Paddington Old Cemetery is a civic cemetery that opened in 1855. It is located in Willesden Lane, Kilburn, in the

London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...

. It is also known as Paddington Cemetery or Willesden Lane Cemetery. It is Grade II listed, Entry Number:1001542.

History

In 1855 Paddington Burial Board purchased 24 acres of rural land in Willesden. Cemetery designer Thomas Little created a horse-shoe tree-lined path layout. On each side of the entrance he built lodges and in the centre, two Gothic-style chapels (grade II listed, Entry Number:1359002). Its original formation was in a rural landscape which later became a green open space. There is a war memorial by the western entrance. There are 213 graves for casualties of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Goetze Memorial (), erected by artist Sigismund Goetze in memory of his parents, is Grade II listed, Entry Number:1389534. By 1923 the cemetery was rapidly becoming filled, and the

Metropolitan Borough of Paddington Paddington was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The p ...

decided to acquire new land for a cemetery further out of London. This was opened as "Paddington New Cemetery" (now known as Mill Hill Cemetery) in 1936, leading to the site on Willesden Lane becoming known by its current name of "Paddington Old Cemetery". The City of Westminster sold the cemetery to Brent Council in 1986 and still manages it today (2000). Paddington Cemetery received a Special Commendation in the 'Cemetery of the Year Awards' in 1999, the cemetery office being praised for their work in reinstating the cemetery from closed status to local use. To celebrate the Millennium in 2000 new trees were planted and there is an apiary within the cemetery that produces 'Tombstone honey'.

Notable burials

Edward Spencer Beesly Edward Spencer Beesly (; 23 January 1831 – 7 March 1915) was an English positivist, trades union activist, and historian. Life He was born on 23 January 1831 in Feckenham, Worcestershire, the eldest son of the Rev. James Beesly and his wif ...

(1831–1915) an English positivist and historian; President of the

London Positivist Society The London Positivist Society was an Atheism, atheistic philosophical, Humanism, humanist, and political circle that met in London, England, between May 1867 and 1974. The conditions of membership originally included "emancipation from theology a ...

from 1878 to 1900 *

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was an English author. He is best known for a series of children's books featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, ...

(1926–2017) a British author best known for his

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear (though his name is just Paddington; the "Bear" simply serves to confirm his species; and also known as Paddington Brown for some sources) is a fictional character in British children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October ...

books. *

Jabez Burns Jabez Burns (18 December 1805 – 31 January 1876) was an English nonconformist divine and Christian philosophical writer. He was one of the first clergymen of any denomination to preach teetotalism from the pulpit. Biography Burns was born 18 D ...

(1805–1876) a temperance reformer and preacher. *

Orlando Jewitt Thomas Orlando Sheldon Jewitt (1799 – 30 May 1869) was a British architectural wood-engraver. Biography Thomas Orlando Sheldon Jewitt was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, the son of Arthur Jewitt and brother of Llewellyn Jewitt. Before the intro ...

(1799–1869) a British architectural wood-engraver. * Norman Kerr (1834–1899) a physician who in 1879 founded the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety and was the first president. * Danny Maher (1881–1916) was an American Hall of Fame jockey who also became a Champion jockey in Great Britain. *

Arthur Orton Arthur Orton (20 March 1834 – 1 April 1898) was an English man who has generally been identified by legal historians and commentators as the Tichborne case, "Tichborne Claimant", who in two celebrated court cases both fascinated and shocke ...

(1834–1898) who claimed to be Sir Roger Tichborne, who had been lost at sea in 1854, to claim his inheritance. *

Cuthbert Ottaway Cuthbert John Ottaway (19 July 1850 – 2 April 1878)''Jackson's Oxford Journal'', 6 April 1878. was an English footballer. He was the first captain of the England football team and led his side in the first official international football m ...

(1850–1878) a pioneer English footballer. * Dr Severin Wielobycki (1793–1893) homeopath

Gallery

File:Paddington Old Cemetery – 20200111 140224 (49367504272).jpg, Paddington Old Cemetery File:Paddington Old Cemetery – 20200111 140452 (49367288151).jpg, Paddington Old Cemetery File:War Memorial Paddington Cemetery.jpg, War Memorial File:Paddington Old Cemetery – 20180127 112405 (25297180617).jpg, Chapels File:Paddington Old Cemetery – 20200111 125146 (49367449101).jpg, Goetze Grave

References

External links

Official website

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
*
Friends of Paddington Old Cemetery
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