West Norwood Cemetery

This morning, I took a walk with Lizi (an English friend) around our neighborhoods. We started at West Dulwich Station, walked along Lancaster Ave, up to York Hill with a beautiful view of the London city center, and then back to Norwood Road.

On our way back, we made a detour to West Norwood Cemetery, a relatively large cemetery in the middle of the neighborhood. The cemetery is designed like a park, somewhat overgrown with many trees, benches, and a peaceful atmosphere.

The cemetery, dating back to the 19th century, covers a total of 16 hectares. It was inaugurated in 1837 and is one of the 'Magnificent Seven cemeteries'. These are the seven largest cemeteries in London. By the year 2000, a total of 164,000 people were buried in 42,000 burial plots. There are also several graves and monuments of famous English personalities, such as J. W. Gilbert (banker and author), E. M. Barry (architect), Mrs. Beeton (journalist, editor, and writer), and Sir H. Bessemer (inventor).

The cemetery is divided into different sections, including a rose garden, an area for the Greek Orthodox Church, a columbarium, catacombs, and various mausoleums.

I can understand why some people may find cemeteries spooky. Many of the graves are close together, toppled over, or weathered. For a perfect eerie atmosphere, all you need is a cloudy, dark day and a little bit of fog drifting through the graves.

This peaceful place definitely won't be my last visit. The tranquil atmosphere, despite the busy surrounding streets, is very refreshing, and the cemetery offers some interesting photo opportunities that I would like to capture with my digital camera.