St Mary's Catholic Cemetery
St Mary's Cemetery
Details
Established1858
Location
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°31′41″N 0°14′01″W / 51.5280°N 0.2336°W / 51.5280; -0.2336
TypeRoman Catholic
Size29 acres (12 ha)
No. of graves165,000
WebsiteOfficial website
Find a GraveSt Mary's Catholic Cemetery
The Misa Mausoleum, built in 1870 for Manuel Misa y Bertemati, the Conde De Bayona and Marques De Misa

St Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located on Harrow Road, Kensal Green in London, England. It has its own Catholic chapel.[1]

The cemetery, founded in 1858, is the resting place of over 165,000 Roman Catholics. The 29-acre cemetery has memorials for Belgian soldiers and Commonwealth service personnel from both World Wars, along with numerous foreign nationality war graves. Notable burials include British spy Peter Ashmun Ames, conductor Sir John Barbirolli, and activist Marcus Garvey. The cemetery, which is open year-round, features a chapel used for funeral and memorial services. Visitors can consult computerized burial records dating back to 1858 at the cemetery office.

History

Established in 1858, the 29-acre (120,000 m2) site was built next door to Kensal Green Cemetery. It is the final resting place for more than 165,000 individuals of the Roman Catholic faith, and features a memorial to Belgian soldiers of the First World War, wounded in combat and evacuated to England, where they died in hospital.

There is also a War Memorial, in the form of a Cross of Sacrifice to the British, Irish, French, Czechoslovakian and Canadian servicemen.[2] It is surrounded by a Screen Wall memorial and a low kerb listing Commonwealth service personnel of both World Wars whose graves in the cemetery could not be marked by headstones. In all, the cemetery contains 208 graves of Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War, and 107 graves of the Second World War. There are also many foreign nationality war graves that include, from First World War, 77 Belgians and six Germans, and from the Second, eight Czechoslovakian and six Polish war graves.[3]

Many Irish migrants who came to England during the Great Famine are buried here.[4]

Notable interments

The chapel

  • The cemetery's Catholic chapel is used for funeral and memorial services. The walls have many memorial plaques.
  • The chapel was used in the filming of Miranda episode "Before I Die".
The Chapel

Access

The cemetery is open for visitors 365 days per year.

Summer Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday – 8 am to 5 pm
Sunday – 9 am to 5 pm

Winter Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday – 8 am to 4 pm
Sunday – 9 am to 4 pm

Christmas Day & Boxing Day – 9 am to 1 pm

The cemetery office

Office hours
Monday to Friday – 9 am to 3 pm
Visitors, especially those interested in their Catholic family history, may request the office staff consult the recently computerised records for all interments in St Mary's Catholic Cemetery (from 1858 to date).

Please note: The office is closed on Bank Holidays and Summer months closing times can vary. The Summer Opening Hours are in effect from early April to late October during UK British Summer Time. The Winter Opening Hours are for the rest of the year when the UK has Greenwich Mean Time.

References

  1. Catholic Chapel
  2. St Mary's Kensal Green – Memorials
  3. CWGC Cemetery Report Breakdown of foreign war graves from casualty record.
  4. F H W Sheppard, ed. (1973). "Survey of London: Volume 37, Northern Kensington". British History Online. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. "Casualty Details | CWGC". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  6. Grant, Colin (2008). Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey. Jonathan Cape. p. 451. ISBN 978-0099501459.
  7. Foot, David (1986). Sunshine, Sixes and Cider. David & Charles. ISBN 0715388908.
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