Inventory Site Record

Alperton Cemetery was opened as Wembley Cemetery in 1917 and the first interment took place in 1918. The pair of chapels linked by a porte-cochère were built in 1937, a modest red brick building but having good stained glass in the burial chapel. The Columbarium was opened in the other chapel in 1942. The cemetery has paths laid out in a grid pattern, with a variety of trees throughout. There is a war grave section maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Previous / Other name:

Wembley Cemetery

Site location:

Clifford Road/Bridgewater Road, Alperton

Postcode:

HA0 1AF

What 3 Words:

pose.wells.title

Type of site:

Cemetery

Borough:

Brent

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

9am-4pm (Jan/Feb/Nov/Dec) - 5pm (Oct) - 6pm (Mar) - 7pm (April, Sept) - 8pm (May - August). Chapel opened for London Open House - 2000)

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Toilets

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Alperton (Piccadilly). Bus: 79, 83, 224, 226, 245, 297, 487.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/07/2009

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.brent.gov.uk

Alperton Cemetery was opened in 1917 during WWI, and until 1946 it was called Wembley Cemetery. It is sited between the Grand Union Canal and Bridgewater Road and backs onto Sudbury Golf Course. The first interment took place in 1918. The cemetery has a formal layout of paths in a grid pattern. The pair of cemetery chapels, linked by a porte-cochère , were built in 1937 at a cost of £4,700, designed by the Borough Surveyor for Wembley UDC. It is a modest red brick building with Portland stone dressing and a Welsh slate roof. The budget allowed for fine stained glass in the burial chapel, showing a fortressed city. The Columbarium was dedicated in the other chapel in May 1942. At the cemetery entrance are brick and stone gate piers, an area of beds with ornamental planting, and a lodge to the north. The cemetery has a variety of trees throughout, with lines of Lombardy poplar and avenues along the paths, including ornamental cherry trees. There is a war grave section maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and also a children's section. It was Winner of the Cemetery of the Year Award in 2007.

Sources consulted:

LB Brent Cemeteries Dept website; Ian Yarham, Meg Game 'Nature Conservation in Brent, Ecology Handbook 31' (London Ecology Unit, 2000); Hugh Meller & Brian Parsons, 'London Cemeteries, An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer', 4th edition (The History Press, 2008)

Grid ref:

TQ174840 (517470,184130)

Size in hectares:

4

Site ownership:

LB Brent

Site management:

Cemeteries and Mortuaries Service

Date(s):

1917

Designer(s):

Borough Surveyor for Wembley UDC (Cecil R W Chapman)

Listed structures:

None

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 Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Local Importance

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Alperton Cemetery, June 2001. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.