Description
Twickenham Cemetery was once surrounded by fields and orchards. It was established by Twickenham Burial Board in 1868, originally on a site of c.3.23 hectares (8 acres) but since enlarged. It retains its pair of gothic chapels and ornamental entrance gates and although the monuments are generally quite modest, there is a charming garden commemorating the private graves of Variety Artistes. The cemetery is hedged to Percy Road and contains a number of mature trees, including conifers and monkey puzzle, numerous flat-topped yews and many of more recent planting.
Practical Information
| Site location | Hospital Bridge Road/Percy Road, Twickenham |
|---|---|
| Postcode | TW2 6LD |
| What3Words | ///sweep.intent.sugars |
| 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: Twickenham, Whitton. Bus: H22, 418, 110. |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2009 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The cemetery chapels were designed by the Ealing Borough Surveyor Charles Jones, a pair of gothic buildings, each with a spire, and linked by a porte-cochère topped by a substantial bellcote, At the entrance at the corner of Percy Road and Hospital Bridge Road are ornamental gates with stone piers, just inside which is an entrance lodge built in c.1930. The cemetery is hedged to Percy Road and has a number of mature trees, including conifers and monkey puzzle, numerous flat-topped yews and many more recently planted trees. The monuments are generally quite modest, although there is a charming garden commemorating the private graves of Variety Artistes laid out in a rectangular area with a central crazy-paved path leading to a classical marble column erected by the Variety Artistes Benevolent Fund and Institution, which was based in Staines Road, Twickenham. The column's four faces list names of 'Artistes of the Variety Profession' in chronological order in lead lettering, the first being James William Hanchard ('Major Miles') who died 1 December 1926. Behind the column is a wall on which further names are inscribed up until 1988, and the low walls along the path are similarly inscribed.
An interesting monument is that of Francis Francis (d.1886), novelist and angler whose tomb has a bronze fishing basket, rods and hat and the epitaph 'And angle on, and beg to have a quiet passage to a welcome grave'. Others buried here include Edward Stanley Gibbon (d.1913), the stamp dealer; the Rt. Hon Jonathan Peel (d.1879), MP for Huntingdon and Secretary of State for War in 1858-59 and a successful race horse owner who won first and second places at the Derby in 1844. Members of the family of the famous tea-merchant Thomas Twining (1806-1895) are buried here, including his wife Victoria (d.1899).
An interesting monument is that of Francis Francis (d.1886), novelist and angler whose tomb has a bronze fishing basket, rods and hat and the epitaph 'And angle on, and beg to have a quiet passage to a welcome grave'. Others buried here include Edward Stanley Gibbon (d.1913), the stamp dealer; the Rt. Hon Jonathan Peel (d.1879), MP for Huntingdon and Secretary of State for War in 1858-59 and a successful race horse owner who won first and second places at the Derby in 1844. Members of the family of the famous tea-merchant Thomas Twining (1806-1895) are buried here, including his wife Victoria (d.1899).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ137731 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 8.1 |
| Site Ownership | LB Richmond |
| Site Management | Environment Planning and Review, Cemeteries Office |
| Dates | 1867-8 |
| Designers | Charles Jones, Ealing Borough Surveyor |
| 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 | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| 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
The river begins in Harrow and runs through Hillingdon as the Yeading Brook, changing its name to the Crane at the Grand Union Canal in Hayes and eventually meeting the Thames at Isleworth. The Duke of Northumberland's River links the Crane Valley to the Colne Valley. From late C18th-1926 Bedfont Gunpowder Mills operated here due to the isolated position, supply of water power and abundance of willow and alder trees for making charcoal. After the closure of the mills the southern section of the Crane River was opened as a public park in 1935. The river borders had parkland in the north within LB Richmond, and woodland, scrub and grassland on the south bank in LB Hounslow.
Although now located in Richmond, Borough Cemetery serves the people of Hounslow and is the borough's largest cemetery. It has a modest brick lodge at the entrance, which has brick gate piers and iron gates. The cemetery is laid out with tarmac roadways and curving paths, the graves set in grass, and numerous conifers such as cypress planted throughout and along edges of paths and roadways. The fence between the cemetery and adjacent Heathfields Recreation Ground is thickly planted with cypress, with shrubbery on the cemetery side, and an avenue of trees on the recreation ground side, which is marked Coronation Avenue. An intermittent line of cypresses is along the end boundary fence to open land. A number of the tombs exhibit a similar design of miniature formal gardens, with entrances and winding paths, possibly the work of a local mason.
Crane Park is a linear park along the north bank of the River Crane from Meadway in Twickenham to the Hanworth Road in the west. The Crane had various names, including 'the Powder Mill River' due to its most important industry; the western end of the park was the site of Hounslow Gunpowder Works, which opened c.1766/8, flourishing into the early C20th. After it ceased to operate for gunpowder manufacture, the subsequent owner sold part of the site for housing and part to Twickenham Council who turned it into a public park, which was opened in 1935. It still retains important industrial archaeological remains including the Shot Tower built in 1828. Crane Park Island was created to contain a mill-pool of water used to drive mill machinery, some remains of which are still found.
