London Natural History Society The place for wildlife in London

The Magnificent Seven are seven generally overgrown Victorian Gothic garden cemeteries, all within a 9 km (5.5 miles) corvid flying distance of St Paul’s Cathedral. They provide some of the few substantial areas of woodland, scrub and rough grassland close to central London and all are managed to some degree for their wildlife.

The seven cemeteries are:

• Abney Park Cemetery
• Brompton Cemetery
• Highgate Cemetery
• Kensal Green Cemetery
• Nunhead Cemetery
• Tower Hamlets Cemetery
• West Norwood Cemetery

History

In 1800 the population of London was 1 million but it increased rapidly to reach 2.3 million by 1850. Such rapid population growth resulted in a lack of burial space. The city’s small parish churchyards became dangerously overcrowded, leading to decaying matter getting into the water supply and causing epidemics of diseases such as cholera. There were instances of body snatching, bodies left out to rot or not buried deep enough and bodies cleared from graves too soon.

In 1832 Parliament passed a Bill authorising the establishment of a chain of privately operated garden cemeteries around the outskirts of the metropolis to alleviate the scandal of overcrowded city graveyards. Seven cemeteries opened between 1832 and 1841. In 1850 Parliament passed the Metropolitan Interments Act (succeeded two years later by the Metropolitan Burials Act), closing all inner London churchyards and crypts to further burial.

By the early 20th century, most of the garden cemeteries (apart from Brompton, which had been nationalised) were falling into disrepair, for a variety of reasons. By the 1960s most of them were no longer financially viable and their formerly landscaped grounds were left to nature. Shrubs and plants engulfed and destroyed the catacombs and headstones and the sites gradually became woodland. Eventually they were acquired by local council and are now maintained with the help of volunteer groups.

Over the past 20 years or so, there has been a renewed interest in British cemeteries, and their architectural, historical, social and environmental importance is at last being acknowledged by the local councils that, in most cases, now own the sites.

Habitat

The relatively undisturbed nature of many cemeteries has allowed the development of unique natural habitats. The cemeteries are now recognised as havens for flora and fauna, and all the cemeteries are managed in accordance with conservation schemes.

Species

Birds

All the cemeteries are havens for typical woodland birds, including Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Jay, tits and, in summer, woodland warblers.

Mammals, reptiles and amphibians

Red Fox, Grey Squirrels and at least one or two species of bat can be seen in most of the cemeteries.

Invertebrates

The grassy areas of all the cemeteries support a number of species of butterfly.

 

Practicalities

Directions

Because the cemeteries are so close to central London, parking can be difficult around some of the cemeteries. However —and also because they are so close ot central London — they can all be approached easily by public transport.

Access

Wheelchair access is normally possible, although some cemetery footpaths may not be well maintained.

Facilities

Few facilities, if any, are generally available within the cemeteries, but all have shops, cafes and pubs available within a short walking distance.

From an article by Andrew Haynes

Brompton Cemetery is one of London’s “Magnificent Seven” Victorian garden cemeteries. It covers a site of 16.5 hectares (41 acres) between Old Brompton Road and Fulham Road on the western edge of the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is the UK’s only Crown Cemetery and is managed by the Royal Parks under contract from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. As a Royal Park, it is well maintained and lacks the wildness of the other "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries. 
It is a Conservation Area 
and is also 
classed as a Site of Nature Conservation and 
Metropolitan Open Land.

Address: Brompton Cemetery, Fulham Road, 
London SW10 9UG (Map: OS grid reference TQ257777)

History

Brompton Cemetery was opened in 1840 by the West London and Westminster Cemetery Company, which had been established in 1836 by Stephen Geary, 
an architect and inventor who had previously founded the cemeteries at Highgate and Nunhead. The site, purchased from Lord Kensington, was a simple flat rectangle half a mile long without any trees because it had formerly been a market garden. A grandiose landscaping and architecture scheme proved vastly more expensive than envisaged, leading to litigation by some of the shareholders, who persuaded the government to nationalise the cemetery under powers included in the Metropolitan Interments Act of 1850 (the main purpose of which was to prohibit further burial in congested urban churchyards). Brompton was the only private cemetery to be purchased by the government before the 1850 Act was repealed by the 1852 Metropolitan Burials Act. It is still Britain's only Crown cemetery, held for the past 50 years in the care of the Royal Parks.

Habitat

The cemetery habitats include acid grassland, roughland, scattered trees, scrub, secondary woodland, semi-improved neutral grassland and vegetated walls and tombstones. The grassland shows a rough division between neutral (over former arable land) and acid (over former meadow), with neutral grassland covering most of the site and acid on some of the western lawns. Because of its enclosing walls, the cemetery has retained a number of plant species typical of the 19th century countryside and not now common elsewhere in London. In addition, there are plants such as wild cabbages, garlic, radishes and strawberries that survive from when the site was a market garden. Trees (more than 60 species) are present throughout the site, occasionally forming a closed canopy. Small-leaved lime, common limes, holm oak and horse chestnut are the most abundant species. Dense bramble scrub occurs in places. Many of the tombstones are covered with ivy, and male-fern and hart's-tongue are frequent on the brick boundary wall with the West London railway line.

Species

Birds

Among the birds that inhabit the cemetery are many garden species, wood pigeon, carrion crow and green woodpeckers. There are also a small number of non-native pairs of ring-necked parakeets with their distinctive bright green plumage and striking red beaks.

Mammals

Mammal surveys report the presence of a number of species and emphasise the value of the site for the Pipistrelle bat, house mice, wood mice, shrews, grey squirrels and foxes.

Invertebrates

The cemetery attracts a good range of butterflies ,notably the Purple Hairstreak and over two hundred species of moth. Other invertebrates include Field grasshoppers, Small White, Meadow Brown, and Cinnabar Moth caterpillars, and the Red Tailed bumblebee.

Plants

The majority of the site comprises semi-improved neutral grassland dominated by False Oat with much Red fescue, Yorkshire Fog and Rough Meadow grass. Herbs include Lady’s Bedstraw, Birds Foot Trefoil, Meadow Vetchling, Black Knapweed, Smooth Rare, Broadleaved Everlasting Pea and Oxeye Daisy. The London notables Grey sedge, Sheep’s fescue (Festuca ovina) and Dark Mullien (Verbascum nigrum) are also present. Patches of acid grassland contain Red fescue, Sheep’s sorrel, Mouse Eared hawkweed and the aforementioned Sheep’s fescue. Within the grassland are many vegetated tombstones and the wall separating Brompton Cemetery from the West London and District Railway supports Male and Harts Tongue ferns. There are many fine mature trees including, False acacia, Evergreen oak, Turkey oak, Weeping ash, Scott’s pine, Horse chestnut, London plane, common lime and yew.

Practicalities

Directions

There is no on-site public parking, and finding a parking space in the surrounding streets may be difficult. However, the cemetery is easily approached by public transport. The north gate is just yards from West Brompton station (mainline railway and London Underground District line). 
Bus routes 14, 74, 211 and 414 
pass the cemetery. 
Other nearby bus routes are 190, 328, 430, 
C1 and C3.

Access

The cemetery has two entrances: the south gate on Fulham Road and the north gate on Old Brompton Road. The cemetery is open from 8am to 8pm in summer and 8am to 4pm in winter. Well maintained footpaths across a flat site make it suitable for wheelchair users.

Facilities

Toilets on the south side of the cemetery church, which is at the south end of the cemetery.

 

 Attributions: Content originally by Andrew Haynes, updated by the LNHS webmaster. Top image: Royal Parks website.

 

Abney Park Cemetery is a burial ground, arboretum and nature reserve offering a haven for wildlife just yards from the noise and bustle of Stoke Newington High Street. It is one of London’s “Magnificent Seven” Victorian garden cemeteries. The site occupies 13 hectares (32 acres). It is owned by the London Borough of Hackney and managed by the Abney Park Cemetery Trust as a nature reserve and an environmental education service. Address: Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0LN (Map; OS grid reference TQ333867)

History

Abney Park Cemetery opened in 1840 as a model garden cemetery with 2,500 tress and shrubs already planted. The cemetery was initially run as a trust but in 1882 it passed to a strictly commercial general cemetery company, which applied standardised park-like landscaping principles, replacing much of the original arboretum planting. The cemetery decayed rapidly after the Second World War and in the 1970s the commercial cemetery company went into liquidation. The site was purchased in 1979 by the London Borough of Hackney as a non-operational burial ground and open space. In the 1990s, the cemetery was designated as the borough’s first statutory local nature reserve.

Habitat

The cemetery is noted for its mature woodland, rich in wildlife, combined with grassy paths and glades. Many of the trees and shrubs are descended from the first phase of cemetery landscaping and management (1838-82). Some original trees can still be found. Heritage trees include the Service Tree of Fontainebleau (Sorbus latifolia) and the Various-leaved Hawthorn (Crataegus heterophylla). Abney Park is believed to be the first site where these two trees became naturalised in the UK, and both have naturalised extensively, making Abney Park nationally important as the main place in the UK where they can be found. Other heritage trees from original arboretum include Bhutan Pine (Pinus wallichiana), Indian Bean Tree (Catalpa bignonoides), Turner's Oak (Quercus robur x Quercus ilex) and Lucombe Oak (Quercus cerris x Quercus x ilex, syn. Quercus x hispanica 'Lucombeana'), all of which are rare in London’s parks.

The cemetery also includes an area of dry heath community where the soil changes to sandy brick-earth around the Church Street entrance and along Dr Watts' Walk to the Abney Park Chapel. The plants here, which include Silver Birch and Bracken Fern, are probably the sole surviving remnant of Hackney's sandy brick-earth heath flora.

More detailed information about the cemetery’s flora can be found on the biodiversity page of the cemetery website.

Species

Birds (contributed by Mark James Pearson)

Abney is the only substantial woodland in north Hackney, and as such hosts a range of breeding, wintering and passage species. Sparrowhawk and Tawny Owl both breed annually, and there are healthy populations of Great Spotted Woodpeckers (around six pairs), Blackcaps, Stock Doves and all the common garden / woodland species. Green Woodpecker, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Chiffchaff and Coal Tit are also resident / semi-resident in small numbers. In autumn, winter and early spring, the cemetery attracts visiting thrushes and finches; of the latter, Lesser Redpoll, Brambling and Siskin are regular visitors (with Common Redpoll also recorded, in 2009). In passage periods, expected migrants include Willow Warblers, Garden Warblers, Woodcocks and Spotted Flycatchers; rare but near-annual migrants include Pied Flycatcher, Common Redstart, both Whitethroats and even Reed Warbler. Common Buzzards are annual overhead, with several birds showing interest in putting down (with one doing so in 2008); other flyovers include Red Kites and Merlin. Abney attracts more than its fair share of Firecrests; the best times to look for them are April and October, although at least three wintering birds were present 2008/9 and a pair bred as recently as 2000. Unfortunately species such as Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Bullfinch and Treecreeper are at best extremely rare vagrants in recent years, with none of the above recorded since 2005. Unexpected breeders include Mallard and Canada Goose.

Mammals, reptiles and amphibians

Abney Park Cemetery is home to Brown Rat, Grey Squirrel, Fox, Wood Mouse, House Mouse, bats and the odd feral dog and cat.

Invertebrates

Butterflies found in the cemetery include inner London’s largest population of Speckled Wood. The site is also an important inner city habitat for Purple Hairstreak and Large Skipper. Other species include Brimstone, Comma, Common Blue, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Holly Blue, Orange Tip, Peacock, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and White-letter Hairstreak. Moths include Angle Shades, August Thorn, Codling, Dun-bar, Early Thorn, Footman, Garden Carpet, Heart and Dart, Magpie, Oak Beauty, Red Underwing, Snout, Swallowtail, White Ermine and Willow Beauty.

Nationally scarce invertebrates include the fly Leopoldius brevirostris, the hoverfly Pocota personata and the Girdled Mining Bee (Andrena labiata).

Fungi

About three hundred species of fungi have been found including scarce Earthstars and Dyer's Mazegill (Phaeolus schweinitzii) which is scarce in London.

Plants

Approximately four hundred plant species have been recorded in Abney Park. Wildflowers of note include Wood Spurge and Hairy St. John’s Wort (neither believed to grow elsewhere in Hackney), Deadly Nightshade, Enchanter’s Nightshade, Dog’s Mercury, Ivy Broomrape, Wood Forget-me not, Lesser Celandine, Creeping Jenny, and Hoary Ragwort.

Abney Park is home to a variety of animal species and the biodiversity page of the cemetery website gives further information about birds, mammals, butterflies and moths.

Practicalities

Directions

The site is adjacent to the A10 trunk road through Stoke Newington. There is a (paying) car park close to the cemetery’s Stoke Newington High Street entrance.

The cemetery is 200 yards from Stoke Newington railway station, on the line linking Liverpool Street to Cheshunt and Enfield. Trains generally run about every 15 minutes.

The nearest London Underground station is Manor House (Piccadilly line), about 2km away, from which it is probably best to walk (25-30 minues) because there is no direct bus service. Bus routes passing close to the cemetery include 73 (the recommended route from the West End), 67, 76, 106, 149, 243, 276, 349, 393 and 476.

The site can be reached on foot by following the Highgate to Hackney Wick section of the Capital Ring walking route, which passes through the cemetery.

Access

The cemetery is open from 8am to dusk. Consult the visiting information page for further information.

Most of the footpaths are suitable for wheelchairs.

Attributions: Content Andrew Haynes, Top image: Abney Park Trust website.

Habitats in the London region can be grouped into the following general categories:

• Chalky soil areas
• Acid soil areas
• Ancient Woodland
• Rivers, Canals and Wetlands
• Local Nature reserves and open spaces
• Ruderal habitats

The following notes describe each habitat type in terms of their typical soils and vegetation cover.

‘Natural’ Habitats

These contain the highest percentage of native plants, but introductions and non-natives occur as well, especially near gardens, car parks and other disturbed places. The flora is grouped in communities reflecting the type of soil, degree of shading and hydrological characteristics.

Calcareous soils are present as a band overlying chalk across the southern edge of the circle and still contain good botanical diversity. The reserves owned by the Corporation of the City of London at Farthing Downs, Kenley Common and Riddlesdown (near Croydon) are among the best examples and include an interesting example of grassland restoration from former secondary woodland at Farthing Downs. Other smaller patches of calcareous soils are present near Harefield in the west (e.g. Harefield Pit), and near Hertford in the north. They include open downland, woodland and arable land, each with its typical species, both common and uncommon.

Acid soils occur over materials such as the Bagshot and Thanet sands, the pebbly Blackheath beds (e.g. Gilbert's Pit), and Claygate beds (e.g. Oakhill Pit). They occur widely across the circle. Relatively ‘natural’ tracts of this type are scattered across the circle in small patches, as in the north of Hampstead Heath (e.g. Sandy Heath), on Barnes and Wimbledon Commons, at Keston in Bromley, the Surrey Commons, and in Epping Forest. Lowland Heaths such as these are an internationally important habitat type, and the best-preserved examples in our study area are those in Surrey. See also the Royal Parks booklet "Acid Grassland".

Ancient Woodland

A few patches of ancient woodland, (defined as areas that have had tree cover since before 1600), still exist in otherwise urban areas, such as Oxleas Wood in the south-east, and Queen’s and Highgate Woods in the north. These are all on acid soils and contain indicator species such as Wild Service Tree and Great Woodrush as well as a good seasoning of introduced plants. Further out, on the western boundary of Middlesex around Ruislip, lies London’s largest tract of ancient oak/hornbeam woodland. Towards the southern edge of our circle are the woods of the steep chalky slopes of the North Downs dominated by Beech, Pedunculate Oak and Yew. Dormice can be found in some of these woods.

Rivers, Canals and other Wetland Habitats

The tidal Thames contributes a strip of saline habitats, from the muddy edge of the river itself to grazing marshes and their associated ditches on either side of the lower reaches of the river, although like most others they are being eroded by other interests. The most extensive remaining of these within the circle is Rainham Marsh. Most of the edge of the tidal river itself has been embanked, with only a few relict patches of the original margin at Dukes Hollow, in the grounds of Syon House, and in the Thames estuary near Swanscombe. The latter is sadly under threat of development.

Tributaries of the Thames such as the Rivers Fleet and Westbourne, nearer the centre of the city, have been culverted and built over, but the Colne and the Wandle in West London and the Lee in the East, with their associated water meadows still possess elements of the ancient flora. Naturally occurring waterways are supplemented with canals such as the Grand Union, Regents, Lee Navigation and Limehouse Cut, There are still many enclosed water bodies scattered across the circle, varying in size from small ponds everywhere to the much larger reservoirs of the Lee Valley and West London, which have much ornithological interest.

London is an international centre for waterfowl and many water birds take advantage of these water bodies. Some Duck species, such as Gadwall and Shoveler, are present in internationally important numbers (see this pdf). Other water birds such as Tufted Duck, Pochard, Goosander, Smew, Bittern, Great Crested Grebe and Cormorant are here in nationally important numbers.

Local Nature Reserves and Open Spaces

In recent years many local authorities have designated Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) in their boroughs. Such a designation gives the land protection against inappropriate development and ensures that it is managed primarily for its wildlife interest. LNRs cover a wide range of habitats, from fragments of ancient woodland (as at Queens Wood in Haringey) to pre-existing pieces of common land, as at Coppetts Wood in Barnet, and to ex-industrial sites such as the Gunnersbury Triangle in Hounslow where “derelict” railway land has developed into secondary woodland with a rich adventive flora and fauna. These habitats are dynamic and continually produce surprises for the naturalist.

Ruderal Habitats

These include ‘waste’ ground, roadside verges, pavements, walls, gutters and post-industrial sites, and are the justification for the statement that wildlife interest is everywhere. As well as being the source of many records of non-native plants from a variety of sources, particularly escapes from gardens, window boxes and culinary sources, bird-seed aliens, and seeds carried by vehicles, footwear and clothing, such sites can support a surprisingly rich invertebrate fauna. Some post-industrial areas along the Thames corridor contain the combination of stony or sandy habitats and a mass of wild flowers that are ideal for many interesting insects, including several scarce Bumblebees that are Biodiversity Action Plan priority species. Unfortunately such sites are now being rapidly re-developed.