Description
Land for what is now called Old Mortlake Burial Ground was purchased in 1854 and the first burial took place in December. In 1874 Mortlake Burial Board was established and further pieces of land were purchased, and the cemetery was enlarged to the west in 1877. The original cemetery chapel was demolished in 1969, its site marked by a an area of tarmac in front of the main entrance gates on South Worple Way. From here an avenue of mature horse chestnuts flanks the path that prior to the extension ran through the centre of the cemetery. A brick lodge was built at a second entrance on Avenue Gardens, now privately owned. The cemetery has many fine mature trees and a number of historic tombs including those of Charles Dickens' eldest son and sister-in-law.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Mortlake Burial Ground; Mortlake Old Cemetery |
|---|---|
| Site location | South Worple Way/Avenue Gardens, Mortlake |
| Postcode | SW14 8BP |
| What3Words | ///raced.delay.film |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Richmond |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 10am-4.30pm (November - March); 10am - 6.30pm (April - October) |
| Public Transport | Rail: Mortlake. Bus: 493, 33, 337, 485 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2009 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
When the parish churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake (q.v.) was full, the vestry bought land for a new cemetery in 1854 paid for by subscription. The first burial was that of William Langridge on 21 December of that year. In 1874 a Burial Board was formed and further pieces of land were purchased from Captain T K Fitzgerald and Mr W H Ratcliffe for £1,350 and £420 respectively, and the cemetery was enlarged to the west in 1877. It was paid for through a 30 year mortgage of £3,500, which the Board took out with Atlas Life against the poor-rates as security. The cemetery's grid system of paths is now gone but the original cast iron railings and main entrance gates remain. A path leads to the entrance on Avenue Gardens, where the brick lodge is now privately owned.
In the south-east corner of the cemetery is an obelisk over the grave of Admiral Lord William Fitzroy who lived in Mortlake. Buried here are Charles Dickens' son, also Charles (d.1896), and Dickens' sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth (d.1917); Sir Edwin Chadwick (1800-1890) who was instrumental in reforms to burial practices particularly through his report 'Practice of Interment in Towns' in 1843; Francis Godfrey (d.1868), Waterman to Queen Victoria; Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommaney (d.1904) who served on the Arctic Expeditions of 1838 and 1850; Thomas German Reed (d.1888) who with his wife Priscilla created the 'German Reed Entertainment' in 1855 'to provide dramatic amusement for that class of society which was reluctant to visit the theatres'. Some restoration work has been carried out in recent years, largely at the instigation of volunteers and one particular enthusiast who tends the cemetery.
In the south-east corner of the cemetery is an obelisk over the grave of Admiral Lord William Fitzroy who lived in Mortlake. Buried here are Charles Dickens' son, also Charles (d.1896), and Dickens' sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth (d.1917); Sir Edwin Chadwick (1800-1890) who was instrumental in reforms to burial practices particularly through his report 'Practice of Interment in Towns' in 1843; Francis Godfrey (d.1868), Waterman to Queen Victoria; Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommaney (d.1904) who served on the Arctic Expeditions of 1838 and 1850; Thomas German Reed (d.1888) who with his wife Priscilla created the 'German Reed Entertainment' in 1855 'to provide dramatic amusement for that class of society which was reluctant to visit the theatres'. Some restoration work has been carried out in recent years, largely at the instigation of volunteers and one particular enthusiast who tends the cemetery.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ210756 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Richmond |
| Site Management | Environment Planning and Review, Cemeteries Office |
| Dates | 1854, 1877 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Queen's Road (Mortlake) |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Open Land of Townscape Importance |
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
Hidden away at the end of a cul de sac is the remains of the dissenters' burial ground of the East Sheen Congregational Church. An independent chapel was first built on Sheen Lane in 1716 and later enlarged. It was attached to the British Schools in South Worple Way, at the back of which was a small piece of ground used as a burial ground by the church. By the 1990s it was a rather overgrown, railed site containing up 12 - 16 tombstones. The British School then sold the site to a developer whose initial plan to build bungalows here was refused permission by Richmond Council. However, the burial ground is practically unrecognisable as such, having been landscaped by new owners into a small garden with grass, shrub beds and gravel path, with chain link fencing to the back gardens of houses to the west.
St Mary Magdalen's RC Church was built in 1852 at a time when the Catholic community in Mortlake was growing, hitherto served by mass held in private houses, such as that of Lady Mostyn in Sheen. The churchyard was opened in 1853 and is particularly important for the mausoleum in the form of an Arab tent of the explorer Sir Richard Burton (d.1890), erected by his wife Isabel, who was buried here in 1896. The small tree-filled churchyard is walled on three sides and abuts St Mary Magdalen RC Primary School, which is contemporary with the church and churchyard.
Mortlake was a medieval village, and the first church recorded was a chapel erected in 1348 near the Manor House. St Mary's Church was built on the present site in 1543. The original parish burial ground was a piece of land next to the old chapel that had been given by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1383. St Mary's churchyard was enlarged in 1725/6, in 1742 and again in 1799. It was closed to burials in 1854. The maintenance of the churchyard became the responsibility of the local council in the 1920s. Having become neglected, it was restored as a garden in the 1980s and is now maintained by the Friends of Mortlake Churchyard.