The old
cemetery, located on
Forest Hill Road, covers approximately . It is part of the second wave of mid 19th century cemeteries that were established in London to solve the problem of overcrowding in
church yards. The first wave of cemeteries are commonly known as the
Magnificent Seven. The site was purchased in 1855 by the Camberwell Cemetery Board (formed 1850) from the trustees of
Sir Walter St John's Charity at
Battersea for £9,927. The first
interment took place on 3 July 1856; over 30,000 burials took place in the subsequent 30 years. In 1874 the cemetery was expanded by a further seven acres with the inclusion of land bought from the
British Land Company for £4,550. The
Gothic Revival lodge and two
chapels (one Church of England and one Non-Conformist) were designed by
Sir George Gilbert Scott's architectural firm. When burials were transferred to the New Cemetery the chapel fell into disrepair and both were demolished in the 1960s. A third (Roman Catholic) chapel was demolished in the 1970s. Later the architectural importance of the lodge was recognised and when it was destroyed by fire in the 1970s it was restored rather than being torn down. The lodge was used in the 1970 film adaptation of
Joe Orton's play
Entertaining Mr Sloane, as well as scenes filmed in the cemetery among the graves. There are 288 Commonwealth service war graves from the
First World War, 160 of whom are in a war graves plot in cemetery's north-east corner where there are two Screen Wall memorials, one listing those buried in the plot and the other those buried elsewhere in the cemetery whose graves could not be marked by headstones. There is also a group of special memorials to 14 casualties buried in the
Second World War. There is also an unusual First World War memorial dedicated to 21 civilians who were killed in a
Zeppelin raid on Camberwell in 1917. On 1 July and 21 July 1944
V1 flying bombs landed in the cemetery. The blasts caused damage to surrounding properties, but no casualties. On 3 November 2011 Azezur Khan (a.k.a. Ronnie), was shot dead following a funeral in the cemetery. Police believe that Mr Khan was an innocent bystander.
Notable graves in the Old Cemetery •
James John Berkeley, chief engineer of the
Great Indian Peninsular Railway • John Donovan,
Albert Medal for Lifesaving recipient. He was the Chief Boatman in charge of the Old Head
HM Coastguard Station,
Kinsale. He and his crew dragged their
galley a mile and half overland and lowered it down a cliff face to go to the aid of the
Italian barque Thetis, a ship of 324 tons, with a crew of eleven persons, when they were being driven ashore in Courtmacsherry Bay during a gale on November 30, 1866 •
Frederick John Horniman, founder of the
Horniman Museum, died 1906 • Able Seaman
Albert Edward McKenzie VC in
Zeebrugge Raid, died November 1918 •
Harry Quelch (1858-1913), journalist, early British Marxist and trade unionist. •
George Rodney, 7th Baron Rodney, army officer, racehorse owner and peer, died 1909. • Elizabeth Mary Anne Eagle Skinner (1875–1929), founder of the Mystical Church of the Comforter •
William Stanlake VC in
Battle of Inkerman, died 1904 •
Charles Waters founder of the International Bible Reading Association. •
Jack Whicher, noted detective and founder member of the Detective Branch of the
Metropolitan Police, died 1881. == Camberwell New Cemetery ==