Description
St Mary's Cemetery opened in 1860, set up by St Mary's Burial Board in an area that was once part of Wandsworth Common. An L-shaped site, the cemetery was laid out on a grid pattern and still has its original cast iron entrance gates and brick gate piers, the gates decorated with religious motifs. The entrance lodge has been rebuilt but the small Gothic chapels remain, with porte-cochère between.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Battersea St Mary's Cemetery; Battersea Rise Cemetery |
|---|---|
| Site location | Battersea Rise/Bolingbroke Grove |
| Postcode | SW11 1HE |
| What3Words | ///movie.blame.view |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Wandsworth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Nov-Feb: Mon-Sat 8am-4pm/Sun 10am-4pm; Mar/Oct: closure at 5pm; April/Sept: closure at 6pm; May - August closure at 7pm. Christmas Day 10am-1pm |
| Facilities | none |
| Public Transport | Rail/London Overground: Clapham Junction. Bus: 77, 219 |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The site of the cemetery was at the corner of Battersea Rise and a lane then called The Five Houses Lane, which presumably referred to houses facing onto the common. Some building on Battersea Rise had taken place by the early 1870s and by the end of the C19th the whole area to the east of the Common had been developed. Hugh Meller remarks upon the poetry of the epitaphs on various tombstones 'emanating it seems from a local school of poets', a number of which carry inscriptions relating to railway deaths at Clapham Junction. Among those buried here were John Burns (d.1943), Liberal politician and MP for Battersea from 1892-1914 who was responsible for the building of the Latchmere Estate where a road is named after him; Henry Meyer (d.1865) the ornithologist who published 'Illustrations of British Birds' in 1835-43; Sir William Rose who was MP for Southampton in 1862-5 and Lord Mayor of London from 1862-63; William Bishop (d.1961) who established the Wellcome Historical Medical Library in 1949 and published works on medical history such as a Dictionary of Medical Biography; and Kaikhoshru Puntheki, a Parsee lawyer from Bombay who has a large urn on his tomb. There are planted areas of flower beds and various trees, including avenue of ornamental cherries.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ272749 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 3.3 |
| Site Ownership | LB Wandsworth |
| Site Management | Central Cemeteries Office |
| Dates | 1860 |
| Listed Structures | LB: wall |
| 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 | Wandsworth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Wandsworth Common |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Public Open Space/Cemetery |
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
Spencer Park was built on land that was formerly part of Wandsworth Common and the remains of more extensive commonland, part of the wastes of the Manor of Battersea and Wandsworth. After vigorous protests by local people to preserve the common from further encroachment, Earl Spencer, Lord of the Manor, agreed to transfer most of the common to the Common Defence Committee that had been established, excluding the area that became Spencer Park, named after him. By the late 1870s the development of Spencer Park was underway with houses overlooking the common and an enclosed private park formally laid out with grass, paths and trees.
The Royal Victoria Patriotic Building was a school for the orphaned children of servicemen in the Crimean War, designed by architect Major Rhode Hawkins and built in 1857-59. It was on land enclosed from Wandsworth Common purchased through patriotic funds in 1854; Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1857. It was later put to various uses, including a hospital, school but closed in 1974. It was restored in the 1980s. To the north of the main front of the RVPB is an area of public open space with lawns and some planting of shrubs, with paths and seating. A footpath leads from here through an area of woodland to Trinity Road.
Wandsworth Common is an important historic common, the remains of more extensive commonland that was part of the wastes of the Manors of Battersea and Wandsworth; by the C19th it had been sub-divided by the railway and encroached upon by building as London was developed. Attempts by local people to preserve the Common against further encroachment began in earnest in 1868 when appeals were made to the MBW to take over responsibility following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866, but this was initially unsuccessful. In 1870 a Common Defence Committee was set up, later to become the Wandsworth Common Preservation Society. In 1887 the Common was transferred to the MBW who carried out improvements including planting, paths layout, creation of the ornamental lakes from old gravel pits as well as the smaller Three Island Pond near Bolingbroke Grove. In 1898 the Common became the responsibility of the new LCC who in 1912 purchased an area of 20 acres of open land to extend the common.