Inventory Site Record

Kingston War Memorial Gardens was originally set up as an overflow burial ground to the parish churchyard in 1826. It closed in 1855 when the new Kingston Cemetery opened outside the town centre. It was laid out as public garden, with gravestones moved to the perimeter. The War Memorial was unveiled in 1923. Kingston's annual Remembrance Day service takes place in the War Memorial Gardens

Previous / Other name:

War Memorial Gardens

Site location:

Church Street/Union Street, Kingston

Postcode:

KT1

What 3 Words:

ideas.quiet.reap

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Kingston

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

no dogs

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Kingston. Bus: 371, K1, 65.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/03/2004

Last minor changes:

29/03/2026

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.kingston.gov.uk/browse/environment/parks/recreation_sites

The site was formerly a burial ground, opened in 1826 as an overflow burial ground to the parish churchyard of All Saints (q.v.), which was by then becoming overcrowded as Kingston's population grew. It later became full and was closed following the Government's Burial Acts and Kingston Burial Board was established in order to acquire a site for a new cemetery outside the town centre, which was opened as Kingston Cemetery (q.v.) in 1855 on what was then rural land. After closure as a burial ground the old burial ground in Union Street was laid out as a public garden and the War Memorial with fine bronze sculpted figures on a plain stone plinth was unveiled in 1923. The Metropolitan Open Spaces Acts of 1877 and 1881 and the Disused Burial Grounds Act of 1884, later extended under the Metropolitan Open Spaces Act of 1887, enabled 'open spaces and burial grounds in the Metropolis for the use of the inhabitants thereof for exercise and recreation'. The garden is formally laid out with gravestones moved to the perimeter beds, lawns, raised beds and seating, and a garden for the blind.

Sources consulted:

A McCormack, Kingston Upon Thames, London, 1989; Tim Everson 'Kingston, Surbiton and Malden' Britain in Old Photographs, Sutton 1995 (reprint Budding Books 2000); Shaan Butters 'The Book of Kingston', Baron, 1995

Grid ref:

TQ179692 (518007,169272)

Size in hectares:

0.28

Site ownership:

RB Kingston

Site management:

Grounds maintenance contractor: Quadron Services Ltd

Date(s):

1826

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: War Memorial

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:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Kingston Old Town

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Local Open Space (Public Open Space)