Description
West Ham Burial Board was set up following the passing of the Burial Acts in the 1850s and in 1857 purchased 4.85 hectares of land for its new cemetery from Samuel Gurney, a Quaker whose family was related to the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. West Ham Cemetery was extended to its current size in 1871. The emphasis was on creating good drainage and keeping costs low so the cemetery's layout is a simple grid plan. It retains its small ragstone chapel designed by T E Knightly but its non-conformist chapel has since been demolished. A small mock-Tudor lodge is situated just inside the metal entrance gates. There are no prominent monuments, and gravestones are set among grass. Among the memorials are those who died in two disasters, the sinking of the Princess Alice pleasure boat in 1878, and the Silvertown Explosion of 1917.
Practical Information
| Site location | Cemetery Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E7 9DG |
| What3Words | ///handed.fleet.loaf |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Newham |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Daily 9am (summer)/10am (winter) to dusk |
| Facilities | Toilets |
| Public Transport | Rail: Maryland; Forest Gate. London Overground: Wanstead Park. Bus: 308 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Throughout the cemetery there are a number of mature trees, mostly common lime but also pedunculate and holm oaks, ash, false acacia, sycamore and various species of conifers. The fairly low brick wall which forms the boundary with the adjacent West Ham Jewish Cemetery (q.v.) allows views between the two, and both cemeteries are surrounded by suburban housing. Hugh Meller remarks upon some interesting poetry among the epitaphs in West Ham Cemetery. Among those buried here are 2 people who died when the Princess Alice pleasure boat sank in the Thames near Beckton in 1878 killing 550 people. Another memorial commemorates 2 firemen killed in 1917 when the TNT plant of the Brunner Mond chemical works in Silvertown exploded, the memorial featuring a fireman's helmet. Victims of both of these disasters are also buried in East London Cemetery (q.v.).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ398856 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 8 |
| Site Ownership | LB Newham |
| Site Management | Cemetery Office |
| Dates | 1857 |
| Designers | T E Knightly (chapel) |
| 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 | Newham |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| 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
In 1857, with its Brady Street Cemetery full almost to overflowing, the congregation of the New Synagogue joined with that of the Great Synagogue, becoming the United Synagogue, to buy land for a new cemetery. A plot of just over 2 hectares was purchased from the Quaker banker and local landowner Samuel Gurney who had previously sold land adjacent to this to the West Ham Burial Board for its new West Ham Cemetery. The cemetery was later extended to its present size and is laid out simply, with tombs surrounded by gravel, straight paths and little vegetation. The original prayer hall was demolished and a new one was built in 1874. In 1960 the remains from a small Jewish Cemetery in Hoxton Street were reinterred in the north of the cemetery.
Although Forest Lane Park is a new park it is on the site of Wood Grange Manor, purchased in 1847 by Quaker banker and philanthropist Samuel Gurney, who conveyed the land to the Whitechapel Board of Guardians in 1852. Forest Gate Industrial School for poor children was built here in 1854 and remained until 1906. It became a workhouse, workhouse infirmary and then a hospital, before finally becoming redundant in 1984. The facade was retained and the southern and central part of the grounds remained. Forest Lane Park was developed on the site by Newham Council from 1991 as an environmentally themed facility, with lake, dipping pond, raised bed garden area, a small orchard with pear and cherry trees, woodland to the east, and a wildflower meadow. A Restoration Project is underway, due for completion in 2027,
Cann Hall Park is a small local park that has been much improved largely through the efforts of Cann Hall Can, a community organisation and charity established in 20?? to breathe new life into the local area, including this previously underused space. A closed pavilion building was opened up for community use, and a cafe and skate park are now provided, funded through LB Waltham Forest's Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy. The new skatepark replaced an older one constructed of wood that was expensive to maintain and badly located. One of the founders of Cann Hall Can, Beth Hardisty, who died in 2020, is commemorated by a plaque in the Patch Cafe, and there are plans to plant a tree in her memory.