fbpx

Inventory Site Record

East Sheen Cemetery (Richmond)

Brief Description

The site is shown in 1893/4 as woodland and opened as Barnes Cemetery in 1905. In 1913 the northern triangular section of the site was laid out as the cemetery while to the south was a nursery. The cemetery is linked to the main road to the north by an avenue of plane trees, with a lodge at the entrance and a mortuary chapel on the south boundary. In the 1930s the area to the south of Barnes Cemetery was laid out on a grid and the cemetery was subsequently renamed East Sheen Cemetery. Although it now forms a continuous area of graves with Richmond Cemetery, the old Barnes Cemetery boundary is still clearly defined by a holly hedge. The cemetery contains various fine trees, clumps of pampas grass, with yews behind the chapel and on either side of the main roadway between the entrance on Kings Ride Gardens and the chapel.

Practical Information
Previous / Other name:
Barnes Cemetery
Site location:
Kings Ride Gardens, off Sheen Road
Postcode:
TW10 5BJ
What 3 Words:
foam.trucks.scars
Type of site:
Cemetery
Borough:
Richmond
Open to public?
Yes
Opening times:
10am-4.30pm (November - March); 10am - 6.30pm ( April - October)
Special conditions:
Facilities:
Events:
Public transport:
Rail: North Sheen. Rail/London Overground/Tube (District): Richmond. Bus: 33, 337, 493
Research updated:
01/06/2009
Last minor changes:
14/07/2022

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.richmond.gov.uk/cemeteries

Full Site Description

In the C18th King George III had a farm to the west of East Sheen Common (q.v.) near the parish boundary and King's Ride recalls the route from Kew Palace to the farm and Richmond Park.The chapel at the main entrance of the cemetery was built in 1906, designed in C13th-Gothic style with a slender fleche by the local architect Reginald Rowell, who is buried in the cemetery. A monument of note is the family tomb of the Lancaster family of 1920 by Sydney March, which has a dramatic bronze mourning angel, described by Hugh Meller as 'arguably the most dramatic sculpture in any of London's cemeteries'. The Lancasters made their money in coal mining in the north country. Sydney March and his 6 brothers and 1 sister were all artists; together they created the Canadian National Memorial in Ottawa in 1939. The memorial to Louise Espinosa (d.1943) and her husband Edouard (d.1950) takes the form of a walled garden; together they had founded the British ballet organisation in 1930.

Sources consulted:

John Archer, David Curson, 'Nature Conservation in Richmond upon Thames, Ecology Handbook 21', (London Ecology Unit) 1993 p80; Hugh Meller & Brian Parsons, 'London Cemeteries, An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer', 4th edition (The History Press, 2008); Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2: South (Penguin) 1999 p471.

Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
Grid ref:
TQ192746 (519291,174639)
Size in hectares:
6.48
Site ownership:
LB Richmond
Site management:
Environment Planning & Review, Cemeteries Office
Date(s):
1905
Designer(s):
Listed structures:
LBII: Buxton Memorial, Lancaster 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:
No
Tree Preservation Order:
Not known
Nature Conservation Area:
Yes - Local Importance (with Richmd Cem/Pesthse C)
Green Belt:
No
Metropolitan Open Land:
Yes
Special Policy Area:
No
Other LA designation:
None

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.