50-610: Richard Thornton (20 September 1776 – 20 June 1865) was an English millionaire. He died in Merton, Surrey and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery in London. On his death, Richard Thornton left an estate of £2,800,000, which is the largest fortune to have been valued for probate in Great Britain before 1870. Richard Thornton was a merchant and trader, notably in Baltic goods. He was also a Liveryman of
100-625: A dedicated Greek Orthodox necropolis with 19 listed mausoleums and monuments. It is one of the Magnificent Seven metropolitan lawn cemeteries of the Victorian era , and its extensive Gothic Revival architecture qualifies it as one of the significant cemeteries in Europe. Lambeth Council have recognised it as a site of nature conservation value within the Borough in addition to its outstanding value as
150-560: A hostile Danish gunboat, and landed in the Baltic under an assumed German name. In the process he secured essential supplies of Baltic hemp for the Royal Navy at considerable profit to himself. Richard Thornton's lucrative Baltic trade continued and two years later, in 1812, his brother Laurence was in the port of Memel, now known as Klaipėda , when he heard of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. He got word back to Richard in London so speedily that it
200-426: A mixture of historic monumental cemetery and modern lawn cemetery , but it also has catacombs , cremation plots and a columbarium for cinerary ashes. The cemetery's crematorium still operates, but all the conventional and cremated remains burial plots have been allocated and hence it is closed to new burials pending further agreement under current burial legislation. The Main gate is located on Norwood Road near
250-569: A new borough formed from the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and six wards and portions of two others from the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth. In the 2016 European Union referendum , Lambeth had the highest share of Remain votes in the United Kingdom at 78.62%, second to overseas territory Gibraltar 's 95.9%. Lambeth is a long, thin borough, about three miles (five kilometres) wide and seven miles (eleven kilometres) long. Brixton
300-536: A rural setting in open countryside, as it lay outside London at that time. Its design and location attracted the attention of wealthy – and aspirational – Victorians, who commissioned many fine mausoleums and memorials for their burial plots and vaults. The site of the cemetery was part of the ancient Great North Wood , from which Norwood took its name. Although many trees had been cleared, a number of mature specimens were included in Tite's original landscaping. A tree survey of
350-515: A single mass grave. In 1969, 11,500 remains were taken from the closed burial ground of St George's, Hanover Square in Bayswater , to West Norwood Cemetery and cremated, for burial here. A Victoria Cross recipient from the Indian Mutiny , South Africa -born Joseph Petrus Hendrik Crowe , was originally buried here in 1876 but following the discovery of his grave in neglected condition his body
400-647: A site of national historic and cultural interest. English Heritage have placed it on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens , describing it as the first cemetery to be designed in the Gothic Revival style. The entrance gate is set within railings, painted a historically accurate 'spice' brown. Railings and walls were kept high to dispel fears of body snatchers . There is a second entrance nearby, normally kept locked, in Norwood High Street which
450-441: Is close to West Norwood railway station . It is a mixture of cleared, manicured, and mature landscaping, and includes Anglican and unconsecrated burial grounds, a crematorium , memorial gardens, columbarium , recordia , chapel, vaults and catacombs on top of a gently rolling hill, with views across south London. The larger plots on the central higher ground and by the main drives were originally sold as prime locations and are
500-451: Is its civic centre, and there are other town centres. The largest shopping areas are (in order of size) Streatham , Brixton , Vauxhall , Clapham and West Norwood . In the northern part of the borough are the central London districts of the South Bank , Vauxhall and Lambeth ; in the south are the suburbs of Gipsy Hill , Streatham , West Dulwich and West Norwood . In between are
550-573: Is the home of Surrey County Cricket. The Basaveshwara statue at the Albert Embankment erected by the former Mayor of Lambeth Neeraj Patil was unveiled by the Prime Minister of India on 14 November 2015. The local authority is Lambeth Council, which meets at Lambeth Town Hall in the Brixton area of the borough and has its main offices at the nearby Civic Centre. Since 2000, for elections to
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#1733115360101600-495: Is the very simple headstone to Isabella Mary Mayson Beeton, aka Mrs Beeton , the Victorian cookery writer. The cemetery was founded by its own Act of Parliament of 1836 and consecrated for its first burials in 1837. By 2000, there had been 164,000 burials in 42,000 plots, plus 34,000 cremations and several thousand interments in its catacombs (see also Catacombs of London ) . As early as 1711, Sir Christopher Wren advocated
650-505: Is well represented, including the Ralli family , Panayis Vagliano , Rodocanachi family , Michalinos Family and Princess Eugenie Palaeologue . In 1847 some 12,000 remains were taken from the burial vault beneath the Enon Chapel near The Strand , which, after a public health scandal, was bought by George Walker, a prominent surgeon, who had the bodies removed to Norwood Cemetery for reburial in
700-521: The French army was stationed at Danzig from where it guarded every Baltic port. The Danish were strong supporters of Napoleon and their hostility to English trade was considerable: captains of Danish ships were threatened with death should they engage in any form of commerce with England. This made valuable and essential Baltic trade difficult and dangerous for English merchant ships. In response Richard Thornton armed one of his own merchant ships, fought off
750-594: The Leathersellers' Company (a Livery Company of the City of London ), of which he became Master in 1836. He personally funded the new almshouses built for the Leathersellers' Company at Barnet, where his bust (by Thomas Earle) is still preserved and a nearby road is named Thornton Road in his honour. The Leathersellers' Company also has a portrait of Thornton painted in 1838 by Frederick Yeates Hurlstone . Richard Thornton
800-551: The London Assembly , the borough forms part of the Lambeth and Southwark constituency. The borough has three Parliamentary constituencies: Dulwich and West Norwood (shared with Southwark ), Streatham , and Vauxhall . Lambeth is the local authority with the highest relative gay or lesbian population in the UK, at 5.5%, with the borough containing the gay village of Vauxhall and
850-759: The South Bank , a tourist area has developed around the former Greater London Council headquarters of County Hall and the Southbank Centre and National Theatre . Also on the river is the London Eye and Shell Centre . Nearby is St Thomas' Hospital , Lambeth Palace and the Florence Nightingale Museum . Nearby is Brixton , home of Lambeth Town Hall and the Brixton Murals . Landmark church buildings include: The Oval cricket ground in Kennington
900-656: The Wandsworth District . In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs . The parish of Lambeth became the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth , and the old Wandsworth District became the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth . The modern London borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 . It was a merger of the old borough of Lambeth and the Clapham and Streatham areas from
950-584: The Baltic earned him the nickname “The Duke of Danzig”. West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a 40-acre (16 ha) rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven " cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and ecological interest. Its grounds are
1000-464: The Dissenters' chapel in 1915 as a crematorium with access from the main hall or/and from the west. A Tousoil Fradet & Cie gas cremator was installed in the basement of the crematorium hall, with its regenerator installed in a vacant portion of the adjacent catacombs. A short length of track led from the basement of the hall into the crematorium for the use of a metal 'introducer' bier. This furnace
1050-600: The London Underground, metro, light rail or tram (21.4 percent of residents aged 16–74); bus, minibus or coach (10 percent); train (10 percent); automobile (8.6 percent); bicycle (5.7 percent), or walking (5.4 percent). A small percentage (3.2 percent) worked mainly at—or from—home. The former Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and its successor have been twinned with the Vincennes district of Paris in France since 1955. Lambeth
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#17331153601011100-504: The West Norwood Conservation Area, while the entrance arch, the fine railings by Bramah and 64 monuments were listed as Grade II and II*. However, space for new burials had largely been exhausted by the inter-war years, and, deprived of this regular source of income, the cemetery company was unable to properly afford its upkeep or the repair of buildings damaged by wartime bombing. Lambeth Council compulsorily purchased
1150-565: The area around Clapham Common. The borough covers London Waterloo railway station , the Waterloo tube station network and (until 2007) the London terminus for Eurostar . National Rail service in Lambeth is provided by South Western Railway , Southeastern , Southern , Thameslink and London Overground . In March 2011, the primary forms of transport borough residents used to travel to work were
1200-645: The area of the modern borough was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works , which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London . From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards ; the parish of Lambeth was governed by its vestry , whilst Clapham and Streatham were both included in
1250-512: The cemetery in 1965, and controversially extinguished past rights and claimed ownership over the existing graves. Lambeth changed some of the character of the grounds through "lawn conversion", removing at least 10,000 monuments (including some of the listed monuments) and restarted new burials, reselling existing plots for re-use. Consistory Court cases fought in the Southwark Diocese in 1995 and 1997 found this to be illegal. It brought about
1300-499: The cemetery in 2005 identified one oak which is thought to date from 1540 to 1640. Fourteen more oaks, a maple and an ash tree were identified that predate the foundation of the cemetery in 1836. In the first years of the cemetery's operation, these were joined by coniferous trees and evergreen holm oaks. In 1842, a section of the cemetery was acquired by London's Greek community for a Greek Orthodox cemetery, and this soon filled with many fine monuments and large mausoleums, memorialising
1350-504: The cemetery. Spencer John Bent , Victoria Cross recipient for action in World War I, who was cremated here, is commemorated in a garden of remembrance. More than 200 people buried in the cemetery are recorded in the Dictionary of National Biography . The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery have recorded and compiled biographies for many more of these with: There are also many notables of
1400-417: The cessation of new burials and forced the restoration of a handful of the damaged or removed monuments. In addition it required Lambeth to publish an index of cleared and resold plots, so that the descendants of historic owners can identify and request restitution of their family's plot. As a consequence of the courts' findings, Lambeth now operates the cemetery in accordance with a scheme of management under
1450-448: The consecrated grounds were overseen by the Diocese of Winchester , and then Rochester , before coming under the authority of Southwark from 1905. Architect William Tite was a director of the cemetery company and designed the landscaping, some monuments, and was eventually interred there himself. This was the first cemetery in the UK to be designed in the new Gothic style. It offered
1500-479: The correct furnace. After the war, the Dissenter's chapel was rebuilt in a more modern style as a crematorium, recordia, and columbarium over its catacombs and furnaces. Its equipment has been updated several times, and its cremators are still used on a daily basis. Lambeth Council does not allow publication of images of the crematorium chapel or cremators on any internet website including Misplaced Pages. A War Memorial in
1550-506: The creation of burial grounds on the outskirts of town, "inclosed with a strong Brick Wall, and having a walk round, and two cross walks, decently planted with Yew-trees." In 1830, George Frederick Carden , editor of The Penny Magazine , successfully petitioned Parliament about the parlous state of London's over-full church burial yards. Over time they passed a number of laws that effectively halted burials in London's churchyards, moving them 'to places where they would be less prejudicial to
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1600-462: The developed and inner-city districts of Brixton , Brixton Hill , Streatham Hill , Clapham , Clapham Park , Herne Hill , Stockwell , Tulse Hill and Kennington , each at different stages of gentrification with suburban and urban elements. Vauxhall and South Lambeth are central districts in the process of redevelopment with high-density business and residential property. Streatham lies between suburban London and inner-city Brixton , with
1650-516: The form of a Cross of Sacrifice is the first memorial a visitor encounters, between the main gate and the inner gate. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists 136 Commonwealth war service burials of World War I and 52 of World War II , plus 18 cremations during the latter war. There is also one Belgian war burial and two Greek civilian victims of the Lusitania sinking. There are many British and Indian Army officers buried in various parts of
1700-548: The health of the inhabitants'. In 1836, a specific Parliamentary statute enabled the South Metropolitan Cemetery Company to purchase land from the estate of the late Lord Thurlow in what was then called Lower Norwood and create the second of the ' Magnificent Seven ' cemeteries. The new cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester on 7 December 1837, receiving its first burial soon after. Until 1877,
1750-501: The history of Anglo-Hellenic families . Grade II*-listed St Stephen's Chapel within the Greek section is sometimes attributed to architect John Oldrid Scott . The Greek necropolis is overseen by the trustees of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia . Another enclosure in the south-east corner was acquired by St Mary-at-Hill in the City of London for its own parish burials. The Dissenters' chapel
1800-639: The joint control of all interested parties, that includes Lambeth, the Diocese, the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery and conservation bodies such as Historic England . While the Anglican catacombs were a popular place for interment, those below the Dissenter's chapel remained largely empty. With the rise of the cremation movement the Cemetery Company identified this as a new source of revenue, and chose to rebuild part of
1850-512: The junction with Robson Road, where Norwood Road forks into Norwood High Street and Knights' Hill. It is in the London Borough of Lambeth ( SE27 ). The local authority is the current owner. The site, with some of its neighbouring streets, forms part of a conservation area . Believed by some to hold the finest collection of sepulchral monuments in London, the cemetery features 69 Grade II and Grade II* listed buildings and structures, including
1900-443: The old Wandsworth borough. When the government was drafting the boundaries for the London boroughs in the early 1960s, it initially suggested that the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark be merged into a new borough; the southern and eastern sections of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth (including Clapham , Streatham and Tooting ) would form another. South Shields town clerk R.S. Young
1950-560: The site of some of the grander Anglican monuments and mausolea , while the Greek Orthodox necropolis in the North East contains a high density of neoclassical architecture . Many of these mausolea are listed , such as the Grade II mausoleum for Sir Henry Doulton 's family, constructed appropriately of pottery and terracotta. As a contrast, just a few yards to the west of the crematorium
2000-672: The suburban and developed areas of Streatham , Streatham Hill and Streatham Vale . The London Borough of Southwark lies to the east of the Borough of Lambeth. To the west is the London Borough of Wandsworth ; to the south-west is the London Borough of Merton ; and to the south is the London Borough of Croydon and the London Borough of Bromley . Lambeth's open spaces include Brockwell Park and Lido , Streatham Common , half of Clapham Common , West Norwood Cemetery , Archbishop's Park , Norbury Park , Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and Ruskin Larkhall and Kennington Parks . Along and around
2050-533: The three ancient parishes of Lambeth , Clapham and Streatham . The parish of Lambeth included the archiepiscopal Lambeth Palace , and formed part of the Hundred of Brixton . It was an elongated north–south parish with two miles (three kilometres) of River Thames frontage opposite the cities of London and Westminster . Lambeth became part of the Metropolitan Police District in 1829. From 1856
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2100-462: The time, such as Sir Henry Tate , sugar magnate and founder of London's Tate Gallery , Arthur Anderson , co-founder of P&O , Paul Julius Baron von Reuter , founder of the news agency , and the Revd. Charles Spurgeon , Baptist preacher, Isabella Beeton (the famous cookery writer), who died at 28 in childbirth, Lloyd Jones , Co-operative Society activist, to name but a few. The Greek diaspora
2150-473: Was augmented over the next few years by two more cremators, designed by the cemetery superintendent Lockwood and the engineering company of Youngs. This equipment is located entirely underground, and used the original Bramah hydraulic lift of the catacombs to lower the coffin from the Crematorium Chapel at ground level, where a 'marshalling yard' of narrow gauge railway track allowed the bier to be moved to
2200-558: Was born in Burton-in-Lonsdale , West Riding of Yorkshire . He later funded a primary school and a church building in the village. He was educated at Christ's Hospital , Newgate Street, London from 1785 to 1791. He became a Donation Governor of Christ's Hospital in 1833. Christ's Hospital – an English boarding school – is now located at Horsham in Sussex . Richard Thornton's wealth was remarkable. At his death in 1865, his estate of £2.8m
2250-504: Was commissioned to make final recommendations to the government on the shape of the future London boroughs, and he noted that the Wandsworth council opposed the partition of its borough. However, Wandsworth's suggestion to merge Lambeth with the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea was rejected by both councils involved. Young believed that residents of Clapham and Streatham would be more familiar with Brixton than with Wandsworth, and recommended
2300-465: Was damaged by a V-1 flying bomb during World War II and rebuilt in 1956. In 1960 the grand Episcopal chapel was levelled, to be replaced by a memorial rose garden over its catacombs. The main office at the front of the cemetery was also damaged by another flying bomb; it was rebuilt after the war in a style more sympathetic to its Gothic surroundings. Between 1978 and 1993, the cemetery achieved several levels of official recognition by being included in
2350-528: Was exhumed and reburied in his native town of Uitenhage in 1977. West Norwood Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven . It is one of the two cemeteries located south of the river Thames (the other being Nunhead Cemetery ). The cemetery is easily reached by public transport: London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth ( / ˈ l æ m b ə θ / ) is a London borough in South London , England , which forms part of Inner London . Its name
2400-647: Was one of the largest ever recorded. That figure equalled 0.35% of the net national income of the day, or £3.9bn in 2007 terms, which makes him the 165th richest Briton since 1066. Yet, as the eminent historian W G Hoskins noted in his article for the magazine History Today , his name means nothing today, even though in his lifetime his wealth rivalled that of the Rothschilds and the Barings . Richard Thornton made part of his fortune as an indirect result of Napoleon's fatal and failed invasion of Russia . During this campaign
2450-535: Was recorded in 1062 as Lambehitha ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as Lambeth . The geographical centre of London is at Frazier Street near Lambeth North tube station , though nearby Charing Cross on the other side of the Thames in the City of Westminster is traditionally considered the centre of London. The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the county of Surrey , and generally corresponds to
2500-485: Was three days before the news reached any one else in the city, including members of the British Government . Realizing this, Richard Thornton went quickly about the city obtaining signatures on contracts for the forward delivery of Baltic goods. Since the contract prices were inflated by the blockade which had now been removed, his already sizable profits became significantly greater. Richard Thornton's activities in
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