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Brookwood Cemetery management requested
in 2009 that all photos of the Cemetery were removed. Since the Cemetery Company do not own the Military Section those
photos remain on display.
In late 2012 the ownership of
Brookwood Cemetery was transfered by order of court. As yet we are unaware of the new owners stance on the photography
issue. Should that stance be brought in-line with other Cemeteries and photography permitted then we shall return all our
photos to complete this page.
Brookwood Cemetery is situated 25 miles south of London
city centre in the Village of Brookwood in Surrey. The cemetery is the largest in the UK covering 2,000 acres.
Opened
in 1852 Brookwood was estimated to have enough burial capacity to last 500 years. It was hoped that the cemetery, providing
for all denominations, would be a massive success and that Londoners would be happy to be buried away from the city. Unfortunately
despite being served by two cemetery stations and the Necropolis railway from London Waterloo this was never the case.
For
more information on Brookwood Cemetery and it's history please click here - coming soon
We visited Brookwood
at the end of September 2007 and the weather turned out almost perfect for the occasion. Living over 60 miles away travel
by train took almost two and a half hours but that did include an added stop to buy new tickets as we reached the limit of
zone 6 at Surbiton.
As we were on foot it took just under seven hours to photograph but it is possible to see
all the interesting parts without a car, but a bicycle would have come in very handy. Despite some impressive statues and
mausoleums, Brookwood (in my opinion) does not come close to the magnificence of Highgate or Kensal Green. It seems to be
a victim of it's own size, and the systematic bricking up of almost all mausoleum doors by the cemetery company really does
nothing for it's appeal. Later communication with the Cemetery manager revealed budget constraits as the reason for this not
uncommon practice.
In complete contrast the Military cemetery, at 37 acres in size, is kept in immaculate condition.
The whole area is very poignant and while being perfectly tranquil it drives home the evil that is war.
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