Tottenham Cemetery

A large irregularly shaped plot to the north of Bruce Castle Park and All Hallows Church (q.q.v.), Nikolaus Pevsner described Tottenham Cemetery as a 'rural oasis' and it remains picturesque. It was opened by the Tottenham Burial Board in 1858 following the closure of All Hallows churchyard to burial in 1857. A plot of 5 acres near the church was purchased by the parishioners, 3 acres of which were consecrated in December 1857, the remaining 2 acres left unconsecrated for non Church of England burials. A chapel was erected for each part, each in early Gothic style and built of Kentish rag with Bathstone dressings, linked by a vaulted carriage arch with bellcote above it. They were designed by George Pritchett, who also drained and landscaped the land, laying out axial paths. £57 1s 6d was expended on shrubs and evergreens and the total cost of initial works was £5,000. A gardener's cottage was built in 1876 and the cemetery extended to the east and south-west between 1881 and 1887. Well Field was added to the unconsecrated side to the east, so-called because it contained Bishop's Well, also known as Lady's Well, which had dried up when the cemetery was drained.

The south-west extension opened in 1883, connected to the east portion via a rock-faced stone tunnel under the public footpath from All Hallows. This section was originally laid out with curving walks but altered to a formal grid of paths before 1913. A Portland stone war memorial was integrated into the formal layout of this area and dedicated in 1922; it was of the 'Cross of Sacrifice' design devised by Sir Reginald Blomfield in 1919. Notable monuments in the cemetery include the tomb of architect William Butterfield (1814-1900), which he himself designed, 'low cross-capped tomb-chests for himself and his sister's family'.

The cemetery was extended north of the Moselle Brook after 1913, partly on the estate of the former Tottenham Park, on the site of a large house shown on a 1619 survey within 'The Parsonage Grounds'. This land included a large irregularly shaped lake with two islands that now forms the centrepiece of the 'Garden of Peace' of late 1950s/ early 1960s, planted with, inter alia, a grove of ornamental cherries.

The old cemetery has many fine mature trees including C19th cedar, oak, conifers, yew and hollies. The south-west extension has C20th pollarded limes and acers along the grid of paths, with natural planting along the banks of the Moselle.