Description
Wandsworth Cemetery is on sloping ground alongside Magdalen Road, and was set up by the Wandsworth Burial Board in 1878. It was later enlarged in 1898The layout features a gridiron pattern of paths meeting in a series of ronds-points around which the older monuments are erected, many of them having solid plinths topped by urns, obelisks or crosses. The newer section of the cemetery is on raised land beyond a line of horse chestnut trees along the west of the cemetery. The main entrance has a lodge and driveway leading to the chapels, with two garden areas to the south of the drive, enclosed partly by hedging and stone wall. There are a number of war memorials set in formal planting.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Magdalen Road Cemetery |
|---|---|
| Site location | Magdalen Road, Earlsfield |
| Postcode | SW18 |
| What3Words | ///degree.mash.flies |
| 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 | toilets |
| Public Transport | Rail: Earlsfield. Bus: 44, 77, 220, 270, 280 |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ265736 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 13.4 |
| Site Ownership | LB Wandsworth |
| Site Management | Central Cemeteries Office |
| Dates | 1878 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Entrance gates |
| 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 | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes? (eastern boundary) |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance II |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeological Priority Area |
| 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
In the early C20th a garden suburb had been planned here, to be named Magdalen Park Estate after landowners Magdalen College Oxford, but building came to a stop when WWI broke out. In the 1930s Wandsworth Borough Council purchased the area between Fieldview and Ellerton Road for the Fieldview Estate, which was designed on a grid of streets with wide footpaths, grass verges and street trees. Godley Gardens was laid out to provide public open space for the residents, a railed enclosure with grass, trees and shrubs, with a raised brick planter.
The land here was owned by Magdalen College Oxford and in the early C20th developer E P Warren planned to build Magdalen Park Estate as a Garden Suburb here. By WWI houses between Garratt Lane and Swaby Road, and part between Lyford Road and Ellerton Road had been built but the scheme was essentially truncated when in the 1920s Wandsworth Borough Council purchased the area between Swaby Road and Open View for the Openview Estate, and in the 1930s the area between Fieldview and Ellerton Road for the Fieldview Estate. Between the two estates the playing fields were provided as a recreation facility for the use of estate residents. It is predominantly playing fields with the northern end used partly for allotments. The playing fields are bounded by railings with ornamental gates and brick gate piers, such as on Fieldview. .
The Fitzhugh Estate is on land that was once part of Wandsworth Common, an area of which was enclosed in the 1850s for building the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building to house orphans of the Crimean War. The buildings, by then vacant and derelict, were acquired by the LCC in 1951 along with adjoining land for educational and housing purposes. The Fitzhugh Estate was built in 1953-55, designed along modernist principles to provide state-of-the-art social housing, consisting of five 11-storey blocks arranged within the landscape in such a way as to retain existing trees and provide views. At the time, the estate was highly regarded and seen as a blueprint for exemplary housing. The grounds have mature and more recently planted trees, shrub and flower beds set into lawns. A community garden run by residents has been set up in recent years.
