Description
Isleworth Cemetery was set up by Isleworth Burial Board in 1879 when the parish churchyard at All Saints was full. The land was purchased from the Duke of Northumberland and the cemetery laid out with a network of paths, twin chapels, entrance lodge and mortuary. The first burial took place in 1880. In 1909 the Burial Board transferred the cemetery to the Heston & Isleworth UDC.
Practical Information
| Site location | Park Road, Isleworth |
|---|---|
| Postcode | TW7 |
| What3Words | ///pull.chemistry.invite |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Hounslow |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 9am - 4pm (Nov-Feb); - 5.30pm (Mar/Oct); - 7pm (Apr/May/Aug/Sept); - 8pm (Jun/July). Xmas Day 9am-2pm |
| Special Conditions | no dogs |
| Public Transport | Rail: Syon Lane. Bus: 267. |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Isleworth Burial Board was formed to consider acquisition of a suitable site for a new parish burial ground in 1877 and in 1878 purchase of land belonging to the Duke of Northumberland was approved by the vestry. A loan of £12,000 was negotiated and over 6 acres were purchased in April 1879 for £4,769, the remainder of the loan used for building the twin gothic chapels with a central octagonal spire, designed by architect Mr Farnell, a small lodge at the entrance for the cemetery superintendent, the mortuary, walls, fences and laying out the cemetery. The layout plan of 1878 shows a network of paths, planting around the mortuary and in two oases between paths and along the boundary with 'New Road', which was the name given to Park Road until 1880, with mixed trees including conifers along the south. The first burial took place on 26 June 1880.
Among those buried here are members of the Pears family of the well-known Pears Soap company. In 1886 Andrew Pears, 3rd generation Head of the family business, had purchased Spring Grove House, once the home of Sir Joseph Banks, and enlarged it considerably in the 1890s; it is now part of West Thames College. A polished granite monument commemorates Thomas Pears who was a victim of the Titanic sinking on 15 April 1912. A red granite obelisk was erected by public subscription in 1885 to Alice Ayres who died in a fire while 'she heroically rescued the children committed to her charge'. Others include Sir Thomas Williams (d.1941), who was director of a number of railway and canal companies, and Albert Baldwin (d.1936) who founded a coin-dealing firm in 1872.
Among those buried here are members of the Pears family of the well-known Pears Soap company. In 1886 Andrew Pears, 3rd generation Head of the family business, had purchased Spring Grove House, once the home of Sir Joseph Banks, and enlarged it considerably in the 1890s; it is now part of West Thames College. A polished granite monument commemorates Thomas Pears who was a victim of the Titanic sinking on 15 April 1912. A red granite obelisk was erected by public subscription in 1885 to Alice Ayres who died in a fire while 'she heroically rescued the children committed to her charge'. Others include Sir Thomas Williams (d.1941), who was director of a number of railway and canal companies, and Albert Baldwin (d.1936) who founded a coin-dealing firm in 1872.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ165764 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 2.38 |
| Site Ownership | LB Hounslow |
| Site Management | Continental Landscapes Ltd |
| Dates | 1879/80 |
| Designers | Mr Farnell, Augustus Rovedino |
| 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 | Hounslow |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Isleworth Capital Challenge Area |
| Other LA Designation | Local 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
First records of a Friends Meeting at Brentford date from 1659, which lapsed when John Woolrich, at whose house the meetings were held, was arrested. In 1706 meetings were held in a barn in Old Brentford but from 1731 there was a movement to set up a new Meeting House. This led to the purchase in 1785 of a small plot of land from Benjamin Angell, a wealthy Quaker. The earliest burials took place in the area to the north of the Meeting House. In 1824 an additional strip of land to the south was given by Sarah Angell for a burial ground and it was used as such from 1855 onwards, remaining open for burials today.
There was a church at Isleworth at the time of the Norman Conquest and the medieval church of All Saints was largely rebuilt in 1706/7. The present building retains the C15th tower but was rebuilt in 1967-70 following severe damage by fire in 1943. Isleworth became a fashionable place to live in the C18th and suburban development dates from the arrival of the railways. The churchyard was extended in 1848 but by 1877 was full. In front of the church is a neatly kept garden with a number of tombs, with a more wooded burial ground behind the church.
Silverhall Park is on part of the former Silver Hall estate. The name appears to have been used for the estate from the mid-C18th after its owner Mrs Oliver, nee Silver. The house was demolished in the early C19th and the estate sold piecemeal. A new house was built in 1813 on a site now occupied by the park. From 1880 - 1908 Silver Hall was occupied by Carmelite nuns who had moved here from Fulham Carmel. It was later a school but by the 1940s the house was derelict and it was demolished in the 1950s. Gates on North Street and the remains of the ice house are all that are left. A section of the C16th Duke of Northumberland's River runs through the park