Gunnersbury Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Gunnersbury Cemetery, also known as (New) Kensington Cemetery, is a cemetery
opened in 1929, located in the London
's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
, 143 Gunnersbury Avenue Acton. It is owned and managed by the Royal Borough.
, was bought in 1925 from the Rothschild family
by the borough
. The cemetery was founded soon afterwards, in 1929, on the former parkland.
s. It has numerous floral displays and shrubberies, and a chapel. Cemetery's buildings, chapel included, are simple brick structures. There used to be a notable sculpture by Nereo Cescott but it was destroyed by vandals prior to 1994. 'Garden of Remembrance serves as the place for the interment of cremated
remains. There is also a Book of Remembrance for memorial inscriptions. Gunnersbury Cemetery is the location of the main office for both the Borough's cemeteries (the other being the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Cemetery, Hanwell
).
A notable landmark at the cemetery is a monument, in the form of a black obelisk
, dedicated to the Polish victims of the Katyn massacre
. It was designed by Louis Fitzgibbon and Count Stefan Zamoyski
. The monument was unveiled on 18 September 1976. amid a controversy. Soviet Union
did not want the Katyn massacre to be remembered, and demanded that the British government prevents the erection of the monument. The British government did want to antagonize the Soviet one, and the construction of the monument was delayed by many years. When the local community secured the right for the monument to be put there, no government representative was present at the ceremony (although representative of the British Conservative Party
opposition were present).
February/March/October: 9:00am - 5:30pm
April/May/September:
June/July/August:
describes this cemetery as having "49 famous interments." They include:
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
opened in 1929, located in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
, 143 Gunnersbury Avenue Acton. It is owned and managed by the Royal Borough.
History
A triangle of land between the Gunnersbury Avenue and the Great West Road, part of the Gunnersbury ParkGunnersbury Park
Gunnersbury Park is a park in the Brentford ward of the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926...
, was bought in 1925 from the Rothschild family
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
by the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
. The cemetery was founded soon afterwards, in 1929, on the former parkland.
Location and facilities
The cemetery is situated adjacent to Gunnersbury Park. It covers about 8.9 hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. It has numerous floral displays and shrubberies, and a chapel. Cemetery's buildings, chapel included, are simple brick structures. There used to be a notable sculpture by Nereo Cescott but it was destroyed by vandals prior to 1994. 'Garden of Remembrance serves as the place for the interment of cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
remains. There is also a Book of Remembrance for memorial inscriptions. Gunnersbury Cemetery is the location of the main office for both the Borough's cemeteries (the other being the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Cemetery, Hanwell
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Cemetery, Hanwell
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Cemetery, Hanwell is located on the north side of the Uxbridge Road in Hanwell, London, England.-History:...
).
A notable landmark at the cemetery is a monument, in the form of a black obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
, dedicated to the Polish victims of the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
. It was designed by Louis Fitzgibbon and Count Stefan Zamoyski
Stefan Zamoyski
Count Stefan Zamoyski was a Polish nobleman .Stefan was member of the Sejm in Galicia and owner of Wysocko, Baranów and Kłuszyn estates. He married Zofia Potocka on 24 August 1870 in Krzeszowice....
. The monument was unveiled on 18 September 1976. amid a controversy. Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
did not want the Katyn massacre to be remembered, and demanded that the British government prevents the erection of the monument. The British government did want to antagonize the Soviet one, and the construction of the monument was delayed by many years. When the local community secured the right for the monument to be put there, no government representative was present at the ceremony (although representative of the British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
opposition were present).
Visiting
January/November/December: 9:00am - 4:30pmFebruary/March/October: 9:00am - 5:30pm
April/May/September:
- Monday to Saturday: 9:00am - 7:00pm
- Sundays: 9:00am - 6:00pm
June/July/August:
- Monday to Saturday: 9:00am - 8:00pm
- Sundays: 9:00am - 7:00pm
Burials
As of January 2010 Find a GraveFind A Grave
Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
describes this cemetery as having "49 famous interments." They include:
- A plot dedicated to the 24th Polish Lancers Regiment and their families
- Denzil BatchelorDenzil BatchelorDenzil Stanley Batchelor was a British journalist, writer, playwright and broadcaster. He reported on cricket and rugby union for several newspapers, including The Times, and at one time was the sports editor of the magazine Picture Post...
, British journalist, writer, playwright and broadcaster. - Tadeusz Bór-KomorowskiTadeusz Bór-KomorowskiGeneral Count Tadeusz Komorowski , better known by the name Bór-Komorowski was a Polish military leader....
, Polish general, during World War II, commander of the Warsaw UprisingWarsaw UprisingThe Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
and Polish Commander-in-Chief - Hugh BurdenHugh BurdenHugh Burden was an English actor and playwright.He was the son of a colonial official and was educated at Beaumont College and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and RADA...
, British actor and playwright - William Davison, 1st Baron BroughshaneWilliam Davison, 1st Baron BroughshaneWilliam Henry Davison, 1st Baron Broughshane KBE FSA JP DL was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington South for twenty-four years....
- Charles Benjamin DowseCharles Benjamin DowseThe Rt Rev Charles Benjamim Dowse, DD was the 8th Bishop of Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert and Kilmacduagh who soon after his consecration in June 1912 was translated to Cork. Born on 21 September 1862 into an ecclesiastical family and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he was ordained in...
, 8th Bishop of Killaloe - Matila Costiesco Ghyka, Romanian prince, novelist, mathematician, historian, philosopher and diplomat
- George HumphreysGeorge HumphreysSir George William Humphreys KBE was a British civil engineer.Humohreys was born in London in 1863. He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers on 7 March 1908. He became a member of the council of that institution on November 1917 and served as vice-president from November 1927...
, British civil engineer - Harold Brownlow MartinHarold Brownlow MartinAir Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force....
, Australian pilot - Charles Langbridge MorganCharles Langbridge MorganCharles Langbridge Morgan , was an English-born playwright and novelist of English and Welsh parentage. The main themes of his work were, as he himself put it, "Art, Love, and Death", and the relation between them...
, British playwright and novelist - John OgdonJohn OgdonJohn Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
, English pianist and composer - Vera Page, victim of an unresolved murder
- Carol ReedCarol ReedSir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
, English film director - Prince Vsevolod Ivanovich of RussiaPrince Vsevolod Ivanovich of RussiaPrince Vsevolod Ivanovich of Russia was a great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and a nephew of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. He was the last male member of the Romanov family born in Imperial Russia...
- Kazimierz SabbatKazimierz SabbatKazimierz Aleksander Sabbat , was President of Poland in Exile from 8 April 1986 until his death, 19 July 1989, after serving as Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile.-Early life:...
, Prime Minister and President of Poland in Exile - Matthew SmithMatthew Smith (artist)Sir Matthew Smith was a British painter of nudes, still-life and landscape.-Biography:Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith was born on 22 October 1879 in Halifax, the son of a wire-manufacturer...
, English painter - Marda VanneMarda VanneMarda "Scrappy" Vanne was a South African actress who found fame in London. Born 27 September 1896 in South Africa to Sir Willem and Lady van Hulsteyn...
, South African actress - Aston WebbAston WebbSir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century...
, English architect
External links
- Official entry on the Royal Borough's Libraries
- A map of the cemetery