
St. Martin in the Fields Cemetery
Also known as St. Martin's Gardens
Camden Town, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England – *Estimated location
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Corner of Pratt Street and Cemden Street
Camden Town, Greater London, EnglandNo GPS information available Add GPS
- Cemetery ID: 2532741
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- 123 Memorials
- 15% photographed
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In 1802 an Act of Parliament was passed to turn four acres of farmland in north London into Camden Town Cemetery as the new burial ground for St Martins in the Fields. The Act provided for the building of a chapel and other accommodation on the site, as well as stating that the cemetery should be enclosed by a substantial brick wall; the north wall which still exists today is believed to be part of that.
Three years later the cemetery was consecrated by Beilby Porteous the Bishop of London, But its life was not a peaceful one: someone always had their eyes on this desirable bit of land. In 1817 permission was granted to build almshouses on an unused part of the ground: theses survive to this day. In 1854 further permission was granted for development on the site including demolition of the existing buildings.
Work began in 1855. The project required the exhumation of hundreds of bodied from the site, and the public outcry was hugh. Fencing around the site was torn down, and navvies working on the dig were pelted with stones. It was said in contemporary newspaper reports that the stench from the exhumed bodies was abominable and that the Under-Secretary of State visited the site and immediately had the digging stopped. It is thought that the large mound in the centre of the gardens could be the exhumed bodies from this time, though it may date back several decades earlier, to the clearing of St Martins original burial ground, lost when Trafalgar Square was constructed in the 1820's.
Either way, by 1884 the cemetery was closed as a burial ground, and reopened as public gardens five years later by the Countess of Rosebery, Hannah Rothchild. These days they are in pretty constant use by the sunbathers and beer-drinkers of Camden; one corner has been fenced off to make a childrens playground. A few chest tombs survive, and headstones line the north wall. The Gardens were reopened in 2006 after restoration by the council, by the current Countess of Rosebery, the granddaughter-in-law of the last one to do the job.
In 1802 an Act of Parliament was passed to turn four acres of farmland in north London into Camden Town Cemetery as the new burial ground for St Martins in the Fields. The Act provided for the building of a chapel and other accommodation on the site, as well as stating that the cemetery should be enclosed by a substantial brick wall; the north wall which still exists today is believed to be part of that.
Three years later the cemetery was consecrated by Beilby Porteous the Bishop of London, But its life was not a peaceful one: someone always had their eyes on this desirable bit of land. In 1817 permission was granted to build almshouses on an unused part of the ground: theses survive to this day. In 1854 further permission was granted for development on the site including demolition of the existing buildings.
Work began in 1855. The project required the exhumation of hundreds of bodied from the site, and the public outcry was hugh. Fencing around the site was torn down, and navvies working on the dig were pelted with stones. It was said in contemporary newspaper reports that the stench from the exhumed bodies was abominable and that the Under-Secretary of State visited the site and immediately had the digging stopped. It is thought that the large mound in the centre of the gardens could be the exhumed bodies from this time, though it may date back several decades earlier, to the clearing of St Martins original burial ground, lost when Trafalgar Square was constructed in the 1820's.
Either way, by 1884 the cemetery was closed as a burial ground, and reopened as public gardens five years later by the Countess of Rosebery, Hannah Rothchild. These days they are in pretty constant use by the sunbathers and beer-drinkers of Camden; one corner has been fenced off to make a childrens playground. A few chest tombs survive, and headstones line the north wall. The Gardens were reopened in 2006 after restoration by the council, by the current Countess of Rosebery, the granddaughter-in-law of the last one to do the job.
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Camden Town, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England
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- Added: 7 Mar 2014
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2532741
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