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| Brookwood Cemetery, Woking -Surrey |
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| Brookwood, near Woking, is where in 1854 the imposingly titled
Necropolis and National Mausoleum company opened an enormous state-of the-art
burial ground, joined to the capital by a special rail link (which would
run until 1941 when it's Waterloo terminus was destroyed by a German bomb).
Some 2'000 acres of land had been bought as the site for what intended to
be the cemetery to end all cemeteries; there was room here, it was believed,
for all London's dead to be interred for an indefinite period. The grounds
include some major pieces of architecture, as well as areas of conservation
and natural beauty. Over a quarter of a million bodies have been laid to rest here since, and there are no signs as yet that the cemetery is feeling the strain. The cemetery's rolling parkland seems to go on forever: the visitor has a feeling of being in open countryside which had become a cemetery accidentally, and in which it can be almost a surprise to come across a grave. In addition to many thousands of ordinary Londoners, Brookwood had become the UK's largest resting place for many hundreds of thousands of servicemen. There are military cemeteries here for British, Commonwealth and US war dead, and even a plot for Turkish fliers killed during the second world war. Our visits to Brookwood are undertaken with the upmost respect for a place of historical interest and is not connected with any paranormal investigations. A detailed book can be purchased on site or through Amazon - London's
Necropolis by John M.Clark |
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| 20th Century | |||||||||
The Orthodox monastic community moved into it's site in March 1982. Over the years the Brotherhood has repaired and restored the two former Anglican chapels on the site. The larger chapel now houses the relics of St Edward the Martyr, and serves as the church for this small parish. The second chapel is used for the accomdation of the Brotherhood.
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Woking Borough Council designated the entire cemetery a conservation area in June 1989. This means the council has in theory recognised the historic impotance of the cemetery, and has greater official control over any demolition, alterations, tree felling or new building within the grounds. English Heritage has given Brookwood a grade II designation, as an historic park and garden. Volunteers of The Brookwood Cemetery Society attend the cemetery regularly, they give their time and money to help maintain the cemetery and carry out notable repairs and restoration
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Pelham Clinton Memorial, probably the most important within Brookwood
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Gottlieb William Leitner. The founder of Woking's Oriental Institute and Mosque
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Charles Warne. An unusual memorial designed to resemble a prehistoric barrow.
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Orginally constructed in about 1878-80 for Lord Cadogan, sold back to the LNC 1910
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| The Military Cemeteries | |||||||||
| The First World War led to the development of
the Brookwood Military Cemeteries, comprising of about 37 acres making it
the largest military burial ground in the United Kingdom. Orginally, only one acre in 1914 was set aside for the free interment of soldiers and sailors who have returned from the front wounded and may subsequently die. However in 1917 the War Office came to an agreement with the LNC thus being the orginal Brook Military Cemetery. This area is the oldest part if the military burial ground..The burials in this section cover most domimions and colonies of the British Empire, and the whole section is laid out in typical style of the War Graves Commission.
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| Brookwood American Cemetery | |||||||||
The Brookwood American Cemetery has it's own importanc, being the only American burial ground in the UK for American soliders and sailors who lost their lives in Great Britain or in its surrounding waters. The ground containsthe bodies of 468 servicemen, while the Memorial Chapel at the far end of the plot commemorates a further 563 casualties all of whom were either lost or buried at sea. Although the chapel was conmpleted in 1929, the special service of dedication did not take place unitl 15th August 1937, twenty years to the day when American troops first marched through London. |
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Ghost Connections UK |
