Whitefield’s Tabernacle and Burial Ground
Photo added by Benjamin Sears

Whitefield’s Tabernacle and Burial Ground

Also known as Whitefield Memorial Church

London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England

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  • Get directions 79a Tottenham Court Road W1T 4TD
    Coordinates: 51.52090, -0.13508
  • Cemetery ID: 2200503

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Whitefield’s Chapel, west of the Tottenham Court Road was completed in 1760 for the Evangelical preacher George Whitefield. In 1857 a fire forced a rebuild. In 1895 the coffins buried in the crypt (including Elizabeth Whitefield but excluding the lead coffin of Augustus Toplady) were moved to Chingford Mount Cemetery in north London.

The present building was erected in 1957, after the previous church on the site was destroyed on Palm Sunday 1945, by one of the last V2 rockets to hit London. Since 1976 the chapel has been the home of the American International Church.

The Tabernacle was flanked by a patch of burial ground on either side, which was plagued by body snatchers. In 1853 it was closed to burials and the unconsecrated land was sold to Nathan Jacobson for development in 1863. Jacobson attempted to clear the land of over 30,000 bodies (in 1863 and again in 1880) but was taken to court and banned on both occasions, leaving the site in a horrendous state. Eventually the LCC acquired the site and opened it as Whitfield Gardens in 1895.
Whitefield’s Chapel, west of the Tottenham Court Road was completed in 1760 for the Evangelical preacher George Whitefield. In 1857 a fire forced a rebuild. In 1895 the coffins buried in the crypt (including Elizabeth Whitefield but excluding the lead coffin of Augustus Toplady) were moved to Chingford Mount Cemetery in north London.

The present building was erected in 1957, after the previous church on the site was destroyed on Palm Sunday 1945, by one of the last V2 rockets to hit London. Since 1976 the chapel has been the home of the American International Church.

The Tabernacle was flanked by a patch of burial ground on either side, which was plagued by body snatchers. In 1853 it was closed to burials and the unconsecrated land was sold to Nathan Jacobson for development in 1863. Jacobson attempted to clear the land of over 30,000 bodies (in 1863 and again in 1880) but was taken to court and banned on both occasions, leaving the site in a horrendous state. Eventually the LCC acquired the site and opened it as Whitfield Gardens in 1895.

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  • Added: 20 Dec 2006
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2200503