Description
Paines Lane Cemetery opened in 1860, a modest cemetery without chapels or lodge and having a simple layout of cruciform walks. It was established here when efforts to enlarge Pinner's parish churchyard to provide burial ground for non-conformists failed. Among those buried here was Admiral Nelson's daughter Horatia. The cemetery was closed to burials in 1924.
Practical Information
| Site location | Paines Lane, Pinner |
|---|---|
| Postcode | HA5 |
| What3Words | ///sudden.stamp.shin |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Harrow |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Nov/Dec: 9am - 4.30pm; Jan-Mar/Oct: 9am - 5.30pm; April/Sept: 9am - 7pm; May-August: 9am - 8pm. |
| Public Transport | Tube: Pinner (Metropolitan). Bus: 183, H11, H12, H13 (walk) |
| Research Updated | 1 December 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Paines Lane is an old route existing from at least Tudor times. The cemetery opened in 1859/60 and was established here when efforts to enlarge Pinner's parish churchyard of St John's (q.v.) to provide burial ground for non-conformists were unsuccessful. The cemetery is walled on two sides with gate piers and iron gates topped with fleur-de-lys and flanking railings, but its low brick boundary wall along Paines Lane has lost its railings. It is laid out with a simple layout of cruciform walks, with no chapel of lodge, and among its trees are yews and a pair of cedars. Among the monuments is that of Admiral Nelson's daughter, Horatia Nelson Ward, who died at the age of 81. In 1859 she had come to live in Pinner near Tookes Green (q.v.) where one of her sons, Nelson Ward, was already living. Two of her children are buried with her including her daughter Eleanor, knocked down in Pinner High Street by a runaway horse. There is also a memorial to Ambrose Heal, of Heal's furniture shop, who lived in an Arts and Crafts style house on Moss Lane, The 5 Courts, built for him in 1910. The cemetery closed to burials in 1924.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ124898 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Harrow |
| Site Management | Environmental Services, Cemetery Office |
| Dates | 1859/60 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Horatio Nelson Ward monument |
| 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 | Harrow |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaelogical Priority Area |
| Other LA Designation | 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
This small green in front of Church Farm and opposite St John the Baptist's church was donated by John Edward Clarke for the benefit of the people of Pinner in July 1924 as a public open space in perpetuity.
St John's was a Chapel of St Mary's Harrow until 1766, when it became a parish in its own right. However it was an important place of worship by the C14th when a market and fair were first held in Pinner. The churchyard is entered through a lych-gate, and among the monuments is that of William and Agnes Loudon, parents of the celebrated garden writer John Claudius Loudon.
Tookes Green is a small triangular green on sloping land at the junction of three roads, with a few trees and seats and bordered with setts, a boulder at each corner. In the centre is a granite drinking fountain on an octagonal stepped base, erected here by the inhabitants of Pinner in 1886 to commemorate William Arthur Tooke, JP who had lived at Pinner Hill House.