Description
Although now located in Richmond, Borough Cemetery serves the people of Hounslow and is the borough's largest cemetery. It has a modest brick lodge at the entrance, which has brick gate piers and iron gates. The cemetery is laid out with tarmac roadways and curving paths, the graves set in grass, and numerous conifers such as cypress planted throughout and along edges of paths and roadways. The fence between the cemetery and adjacent Heathfields Recreation Ground is thickly planted with cypress, with shrubbery on the cemetery side, and an avenue of trees on the recreation ground side, which is marked Coronation Avenue. An intermittent line of cypresses is along the end boundary fence to open land. A number of the tombs exhibit a similar design of miniature formal gardens, with entrances and winding paths, possibly the work of a local mason.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Heston and Isleworth Cemetery |
|---|---|
| Site location | Powder Mill Lane, Whitton |
| Postcode | TW2 6EJ |
| What3Words | ///shorts.movies.update |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Richmond |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 9am - 4pm (Nov-Feb)/- 5.30pm (Mar, Oct)/ - 7pm (Apr, May, Aug, Sept)/ - 8pm (June/July)/ - 2pm (Xmas day) |
| Public Transport | Rail: Whitton. Bus: 110, R62. |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The land available for the cemtery was originally 32 acres, part of which was to be held in reserve until needed for burial. Two acres of the ground are now set aside for Muslim burial.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ130735 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Hounslow |
| Site Management | Continental Landscapes Ltd |
| Dates | 1942 |
| 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 | Richmond |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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
The land for Hounslow Cemetery was conveyed to Hounslow Burial Board in 1868 and the first portion was consecrated in February 1869. It was enlarged in the C20th when an additional area was consecrated in June 1921. Two further areas in the south-east portion of the ground were consecrated in May 1928 by the Lord Bishop of London, and an additional 5 acres consecrated in 1929. The two small cemetery chapels, divided by a porte-cochère, are in the oldest part of the cemetery. Between the graves is mown grass, with some trees including conifers generally found on the perimeter of the cemetery.
Crane Park is a linear park along the north bank of the River Crane from Meadway in Twickenham to the Hanworth Road in the west. The Crane had various names, including 'the Powder Mill River' due to its most important industry; the western end of the park was the site of Hounslow Gunpowder Works, which opened c.1766/8, flourishing into the early C20th. After it ceased to operate for gunpowder manufacture, the subsequent owner sold part of the site for housing and part to Twickenham Council who turned it into a public park, which was opened in 1935. It still retains important industrial archaeological remains including the Shot Tower built in 1828. Crane Park Island was created to contain a mill-pool of water used to drive mill machinery, some remains of which are still found.
The river begins in Harrow and runs through Hillingdon as the Yeading Brook, changing its name to the Crane at the Grand Union Canal in Hayes and eventually meeting the Thames at Isleworth. The Duke of Northumberland's River links the Crane Valley to the Colne Valley. From late C18th-1926 Bedfont Gunpowder Mills operated here due to the isolated position, supply of water power and abundance of willow and alder trees for making charcoal. After the closure of the mills the southern section of the Crane River was opened as a public park in 1935. The river borders had parkland in the north within LB Richmond, and woodland, scrub and grassland on the south bank in LB Hounslow.