Description
Greenwich Cemetery was founded 1856 by Greenwich Burial Board on a hilly site, which commands fine views towards both the City and Crystal Palace. The cemetery has two Gothic chapels, and a 1930s lodge at the entrance. Due to the proximity of the military academy and other institutions at Woolwich, there are numerous army personnel buried here. There is little mature planting, and particularly interesting tombs are found predominantly near the chapels.
Practical Information
| Site location | Well Hall Road, Eltham |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SE9 6UA |
| What3Words | ///certified.remove.state |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Greenwich |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Daily: April-Sept 9am-7pm; Oct-Mar 9am-4pm |
| Special Conditions | No dogs except guide dogs |
| Facilities | Toilets |
| Public Transport | Rail: Eltham then bus. Bus: 161, 122. |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Greenwich Cemetery was founded in 1856 by Greenwich Burial Board, and is situated on a rather exposed hilly site with remarkably little mature planting consisting of limes, a few Leylandia, Corsican pine and yews. There are two "large but lumpish" (Meller) Gothic chapels, and at the entrance is a 1930s lodge, with gates and railings, brick piers with stone capitals. There are panoramic views from the Great War Heroes Corner at the top of the hill of Crystal Palace and towards City. There are other specially designated areas within the cemetery such as the Commonwealth Burial Ground, the Norwegian section for refugees of World War II, and a Children's section.
Among the memorials of note are three pairs of small C19th tazzas beside the main drive; large horizontal incised slabs with heraldic devices for Henry Smith (d.1923) and his family; and the monument for Nicholas Ogareff who was originally buried in Russia in 1877 but whose body was later exhumed, cremated and the ashes brought to Greenwich for reburial in 1966. Due to the proximity of the military academy and other institutions at Woolwich, there are numerous army personnel buried here, including General Sir Arthur Holland (d.1927), Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, and Surgeon General James Jameson (d.1904) who was the Director General of the Army Medical Services in the Boer War and the Commander of the British Ambulance Division in the Franco-Prussian War.
The cemetery has flower beds within an area of lawn at the entrance, and fine tombs are found predominantly near the chapels, with a particularly good sculpted group at the top of hill towards the west near the War Graves.
Among the memorials of note are three pairs of small C19th tazzas beside the main drive; large horizontal incised slabs with heraldic devices for Henry Smith (d.1923) and his family; and the monument for Nicholas Ogareff who was originally buried in Russia in 1877 but whose body was later exhumed, cremated and the ashes brought to Greenwich for reburial in 1966. Due to the proximity of the military academy and other institutions at Woolwich, there are numerous army personnel buried here, including General Sir Arthur Holland (d.1927), Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, and Surgeon General James Jameson (d.1904) who was the Director General of the Army Medical Services in the Boer War and the Commander of the British Ambulance Division in the Franco-Prussian War.
The cemetery has flower beds within an area of lawn at the entrance, and fine tombs are found predominantly near the chapels, with a particularly good sculpted group at the top of hill towards the west near the War Graves.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ425762 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 9.15 |
| Site Ownership | RB Greenwich |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1856 |
| 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 | Greenwich |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance I |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character of Metropolitan Importance |
| Other LA Designation | Green Chain |
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 was formerly common land, which was acquired from the War Department in 1952 and provided as public open space with funding from King George's Fields Foundation, which had been set up in 1936 as a living memorial to the late King. It comprises an area of open grass with a number of mature oak trees in the centre. At the south east corner is a brick structure with seating niche, either side of which are brick piers with the plaques recording the support of King George's Fields Foundation.
The Progress Estate was built by the Government over 10 months in 1915 to provide emergency accommodation for munitions workers at the nearby Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. The estate, originally called Well Hall Estate, was laid out on a hilly site on 'Garden Suburb' principles, with low density cottage-style housing, careful attention to detailing and use of materials. In addition to private gardens, throughout the estate were planted verges, hedged footpaths, and other landscaping, as well as two 'village greens'. Lovelace Green forms the larger of these communal open spaces with Sandby Green the smaller. The integrity of the estate endures, with most of the original housing still surviving, an important example of town planning of that period.
Eltham Common and the neighbouring Shooters Hill Woodlands were once notorious haunts for highwaymen and other robbers; the site of a gibbet was in the north-west corner of the Common where criminals were publicly hung and their bodies left to decay as a caution to others. The land was purchased by the Office of Woods and Forests in 1812 and used by the War Department, although public access was permitted. In the early C20th Woolwich BC and the LCC applied to take over the site, but it wasn't until 1938 that nearly 13 hectares of the Common were acquired from the War Department as part of Green Belt legislation. Eltham Common consists of a roughly triangular area of grassland between junction of Well Hall Road and Shooters Hill beyond which is secondary woodland.
