Kingston Cemetery and Crematorium

Kingston Cemetery was set up by Kingston Municipal Burial Board in 1855, prior to which all burials had been in Kingston's parish churchyard of All Saints and its overflow burial ground at Union Street (q.q.v.) The cemetery is on hilly land previously known as Bonner Hill Fields, with the Hogsmill River forming its southern boundary. Some of the native trees, which include oak, birch, ash, holly, hawthorn and yew, may predate the cemetery. It was simply laid out on formal lines; at the highest point and directly in front of the main entrance are two gothic chapels designed by Aickin and Capes, a symmetrical pair linked by a porte-cochère with a belfry and spire over it. One of these is now redundant and contains the Book of Remembrance. In 1877 the memorials in the cemetery were praised in Chapman's guidebook on Kingston, nearly all erected by resident artists and displaying 'much merit and skilful execution'.

The cemetery was extended in the south and in 1952 a brick Crematorium was built designed by the Borough Surveyor. The area around the crematorium was landscaped, with gardens with brick cloisters, a pergola, rose beds, pond and rockery, which were completed in 1958. Among the historically significant tombs is that of Dorothy Frances Victoria Burton (d. 1908), which was sculpted by Richard Goulden and cast by her father. A metal founder at Thames Ditton he was responsible for the Queen Alexandra Fountain outside Marlborough House (q.v.). Others buried here include Arthur Ranyard (d.1894) whose fine memorial has a female figure; Ranyard was Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Association and editor of 'Knowledge' from 1888-1894; Thomas Hansard (d.1891) who was the proprietor and editor of Hansard's Parliamentary Debates from 1833-1888; Joseph Moloney (d.1896), an explorer in the African Congo; William Young (d.1901), one-time Governor of the Gold Coast; and Alfred Lord Webb-Johnson of Stoke on Trent (d.1958) an eminent surgeon and the longest serving president of the Royal College of Surgeons from 1941-49 and President of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1950-52.