Description
West Drayton Cemetery was established in 1939 by the Burial Board and is without a chapel, but has a small lodge near the entrance. It has a semi-circular entrance with brick and stone piers and iron railings, with a grid layout of paths and neat rows of gravestones and monuments, and a war memorial. There are numerous small conifers, and paths are lined by avenues of ornamental trees and trees on the perimeter. At the back of the cemetery is a hedged area of meadow with new trees including mountain ash and other species.
Practical Information
| Site location | Harmondsworth Road, West Drayton |
|---|---|
| Postcode | UB7 9JS |
| What3Words | ///reader.dent.hidden |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 9am - 4pm (November-February); - 5pm (March/October); - 6pm (April); - 7pm (September); - 8pm (May - August). Sun/Good Fri/BH/Xmas Day opens 10am |
| Public Transport | Rail: West Drayton then bus/walk. Bus: 222 (walk) |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ063790 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Hillingdon |
| Site Management | Cemetery Office (Grounds Maintenance Service) |
| Dates | 1939 |
| 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 | Hillingdon |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | West Drayton Green |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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 small park was once part of the grounds of Drayton Hall, a historic house that was owned by the De Burgh family from 1786 until 1939. It was purchased by Yiewsley and West Drayton UDC in 1948 and used as council offices with events in the grounds. The Hall later became the headquarters of United Biscuits, who laid out a garden behind the house, and in 2011 it was purchased by Ferrings Pharmaceutical Company. The park contains fine trees.
There are records that a church existed here in the late C12th with a second church built in the early C13th. From the C12th the Manor of Drayton was owned by the Dean of St Paul's. In 1547 it was granted to Sir William Paget who built a grand Manor House immediately west of St Martin's Church, and remnants of the C16th gatehouse are next to the churchyard. The walled churchyard has flagstones and mown grass in front and a number of yews, with longer unmown grass beyond and an area of woodland growth behind the church.
Now used as Southlands Arts Centre, Southlands is an early C18th farmhouse, which was built on the site of an earlier Tudor farmhouse. In 1963 the property was acquired by the Yiewsley and West Drayton UDC and it became the base for Yiewsley and West Drayton Arts Council. There are a number of garden areas, including a walled garden with C18th walls reached through an old orchard. It was renovated in 1989 when the garden was re-planted in three sections, including a C16th style knot garden.