Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

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Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries are Nature Conservation sites of Borough Importance Grade 1 and are a haven for wildlife, plants and wildflowers. The cemeteries were originally opened within one month of each other in 1858 and are sited on previously open land. The two component parts are characteristic examples of the first wave of Victorian public cemeteries and are now part of the Brockley Conservation Area.

The cemeteries occupy 37 acres of land wholly within the London Borough of Lewisham and are owned and managed by the Cemeteries and Crematorium Services of the Borough.

Until 1948 the two cemeteries were completely separate, being divided by a wall. Ladywell Cemetery, which was previously known as Lewisham Cemetery, stands to the east of the wall and Brockley Cemetery, formerly Deptford Cemetery, lies to the west. Both cemeteries hold a wealth of historical interest. Evidence of Deptford's seafaring past can be found in the many inscriptions and adornments on the headstones.

[edit] Notable burials

Jane Clouson: died 1871. Monument for murdered girl paid for by public donations
Ernest Dowson (1867-1900), poet and Decadent movement artist
Horatio Henry Couldery (1832-1918), one of the best known Victorian painters of animals
Sir William Eames (1821-1897), marine engineer
Sir John Gilbert (1817 - 1897), illustrator, drawing for the Illustrated London News and designed a cover for Punch
Sir George Grove (1820 - 1900), first director of the Royal College of Music in 1882 - author of 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians)
Sir William Hardy (1807 - 1887), Deputy Keeper of Public Records 1878 - 1886
Sir Alexander Nisbet (1812 - 1892), Inspector General of the Royal Navy and honorary physician to the Queen
William Stephens (1817 - 1871), Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England