On a sunny day, the Nunhead cemetery is the perfect place to explore and get some time outdoors as spring begins.
Established in 1840, the Nunhead Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries of London that formed a ring around what was the outskirts of London when the city’s churchyards became unhealthily full.
The cemetery is home to extravagant monuments memory of important people from the time as well as understated headstones that mark the burials of common people. By the middle of the 20th century, the cemetery was nearly full and abandoned by the United Cemetery company.
The neglected cemetery gradually transformed from a lawn into the woodland filled with wildlife it is today. It was reopened in 2001 after the Southwark Council and Heritage Lottery Fund funded a restoration project. It has since become a local nature reserve, and the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery works to promote the conservation and appreciation of the Victorian cemetery.
Today, Nunhead cemetery is a place where people come to get outside, walk their dogs, and take some time away from the busy atmosphere of the city.
When stomping through the muddy pathways (be sure to wear sturdy shoes if you visit after a rainy day!) the Victorian headstones surrounded by vines and substantial trees drew me to read the inscription and imagine the lives people buried there. Choosing what fork in the road to wander down was a difficult decision. Despite feeling like I saw so much of the cemetery, I know there was still so much left to see.
Both the restored and the untouched tombstones are beautiful in their own right. The restored monuments provide a window to a time different from the present, while the untouched overgrown areas exemplify how man-made objects and nature coexist with one another.
Friends of Nunhead Cemetery carry out many conservation projects that welcome volunteers. such as carrying out practical conservation work and recording inscriptions on the monuments.
If you want to visit Nunhead cemetery and get a history about its expansive grounds, Friends of Nunhead Cemetery holds guided tours on the last Sunday of every month at 2:15pm, meeting at the Linden Grove gates.
