West Ham Cemetery (Newham)
Brief 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
- What 3 Words:
- handed.fleet.loaf
- Type of site:
- Cemetery
- Borough:
- Newham
- Open to public?
- Yes
- Opening times:
- Daily 9am (summer)/10am (winter) to dusk
- Special conditions:
- Facilities:
- Toilets
- Events:
- Public transport:
- Rail: Maryland; Forest Gate. London Overground: Wanstead Park. Bus: 308
- Research updated:
- 01/04/2011
- Last minor changes:
- 14/07/2022
Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.newham.gov.uk/BirthsDeathsAndMarriages/CemeteriesinNewham.htm
Full Site 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.).
Sources consulted:
Hugh Meller & Brian Parsons, 'London Cemeteries, An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer', 4th edition (The History Press, 2008); John Archer/Ian Yarham, Nature Conservation in Newham, London Ecology Unit, 1991.
Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
- Grid ref:
- TQ398856 (539850,185650)
- Size in hectares:
- 8
- Site ownership:
- LB Newham
- Site management:
- Cemetery Office
- Date(s):
- 1857
- Designer(s):
- T E Knightly (chapel)
- 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:
- No
- Nature Conservation Area:
- Yes - Local Importance
- Green Belt:
- No
- Metropolitan Open Land:
- No
- 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.