gently managed, but that too has a wild area. This graveyard is lighter and sunnier. Walking round both graveyards exploring is a true pleasure.
Putney Old Burial Ground
Putney Old Burial Ground can be found on the Upper Richmond Road, Putney. It’s quite difficult to spot, hidden behind a bus stop with only one entrance into the ground. There are local people today in Putney who do not know of its existence!
As can be seen, it’s difficult to spot the entrance to POBG from this photo. There is, however, a large ugly granite block, just visible in the picture, stating Putney Old Burial Ground.
History of the burial ground.
The land for the cemetery was given, for a fee, to the people of Putney by The Reverend Roger Mortlock Pettiward D.D. in 1763, he was described as “immensely rich” (1). The Reverend Pettiward was part of a family that were large landowners. The Pettiward’s had owned land in Putney since the reign of Charles 2nd in the 17th century. They also part owned the ferry that crossed over the Thames from Putney to Fulham. When the first bridge was built in 1729 across the Thames joining the parishes of Putney and Fulham the family were very well compensated.
There are some very sad statistics for the graveyard, of the 450 people buried there, more than 60 are children. The very first burial was at the cemetery was on the 16th of December, 1763 documented as “Ann Colman infant, ye first corps in ye new burying ground”. (2).
The last burial was in 1854, and up until the 1960s when the council took over the running of the cemetery, the site was badly neglected. It was changed into a park, and many graves were removed and placed in the corner of the cemetery.