Teddington Cemetery is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

municipal cemetery in the north of

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

. Opened in 1879 it has many tall, eclectic trees and its nucleus was the outcome of a competition for designs by Richmond Burial Board. It includes the war graves of 70

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

service personnel, 42 from

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 28 from

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 ...

. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.

Above ground

Richmond Burial Board origins

Using the 1852 Burial Act, Richmond was enabled to form a burial board, and to buy and let out new burial grounds.Sheaf J and Howe K. ''Hampton and Teddington Past'', Historical Publications Ltd, 1975. In 1877 it bought the first parcel of land, a former orchard, of in the south-west from Mr Travers Smith. A competition was announced to design the layout of the burial ground, with a first prize of 15

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

() and a second prize of 5 guineas

Landscaping and plants

The cemetery has many mature trees, some of them pre-dating the creation of the cemetery, such as cedar, weeping beech,

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, yew, cypresses,

giant redwood ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...

, and a fine large monkey puzzle. Several

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

trees, probably the remains of the former orchard, are scattered in the lawns of the cemetery. Most of the small

roundabouts A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

are planted with single cypresses surrounded by heather and lawn, as is the junction of the main and central east/west axes north of the chapels. The south-west has been partially cleared. The main path gives a view north to the two chapels, planted with a semi-mature

deodar cedar ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of Cedrus, cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a ...

to each side. Among southern trees and shrubbery is the ornate medieval style (

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

) mortuary of 1879. The former western limit remains lined by trees. The perimeter path, lined with trees, was extended westwards by two paths linking the zone to the north-west added in 1950.

Paired chapels

The chapels, designed by T Goodchild in the

Decorated Style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

, have crocketed spires linked by a great entrance arch. Built in 1878, their main material is dark honey-coloured Bargate ragstone with Bathstone dressings.

Notable burials

Neil Aspinall Neil Stanley Aspinall (13 October 1941 24 March 2008) was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head the Beatles' company Apple Corps. The Beatles employed Aspinall first as ...

(1941–2008), former head of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' company

Apple Corps Apple Corps Limited is a British multimedia company that was established in London by the members of the Beatles in the 1960s to form a Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company's name, pronounced "apple core", is a pun. Its chief div ...

* R D Blackmore (1825–1900), author, whose novels included '' Lorna Doone'' *Flt Lt Dominic Bruce, the 'Medium Sized Man' of Colditz Castle, Section Y, Grave 69 * John Sleeper Clarke (1833–1899), American comedian and actor, who lived in London from 1867 * Francis de Havilland Hall (1847–1929), physician, surgeon, and laryngologistpage 271page 272
/ref> * Kenneth MacDonald (1950–2001), who played the character of Mike Fisher in the BBC television sit-com ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' * James Messenger (1826–1901), who lived in Teddington and was the professional single sculls world champion from 1854 to 1857. He served as the Queen's Bargemaster from 1862 to 1901. At the time, he became the Champion of the Thames which was effectively the

English Sculling Championship The English Sculling Championship developed out of informal competitions between working watermen on rivers such as the Thames and the River Tyne, Tyne. Various matches were made on a casual basis but in time these were more formalised. The first re ...

. After the English title gained the world status in 1876, earlier winners were retrospectively given the world champion title. In 1862 he won the famed Doggett's Coat and Badge race on The Thames. * Robert John Tozer (1813–1892), one of the founders of Christ Church in Teddington. He laid the keystone of the chapels in Teddington Cemetery. * John Walter (1738–1812), founder of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''.

Notes and references

External links

Official website

*
London Gardens Online: Teddington Cemetery

Parks & Gardens UK: Teddington Cemetery
{{Cemeteries, crematoria and memorials in Richmond upon Thames 1879 establishments in England Burials at Teddington Cemetery Cemeteries in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England Gardens in London Gothic Revival architecture in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Teddington