Description
Trent Park Cemetery was opened in 1960 by Islington Council. The land was formerly in agricultural use but had once been part of the hunting park of Enfield Chase at its far western edge. When the Chase was enclosed after 1777 a small part was retained as a miniature hunting park and became Trent Park, which by mid-C19th covered 1,215 ha. A farm called West Farm existed at Cockfosters from at least the C16th and was added to the Trent Park estate in the C19th. The cemetery has a small brick chapel near the entrance that contains a Book of Remembrance.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Part of Enfield Chase |
|---|---|
| Site location | Cockfosters Road |
| Postcode | EN4 0DZ |
| What3Words | ///pull.fine.pigs |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Enfield |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | November to February 9am - 4pm; March, April, September, October 9am - 5.30pm; May to August 9am - 7pm; Christmas Day: 10am - 2pm |
| Facilities | Parking; toilets |
| Public Transport | Tube: Cockfosters, Oakwood (Piccadilly). Bus: 121, 298, 299, 307, 384 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Trent Park Cemetery was opened in 1960 by Islington Council and was designed as a lawn cemetery. The land was formerly in agricultural use but had once been part of the hunting park of Enfield Chase. When the Chase was enclosed after 1777 a small part was retained as a miniature hunting park and became Trent Park, which by mid-C19th covered 1,215 ha. Cockfosters was an isolated hamlet to the south, and remained rural farmland until the early C20th. A farm called West Farm is recorded from at least 1572, and is marked on Surveys of Enfield Chase in the C17th and C18th. Between 1793 and 1810, the then owner of Trent Park, John Wigston, purchased 145 acres of land to the south for agricultural use and a later owner, Robert Bevan, purchased West Farm in 1824, which remained in his family after the remainder of the Trent Park estate was sold to Sir Edward Sassoon in 1909. Three fields were leased to Cockfosters Cricket Club in 1939. Cockfosters did not develop substantially until after 1933 when the Piccadilly line extended here.
The cemetery entrance on Cockfosters Road is via semi-circular iron gates in a red brick wall, which leads to a wide tarmac roadway running through the cemetery. A small brick chapel is on the left of the entrance and contains a Book of Remembrance. In front of the chapel is some ornamental planting in an oval lawn. Either side of the road are rows of trees, mostly conifers, between which in places are rows of small memorials. Beyond, on either side, are open areas of grass, with a few graves in the right hand side, but without headstones to speak of. In the 1990s, remains from the private Nonconformist Jones Burial Ground near Islington Green, also known as 'New Bunhill Fields Burial Ground', were reburied at Trent Park when the area was being developed for a private housing scheme, Andersons Square (q.v.) and the burial ground was exhumed. The Jones Burial Ground is thought to have seen up to 17,000 burials before it closed in 1854.
The cemetery entrance on Cockfosters Road is via semi-circular iron gates in a red brick wall, which leads to a wide tarmac roadway running through the cemetery. A small brick chapel is on the left of the entrance and contains a Book of Remembrance. In front of the chapel is some ornamental planting in an oval lawn. Either side of the road are rows of trees, mostly conifers, between which in places are rows of small memorials. Beyond, on either side, are open areas of grass, with a few graves in the right hand side, but without headstones to speak of. In the 1990s, remains from the private Nonconformist Jones Burial Ground near Islington Green, also known as 'New Bunhill Fields Burial Ground', were reburied at Trent Park when the area was being developed for a private housing scheme, Andersons Square (q.v.) and the burial ground was exhumed. The Jones Burial Ground is thought to have seen up to 17,000 burials before it closed in 1854.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ281965 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | L B Islington |
| Site Management | Islington Cemeteries and Crematorium |
| Dates | 1960 |
| 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 | Enfield |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Trent Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Enfield Chase Heritage Area AOSC (Area of Special Character) |
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
Christ Church was built in 1837-39 when Cockfosters became a separate parish, and was paid for by Robert Bevan of nearby Trent Park. The hamlet of Cock Fosters effectively developed as an estate village for the large estates of Trent Park and Beech Hill Park. The Bevan Family monument is found in the small churchyard to the north of the church, which has gravestones and some fine monuments among grass, with yew and other trees, roses and shrubs.
Traces of a C17th/C18th walled kitchen garden remain in private gardens on Cat Hill, once part of the gardens of Little Grove estate. Owned from 1674-8 by the widow of the Stuart diplomat and gardener Sir Richard Fanshawe, the estate was acquired by John Cotton in 1719 who built a house to the south of Cat Hill. In 1767 the then owner Judge Edward Willes commissioned Capability Brown to lay out the park. In 1932 the house was demolished and a housing estate constructed along Cat Hill and across the park.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Trent Park was formerly part of the royal hunting park of Enfield Chase. When it was enclosed after 1777 a small part was retained as a miniature hunting park, the principal portion granted to Dr Richard Jebb, as a reward for saving the life of the King's brother at Trento in the Austria. A deer park and lake were laid out and an old lodge converted into Trent Place. After Jebb’s death the estate had various owners and in 1833 was bought by David Bevan, whose son Robert inherited in 1837 and renamed the estate Trent Park, which by mid-C19th covered 1,215 ha. In 1909 it was sold to Sir Edward Sassoon and inherited in 1912 by his son Philip who rebuilt parts of the house and laid out new formal gardens. In 1947 the house and c.81 ha. became Trent Park Teachers' Training College, and in 1951 the entire estate was compulsorily purchased by MCC as Green Belt land. In 1968 most of the land became Trent Country Park, which was officially opened in 1973.
Trent Park was formerly part of the royal hunting park of Enfield Chase. When it was enclosed after 1777 a small part was retained as a miniature hunting park, the principal portion granted to Dr Richard Jebb, as a reward for saving the life of the King's brother at Trento in the Austria. A deer park and lake were laid out and an old lodge converted into Trent Place. After Jebb’s death the estate had various owners and in 1833 was bought by David Bevan, whose son Robert inherited in 1837 and renamed the estate Trent Park, which by mid-C19th covered 1,215 ha. In 1909 it was sold to Sir Edward Sassoon and inherited in 1912 by his son Philip who rebuilt parts of the house and laid out new formal gardens. In 1947 the house and c.81 ha. became Trent Park Teachers' Training College, and in 1951 the entire estate was compulsorily purchased by MCC as Green Belt land. In 1968 most of the land became Trent Country Park, which was officially opened in 1973.
