Description
Hornchurch Cemetery was opened by Hornchurch UDC in 1932 and has been enlarged several times since. The northern and eastern sections abut the churchyard of Hornchuch parish church of St Andrew where the majority of funeral services took place. The cemetery contains utilitarian monuments and a war memorial, and is sparsely planted although the southern section has some mature trees. It contains a separate burial ground for members of the Armed Forces, recalling the RAF Station based at Hornchurch from 1915. Between the cemetery and churchyard is The Dell, since 1965 an electricity substation but which was previously a site popular for fairs and other recreational events including prize fights.
Practical Information
| Site location | High Street, Hornchurch |
|---|---|
| Postcode | RM12 6JH |
| What3Words | ///fact.solo.dark |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | daily April to October 9am - 7pm; November to March 9am - 4pm |
| Facilities | Toilet |
| Public Transport | Tube: Upminster Bridge/Hornchurch (District). Bus: 248, 348, 370, 373 |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Hornchurch Cemetery was opened by Hornchurch Urban District Council in 1932 since when it has been enlarged several times. A notable feature of the cemetery that was referred to in 1970, was the ‘extremely well-maintained Service Station'. The northern and eastern sections of the cemetery abut the churchyard of St Andrew's Church (q.v.) where the majority of funeral services took place since there was no chapel in the cemetery. The cemetery contains utilitarian monuments and a war memorial and is sparsely planted with flowering cherry and shrubs. The southern section has some mature trees, and this is where the separate burial ground for members of the armed forces is situated. This recalls the RAF Station at Hornchurch dating from 1915 when the military airfield opened to defend London from Zeppelins on land once mostly part of Hornchurch Priory, which is now Hornchurch Country Park (q.v.). Between the cemetery and churchyard is The Dell, since 1965 an electricity substation but which was previously a site popular for fairs and other recreational events including prize fights.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ542867 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Havering |
| Site Management | South Essex Crematorium |
| Dates | 1932 |
| 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 | Havering |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | St Andrew's |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - local importance with The Dell |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
St Andrew's Church still retains elements of a C13th building and is on a site where there has probably been a church since Anglo-Saxon times. Hornchurch was one of the three parishes within the Royal Manor and Liberty of Havering. In 1158 Henry II granted the church and land to the monks of St Bernard in Montjoux who built Hornchurch Priory, which survived until 1390/91. The monks' seal, a bull's head, may be why a horned bull's head can still be seen on the east exterior wall of the church, and is possibly the origin of ‘Hornchurch'. St Andrew's churchyard was for a long time the only place authorised for burial in this area and monks from Hornchurch Priory are purportedly buried here. The churchyard contains C18th headstones and its lych gate and war memorial were erected after WWI. It has been managed as a nature reserve since 1986. Beside the churchyard is The Dell, since 1965 an electricity substation but which was previously a site popular for fairs and other recreational events including prize fights.
St Andrew's Park is named after the Hornchurch parish church of St Andrew, located to the south across the High Street. The site of the park was once part of lands held by Hornchurch Priory, later owned by St Mary College (New College), Oxford from whom 2 parcels of land were acquired by Hornchurch UDC in May 1928. Main development of the park took place after WWII and by the early 1960s it was a popular park with numerous recreational facilities including tennis courts, putting green and playground. The park was substantially restored in 2010 including construction of new paths, recreational facilities as well as new planting, with nature conservation in mind.
Originally part of the same estate as Langtons, Fairkytes was built in the late C17th, with additional work carried out in the C18th and C19th. The first occupant was Job Alibone, whose son Sir Richard Alibone (d.1688) was the first Catholic to be a Justice of the King's Bench. Occupants in the C19th included Joseph Fry, son of prison reformer and Quaker Elizabeth Fry. A mound still found in the garden was built in Victorian times, apparently to enable the children of the house to see what was happening in the next door Langtons gardens. Hornchurch UDC, having acquired Langtons in 1929, then purchased Fairkytes in 1951 although its garden was not fully incorporated into Langtons pleasure garden. The Council used Fairkytes as a library from 1953 and since 1972 it has been the home of Havering Art Centre.