Description
Beckenham Cemetery opened in 1876 and originally had two Gothic-style chapels, only one of which survived bombing in WWII. This is now the chapel for Beckenham Crematorium, which established in 1956. An area of artificial rockwork with cascades and pools is located behind the chapel to the west. The cemetery retains its stone gate piers, wrought iron gates and iron boundary railings and has a good collection of monuments, including that of cricketer W.G. Grace and Frederick Wolseley, inventor with Herbert Austin of the Wolseley car.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Crystal Palace District Cemetery, Elmers End Cemetery |
|---|---|
| Site location | Elmers End Road, Beckenham |
| Postcode | BR3 4TD |
| What3Words | ///target.forms.caged |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Bromley |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - 6.30pm, car park closes 4.30pm |
| Facilities | car park |
| Public Transport | Rail: Birkbeck, Elmers End. Tram at Elmers End. Bus: 354 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Beckenham Cemetery, originally called Crystal Palace District Cemetery, and Elmers End Cemetery, opened in 1876, although some sources give the opening date as 1880. It originally had two Gothic style chapels designed by architect Alexander Hennell, whose designs were published in The Builder in November 1874. The oldest part of the cemetery is near the main entrance, which has a large Edwardian lodge. The consecrated chapel was damaged by bombing in WWII but not demolished until the 1960s; the surviving unconsecrated chapel was converted into the chapel for Beckenham Crematorium, which was established here in 1956. A number of additional buildings have been built or added to the chapel, which is now partially covered in creeper or ivy. An area of artificial rockwork with cascades and pools is located behind the chapel to the west, described as 'a unique feature among London's cemeteries' (Meller). Nearby is a garden of remembrance with brick-piered pergola and rose beds. The cemetery retains its stone gate piers, wrought iron gates and iron boundary railings and has a good collection of monuments.
Numerous doctors have been buried here, a fact which Meller speculates is due to its proximity to Sydenham's healthful spa. Among those buried here is William ('W G') Grace (1848-1915), doctor but best known as a famous cricketer who scored 126 centuries in his 43 year career, and who was cricket manager at Crystal Palace. Josiah, 1st Lord Stamp of Shortlands (1880-1941) is buried here, influential government adviser, director of the Bank of England and ICI, and president of a number of diverse organisations including the Geographical Society and the Institute of Transport. In 1988 a memorial was erected to mark the grave of Frederick Wolseley (1837-1899), who with Herbert Austin created the Wolseley car in the 1890s. Wolseley had previously spent time in Australia where he invented a sheep shearing machine. A memorial commemorates one of the heaviest air raids in WWII in London on 19/20 April 1941 when 21 members of Beckenham Fire Service died. Henry Lowndes' grave has a figure of a soldier on his grave, commemorating his service as a hero of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny.
Adjacent to South Norwood Country Park to the south, it is a well-wooded site with horse chestnut trees, Lombardy poplars, yew and willows and is laid out with serpentine and geometrical paths either asphalted or surviving in grass. Previously owned by Beckenham Crematorium Company, the crematorium is now owned by Dignity Funerals Ltd, which also now runs East London Cemetery and Crematorium in Plaistow, and South London Crematorium and Streatham Park Cemetery (q.q.v.).
Numerous doctors have been buried here, a fact which Meller speculates is due to its proximity to Sydenham's healthful spa. Among those buried here is William ('W G') Grace (1848-1915), doctor but best known as a famous cricketer who scored 126 centuries in his 43 year career, and who was cricket manager at Crystal Palace. Josiah, 1st Lord Stamp of Shortlands (1880-1941) is buried here, influential government adviser, director of the Bank of England and ICI, and president of a number of diverse organisations including the Geographical Society and the Institute of Transport. In 1988 a memorial was erected to mark the grave of Frederick Wolseley (1837-1899), who with Herbert Austin created the Wolseley car in the 1890s. Wolseley had previously spent time in Australia where he invented a sheep shearing machine. A memorial commemorates one of the heaviest air raids in WWII in London on 19/20 April 1941 when 21 members of Beckenham Fire Service died. Henry Lowndes' grave has a figure of a soldier on his grave, commemorating his service as a hero of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny.
Adjacent to South Norwood Country Park to the south, it is a well-wooded site with horse chestnut trees, Lombardy poplars, yew and willows and is laid out with serpentine and geometrical paths either asphalted or surviving in grass. Previously owned by Beckenham Crematorium Company, the crematorium is now owned by Dignity Funerals Ltd, which also now runs East London Cemetery and Crematorium in Plaistow, and South London Crematorium and Streatham Park Cemetery (q.q.v.).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ353688 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 12.15 |
| Site Ownership | Dignity Funerals Ltd |
| Site Management | Dignity Funerals Ltd |
| Dates | 1876 |
| Designers | Alexander Hennell (architect for the chapels) |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Bromley |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Urban Open Space |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
South Norwood Country Park was created in 1987 on land in the north east of the borough, originally used for agriculture as well as pottery and brickworks. Old maps show there may have been an C18th moated site near the open stream. From 1862 it became Croydon Corporation's sewage farm, with land acquired in a piecemeal fashion until as late as 1951. The sewage works closed in 1967 and the filter beds were dismantled to ground level. The new Country Park sought to preserve the wetlands and developed new meadowlands on areas that had previously been tipped.
Winsford Gardens were formerly part of the grounds of Winsford House, built as a private residence in c.1936 by Stephen Gee, a wealthy local property developer. It stood on the right of the Garden Road entrance to the public gardens. Prior to this the area was part of the Chesham Park estate. There were once a number of large houses here, but from the 1960s many were cleared and replaced by flats such as Benwick Court and later Burmarsh Court. In 1977 Gee's property was conveyed to Bromley Council. Winsford Gardens opened as a public park but later became neglected. In 2011 the environmental charity BTCV recruited local volunteers to restore and transform the gardens as a community space, establishing Penge Green Gym to undertake the task. Features remaining from the original garden include ornamental shrub beds, fruit trees, rose gardens, ponds and areas of lawn.
The land here was once part of Penge Common, dating back to at least the C10th. Betts Park was opened in 1928 when a large Victorian villa and its gardens, including a remnant of the former Croydon Canal, were donated to the people of Penge in perpetuity by local landlord and businessman Frederick Betts for use as a library and park. Additional land was later purchased with funding from the King George's Fields Foundation in 1936 and provided horticultural features and recreation facilities. The park slopes to the south and is almost entirely surrounded by residential housing. Trees include mature oaks, false acacia, holm oak, London plane and a mulberry, and there are remains of a shrubbery with holm oak, laurel and yew. Horse chestnut trees line a tarmac walk from Betts Way south-west across the park. The brick base of an armillary sundial survives to the north and from this point there are views across the surprisingly wooded landscape of Croydon.
